Jacinto Elá

Pedro Jacinto Elá Eyene (born 2 May 1982), known as Elá, is an Equatoguinean retired footballer who played as a right winger.

Jacinto Elá
Elá in training camp with Spain U18
Personal information
Full name Pedro Jacinto Elá Eyene
Date of birth (1982-05-02) 2 May 1982
Place of birth Añisoc, Equatorial Guinea
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Winger
Youth career
1992–1995 Sector Sant Feliu
1995–1996 Hospitalet
1996–2001 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Espanyol B 31 (5)
1999 Espanyol 0 (0)
2001–2004 Southampton 0 (0)
2002–2003 → Hércules (loan) 17 (0)
2004–2005 Alavés B 26 (5)
2005 Dundee 2 (0)
2006 Gavà 16 (2)
2007 Gramenet 8 (0)
2007–2008 Fundación Logroñés 18 (2)
2008 Premià 13 (2)
2008–2010 Levante Las Planas
Total 131 (16)
National team
2000–2001 Spain U18 11 (5)
2006–2007 Equatorial Guinea U23 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Añisoc, Elá moved to Barcelona at the age of ten with his parents.[1] He played most of his youth football with RCD Espanyol (five years), being selected to Spain's youth teams whilst with the club and also helping the reserves promote to Segunda División B in 2000; the following year, he won the Copa del Rey Juvenil with the juniors.

Elá playing for Espanyol B.

On 24 July 1999, Elá made his competitive debut with Espanyol's first team, appearing in a UEFA Intertoto Cup game against Montpellier HSC in France, as a 70th-minute substitute (1–2 loss).[2] It was his only appearance for the Catalans.

In the 2001 off-season, Elá signed for Southampton in England, penning a three-year contract after turning down Coventry City. During his spell he never appeared officially with the Premier League side, being limited to reserve team football; additionally, in the 2001–02 season, he suffered a serious knee injury.[3]

In 2002, Elá was loaned to Hércules CF in the Spanish third level, under former Sporting de Gijón and CD Tenerife player Felipe Miñambres. In March 2003, in a friendly match with Elche CF, he suffered another severe injury to his knee, after a hard tackle by Raúl Pérez;[4] upon his return to the Saints, he continued to appear exclusively for the second team.

In August 2005, Elá signed for Dundee of the Scottish Football League First Division.[5] His output consisted of two league matches, plus two appearances in the Challenge Cup and one in the League Cup, going scoreless in the process; he left the club in late November.[6]

From 2005 until his retirement in 2010 at the age of only 28, Elá played exclusively in amateur football, the sole exception being eight third level games for UDA Gramenet in the 2006–07 campaign.

Post-retirement / Personal life

After retiring, Elá returned to Barcelona and started his own clothing line, Malabona (a combination of "Malabo" and "Barcelona"), working alongside his wife Esther in the design of T-shirts and all kinds of fashion clothes, which were then sold via the internet.[7]

His younger brother, Ruslan, was also a footballer. A defender, he represented the Equatoguinean national team.

gollark: Well, I checked, and it seems to be 4.
gollark: I simply cannot understand the scale of numbers bigger than about 4.
gollark: You should send geese instead.
gollark: It's rendered straight onto a JS canvas, and I don't care enough to do art.
gollark: Well, you play as a square, which can move in various directions and is subject to gravity.

References
  1. "Iba para estrella de fútbol, pero he acabado siendo Rey Mago, que es mejor" ("I was a future football star, i ended up a Magi, i'm better off"); 20 minutos, 7 January 2010 (in Spanish)
  2. Con la cabeza bien alta (Head held high); Mundo Deportivo, 25 July 1999 (in Spanish)
  3. Jacinto Ela confía tener continuidad en el Hércules ("Jacinto Ela hopes to have continuity in Hércules"); Diario Crítico, 13 February 2003 (in Spanish)
  4. Jacinto resta importancia a la dura entrada de Raúl Pérez que le lesionó ("Jacinto downplays hard tackle by Raúl Pérez who injured him"); Diario Crítico, 5 March 2003 (in Spanish)
  5. Wednesday's gossip column; BBC Sport, 3 August 2005
  6. Madaschi and Jacinto leave Dundee; BBC Sport, 25 November 2005
  7. Ara, no canvia el disseny pel futbol (Right now, he does not trade design for football); Mundo Deportivo, 24 March 2009 (in Catalan)
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