Carlos Marchena

Spanish footballer (born 1979) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlos Marchena

Carlos Marchena López (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos maɾˈtʃena ˈlopeθ]; born 31 July 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender with an aggressive approach, he also played as a defensive midfielder.[2]

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Carlos Marchena
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Marchena in 2017
Personal information
Full name Carlos Marchena López[1]
Date of birth (1979-07-31) 31 July 1979 (age 45)[1]
Place of birth Las Cabezas, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Youth career
Cabecense
1990–1997 Sevilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Sevilla 68 (1)
1998 Sevilla B 3 (0)
2000–2001 Benfica 20 (2)
2001–2010 Valencia 230 (8)
2010–2012 Villarreal 45 (1)
2012–2014 Deportivo La Coruña 44 (5)
2015 Kerala Blasters 1 (0)
Total 411 (17)
International career
1999 Spain U20 7 (0)
1999–2001 Spain U21 17 (0)
2000 Spain U23 5 (0)
2002–2011 Spain 69 (2)
Managerial career
2017–2018 Sevilla C (assistant)
2018 Spain (assistant)
2019–2020 Sevilla B (assistant)
2023 Valencia (assistant)
Medal record
Representing  Spain
Men's Football
Summer Olympic Games
2000 SidneyTeam
FIFA World Cup
Winner2010 South AfricaTeam
UEFA European Championship
Winner2008 Austria – SwitzerlandTeam
FIFA World Youth Championship
Winner1999 Nigeria
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
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Most of his career (nine years) was spent at Valencia, where he helped the club to win five major titles, including two La Liga championships. He amassed competition totals 330 matches and 11 goals over 13 seasons, also playing for Sevilla, Villarreal and Deportivo.

A Spain international for the better part of the 2000s, Marchena won 69 caps and represented the national team in two World Cups and two European Championships, winning each tournament once.[3]

Club career

Summarize
Perspective

Early years

Born in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Province of Seville, Andalusia, Marchena started his professional career in hometown club Sevilla at the age of 18, when the club was in the Segunda División.[4] He made his La Liga debut on 22 August 1999, playing the entire 2–2 home draw with Real Sociedad.[5]

When Sevilla were relegated again at the end of the season, Marchena earned a transfer to Portugal's Benfica.[6] During his spell in Lisbon he scored in two narrow wins, at home against Belenenses (1–0)[7] and at Salgueiros (2–1),[8] but almost left the Estádio da Luz in late 2000 due to lack of payment.[9]

Valencia

Marchena returned to his country in summer 2001 as he signed a four-year contract with Valencia, with Zlatko Zahovič moving in the opposite direction.[10] Having signed as a cover for ageing Miroslav Đukić, he took a while to impress in his first season (16 appearances), as Valencia clinched their first league title in 30 years, but gradually became first choice.[11]

In the 2003–04 campaign, with the side capturing an historic league and UEFA Cup double,[12] Marchena played a pivotal role in defence, teaming up with Roberto Ayala; the former played 44 games in all competitions, the latter 45.[13]

2004–05 was not a very successful season for Valencia, as under new coach Claudio Ranieri the team struggled both domestically and in European tournaments. In a UEFA Champions League group-stage match against Werder Bremen at the Weser-Stadion, Marchena was also given his marching orders in the early minutes of the second half (2–1 defeat)[14] and his team was eventually eliminated from the elite competition; he remained a regular at both defensive positions.

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Marchena (right) tackling Sevilla's Luís Fabiano in 2007

During the Champions League match against Inter Milan on 6 March 2007, Marchena was involved in the on-pitch melee sparked by his teammate David Navarro: the former appeared to kick Inter defender Nicolás Burdisso after an angry exchange of words and, after the latter punched the Argentine's nose, a scuffle took place with several of Burdisso's teammates chasing Navarro all the way into the dressing room.[15][16][17]

Consequently, Marchena, Navarro and several other Inter players involved were later charged with "gross unsporting conduct" by UEFA after the investigation.[18] Both clubs were fined £106,000 while Marchena was banned for four games; after Euro 2008 he was selected by his teammates as the new captain, although he missed the first two months of the new season due to injury.[19]

In the 2009–10 campaign, veteran Marchena contributed 24 appearances as the Che finished third and returned to the Champions League. He scored in two 3–1 away victories, over Osasuna[20] and Xerez,[21] only being booked seven times.

