Diego Llorente

Diego Javier Llorente Ríos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo ʎoˈɾente ˈri.os]; born 16 August 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Sociedad and the Spanish national team as a central defender.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Llorente and the second or maternal family name is Ríos.
Diego Llorente
Llorente with Real Sociedad in 2018
Personal information
Full name Diego Javier Llorente Ríos
Date of birth (1993-08-16) 16 August 1993
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Real Sociedad
Number 3
Youth career
2000–2001 Perez Galdós
2001–2002 Trabenco
2002–2012 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Real Madrid C 29 (1)
2013–2015 Real Madrid B 63 (3)
2013–2017 Real Madrid 2 (0)
2015–2016 → Rayo Vallecano (loan) 33 (2)
2016–2017 → Málaga (loan) 25 (2)
2017– Real Sociedad 77 (4)
National team‡
2013 Spain U20 6 (0)
2016– Spain 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 July 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2019

Club career

Born in Madrid, Llorente joined Real Madrid's youth system in July 2002, one month shy of his ninth birthday. In the 2012–13 season he made his senior debut, appearing with the C-team in a 1–1 away draw against Caudal Deportivo for the Segunda División B championship.[2]

On 24 March 2013, Llorente made his first appearance with Real Madrid Castilla, coming on as a substitute for injured Iván González in an eventual 4–0 home win over Córdoba CF.[3][4] On 11 May, he was an unused bench player for the main squad in a La Liga match at RCD Espanyol,[5] but finally made his debut in the competition on 1 June, replacing Álvaro Arbeloa for the dying minutes of the last game of the campaign, at home against CA Osasuna.[6]

On 14 July 2015, Llorente moved to neighbouring Rayo Vallecano in a season-long loan deal.[7] He scored his first goal in the top flight on 3 January 2016, netting the first in a 2–2 home draw against Real Sociedad,[8] and was an undisputed starter as his team eventually suffered relegation as third from bottom.

On 8 July 2016, Llorente was loaned to Málaga CF also in the top level.[9] The following 26 June, he signed a permanent five-year contract with fellow league team Real Sociedad.[10] In his league debut, on 10 September, he contributed with one goal two a 4–2 away win over Deportivo de La Coruña after replacing Iñigo Martínez midway through the second half;[11] four days later, in his very first appearance in European competition, he started and scored twice in a 4–0 home rout of Rosenborg BK for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[12]

International career

In May 2016, Llorente was called up to the Spain national team by manager Vicente del Bosque for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[13] He made his debut late in the month, replacing Cesc Fàbregas in the 3–1 win in Switzerland.[14]

Style of play

A right-footed player who possesses excellent positioning and is strong in the air, Llorente can operate as a central defender or a defensive midfielder. He is also quite proficient at passing the ball.[1]

gollark: All memes I post are definitionally relevant.
gollark: You are behind me by several decaseconds.
gollark: See: `stack script` for Haskell.
gollark: Well, allow scripts to have some sort of magic comment™ for "please run with dependencies".
gollark: Please buy me GPUs.

References
  1. "Diego Javier Llorente Ríos". Real Sociedad. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  2. "Caudal Deportivo vs Real Madrid C" (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  3. "Jesé y Morata destrozan con sus dobletes al Córdoba" [Jesé and Morata destroy Córdoba with their doubles]. Marca (in Spanish). 24 March 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  4. "4–0: An outstanding Castilla thrash Córdoba at the Di Stefano where they remain unbeaten in 2013". Real Madrid CF. 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  5. "Madrid draw hands title to Barca". ESPN FC. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  6. "Mourinho bows out with win". ESPN FC. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  7. "Diego Llorente nuevo jugador del Rayo Vallecano" [Diego Llorente new player of Rayo Vallecano] (in Spanish). Rayo Vallecano. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  8. "Rayo Vallecano 2–2 Real Sociedad". ESPN FC. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  9. "Diego Llorente arrives at Málaga CF on loan from Real Madrid". Málaga CF. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  10. "La Real Sociedad ficha a Diego Llorente" [Real Sociedad sign Diego Llorente] (in Spanish). Real Sociedad. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  11. Melero, Delfín (10 September 2017). "Con la cabeza bien alta" [Head held high]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  12. "Llorente leads Real Sociedad charge". Marca. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  13. ""Estamos preparados"" ["We are ready"]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  14. Campos, Tomás (29 May 2016). "Nolito endulza un duelo atípico" [Nolito sweetens an atypical duel]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.