Antonio Karmona

Antonio Karmona Herrera (born 24 March 1968) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Karmona and the second or maternal family name is Herrera.
Antonio Karmona
Personal information
Full name Antonio Karmona Herrera[1]
Date of birth (1968-03-24) 24 March 1968[1]
Place of birth Bermeo, Spain[1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Defender
Youth career
Bermeo[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1995 Sestao 159 (9)
1995–1996 Eibar 37 (1)
1996–2003 Alavés 231 (7)
2003–2005 Eibar 61 (4)
Total 488 (21)
National team
1999–2003 Basque Country 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was best known for his Alavés stint, where he played seven full seasons and in 260 competitive matches, also being the undisputed team captain.[3]

Most of Karmona's career was spent, however, in Segunda División, where he amassed totals of 260 games and 11 goals over the course of eight seasons, representing three clubs including his main one.

Club career

Karmona was born in Bermeo, Basque Country.[4] At the age of 22, he was playing amateur football in his hometown and preparing to become a fisherman like his father and many others from the town, but instead was invited to join the senior ranks of local Sestao Sport Club.[4]

Karmona played in the second division with Sestao for the first three seasons out of five he spent with the team from the 'left bank' – they were relegated in 1993 and promoted back in 1995, amidst financial problems which would soon see them dissolved and refounded in the lower leagues.[4] By then he had moved on to SD Eibar, where he spent one year before moving to another club from the same region and level, Deportivo Alavés; in his second season with the latter, he contributed with 40 appearances (3,600 minutes, with three goals) as they returned to La Liga after an absence of more than 40 years.

Having played in all 38 league matches during the 1998–99 campaign, Karmona captained Alavés to the 2000–01 final of the UEFA Cup, where they met Liverpool and eventually lost 4–5 due to an own golden goal by Delfí Geli, with him being sent off during extra time.[5] In an interview before the game, he revealed he was a lifelong Liverpool fan.[6]

After suffering relegation, 35-year-old Karmona re-joined Eibar and played two more division two seasons before retiring. Subsequently, he worked with Athletic Bilbao's coaching and scouting staff for some time.[7]

International career

Karmona won five caps for the Basque Country unofficial representative team. In 2003, his last appearance, he became the first Eibar player to be selected.[8][9][4]

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References
  1. "Antonio KARMONA Herrera". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  2. "Historia" [History] (in Basque). Bermeo Club. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. Ubera, Rafa (16 May 2016). "Cuando fuimos (casi) campeones" [When we were (almost) champions]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  4. Martín, Luis (7 January 2004). "De Bermeo a las galaxias" [From Bermeo to the stars]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  5. "Liverpool win nine-goal epic with golden goal". UEFA. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  6. Winter, Henry (15 May 2001). "Houllier's treble chance". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  7. Mallo, Juanma (26 May 2017). "Alkorta y Alkiza, entre los posibles ayudantes de Ziganda" [Alkorta and Alkiza, among the possible assistants of Ziganda]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  8. "Euskadi 5–1 Nigeria" (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 29 December 1999. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  9. "Euskadi 2–1 Uruguay" (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 27 December 2003. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
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