Villarreal

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Marchena (left) challenging Augusto Fernández in the Galician derby in 2012

On 1 August 2010, the 31-year-old Marchena joined Villarreal for three years.[22] He made his competitive debut for the Valencians 18 days later, opening the 5–0 home win against Dnepr Mogilev in that campaign's Europa League.[23] Regularly used in both defensive positions again, he scored his second goal for the Yellow Submarine on 7 April 2011, in a 5–1 home rout of Twente in the first leg of the competition's quarter-finals.[24]

Marchena left at the end of 2011–12 after being released from contract, and his team also suffered relegation.[25]

Later career

In the 2012 off-season, Marchena initially moved to Deportivo de La Coruña on a one-year deal.[26] The Galicians were eventually relegated, but he chose to remain for a further season in spite of more lucrative offers.[27][28]

Following Deportivo's return to the top flight in 2014, Marchena left the club;[29] he remained unemployed until 1 August 2015 when he signed for Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters as its marquee player.[30] After missing the start of the season with injury,[31] he made his debut on 18 October in a 0–1 home loss to Delhi Dynamos.[32] On 4 November, he left for personal reasons.[33]

After a period of training with amateurs Gerena, Marchena announced his retirement in January 2016.[34] On 7 June of the following year he returned to his first club Sevilla, being appointed assistant manager of the C team.[35]

Marchena then had assistant spells at Sevilla Atlético and Valencia, respectively under his former teammates Paco Gallardo and Rubén Baraja.[36][37]

International career

Summarize
Perspective

Marchena first appeared for Spain as part of the under-20 team alongside Iker Casillas and Xavi, finishing first at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.[38] He was also on the roster for the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal.[3]

Marchena made his senior debut on 21 August 2002, in a testimonial match for Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás in Budapest just after the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.[39] Subsequently, he was part of the squad at UEFA Euro 2004, where he was chosen at the last minute by coach Iñaki Sáez as a strategic move to bolster his side defensively;[40] while Spain bowed out after the group phase, he did manage two appearances, but picked up two yellow cards in the process.[41][42]

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Marchena with Spain in 2010

On 8 June 2005, Marchena scored his first international goal, a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, played in Valencia.[43] He was picked for the finals,[44] but only played the last group fixture against Saudi Arabia.[45]

Marchena was selected again by Luis Aragonés for Euro 2008, this time as undisputed starter, having also featured prominently in the qualifying stages. With Joan Capdevila, Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos, he formed a rock-solid defense and conceded only two goals in five games, his hard work and man-marking skills earning him a spot in the team of the tournament.[46]

Under new coach Vicente del Bosque, Marchena slowly lost his spot to Gerard Piqué, but was still included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup[47] and the 2010 World Cup squads. As Spain downed Saudi Arabia on 29 May 2010 in preparation for the latter competition (where he played six minutes in the 1–0 quarter-final win over Paraguay, adding two injury-time appearances for the champions),[48][49][50] he played his 50th consecutive undefeated match with the national team, surpassing previous holder Garrincha (49).[51]

In June 2018, Marchena was allowed by Sevilla to join newly appointed Fernando Hierro's coaching staff for the upcoming World Cup in Russia.[52]

Career statistics

Club

More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[53][54]
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental[b] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sevilla 1997–98 Segunda División 1700000170
1998–99 Segunda División 1818000260
1999–00 La Liga 3300000330
Total 6818000761
Benfica 2000–01 Primeira Liga 2020000202
Valencia 2001–02 La Liga 1611050221
2002–03 La Liga 2604090390
2003–04 La Liga 3125080442
2004–05 La Liga 3221060392
2005–06 La Liga 2504030320
2006–07 La Liga 2202040280
2007–08 La Liga 2808070430
2008–09 La Liga 2614171373
2009–10 La Liga 2423180353
Total 230832257131911
Villarreal 2010–11 La Liga 28100122403
2011–12 La Liga 1701061241
Total 45110183644
Deportivo 2012–13 La Liga 2221000232
2013–14 Segunda División 2231000233
Total 4452000465
Kerala Blasters 2015 Indian Super League 10000010
Career total 4081743275452623
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International

More information National team, Year ...
Appearances and goals by national team and year[55]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 200230
200390
200490
200561
200610
2007101
2008100
200980
2010110
201120
Total692
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Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Marchena goal.
More information No., Date ...
List of international goals scored by Carlos Marchena[55]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
18 June 2005Mestalla, Valencia, Spain Bosnia and Herzegovina1–11–12006 World Cup qualification
222 August 2007Toumba, Thessaloniki, Greece Greece1–13–2Friendly
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    Honours

    Valencia

    Spain U20

    Spain U23

    Spain

    Individual

    References

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