Jonathan Aspas

Jonathan Aspas Juncal (born 28 February 1982) is a Spanish professional footballer. Mainly a right midfielder, he can also appear as an attacking right back.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Aspas and the second or maternal family name is Juncal.

Jonathan Aspas

Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Aspas Juncal
Date of birth	(1982-02-28) 28 February 1982
Place of birth	Moaña, Spain
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1990–1998	Moaña
1998–2001	Celta
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2004	Celta B	96	(14)
2000–2001	→ Pontevedra (loan)	13	(1)
2003–2007	Celta	64	(3)
2007–2009	Piacenza	48	(4)
2009	Mouscron	15	(2)
2011	AEP	10	(0)
2011–2013	Alki Larnaca	52	(3)
2014–2015	Racing Ferrol	27	(0)
2015–2018	Pro Piacenza	97	(0)
2018–2019	Nibbiano & Valtidone	29	(0)
National team
1999	Spain U16	9	(2)
1999	Spain U17	3	(1)
1999–2000	Spain U18	3	(0)
2002	Spain U20	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:13, 3 February 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Moaña, Pontevedra, Aspas was brought up through local RC Celta de Vigo's youth system, and made his debut with the first team on 10 December 1999, aged 17, in a meaningless UEFA Cup tie against S.L. Benfica in Lisbon (Celta had already won 7–0 in the first leg, and he came on as a substitute for Benni McCarthy in the 1–1 draw).[1] On 23 November 2003 his first La Liga game came, a 0–2 home loss against Athletic Bilbao; during that season, which ended in relegation, he also appeared in an infamous 0–5 derby loss to Deportivo de La Coruña also at the Balaídos.[2]

Subsequently, Aspas would be regularly used by the Galicians, while the club was again relegated from the top level in 2007. He moved abroad afterwards, joining Italy's Piacenza Calcio 1919.

With the new technical staff of R.E. Mouscron – coach Miroslav Đukić and director of football Amedeo Carboni – playing a major part in his signing, Aspas moved to the Belgian League for the 2009–10 campaign. However, after only four months, the club could not face surmounting financial problems, and folded.

Aspas resumed his career in the Cypriot First Division, with AEP Paphos FC and Alki Larnaca FC. In July 2014, he returned to his native region by signing for Segunda División B team Racing de Ferrol after a trial.[3]

In the 2015 off-season, Aspas returned to Italy and the city of Piacenza, joining A.S. Pro Piacenza 1919.[4] At the end of his contract, he moved to local amateurs ASD Nibbiano & Valtidone.[5]

Personal life

Aspas' younger brother, Iago, was also a footballer. Both were groomed at Celta.[6][7] Their cousin Aitor represented smaller teams in their native region.[8]

Club statistics

As of match played on 5 May 2018

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Celta	1999–2000[9]	La Liga	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	2	0
	2000–01[9]	La Liga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2003–04[9]	La Liga	3	0	1	0	—		4	0
	2004–05[9]	La Liga	25	2	1	0	—		4	0
	2005–06[9]	La Liga	15	1	3	0	—		18	2
	2006–07[9]	La Liga	21	0	2	0	7[lower-alpha 1]	1	30	1
	Total		64	3	8	0	8	1	80	4
Pontevedra (loan)	2000–01[9]	Segunda División B	13	1	—		—		13	1
Piacenza	2007–08[10]	Serie B	19	2			—		19	2
	2008–09[10]	Serie B	29	2			—		29	2
	Total		48	4			—		48	4
Mouscron	2009–10[11]	Belgian Pro League	15	2	0	0	—		15	2
AEP	2010–11[11]	Cypriot First Division	10	0	0	0	—		10	0
Alki Larnaca	2011–12[11]	Cypriot First Division	28	0	4	0	—		32	0
	2012–13[11]	Cypriot First Division	24	3	0	0	—		24	3
	Total		52	3	4	0	—		56	3
Racing Ferrol	2014–15[9]	Segunda División B	27	0	2	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	32	0
Piacenza	2015–16[11]	Serie C	30	0	0	0	—		30	0
	2016–17[11]	Serie C	35	0	0	0	—		35	0
	2017–18[11]	Serie C	32	0	1	0	—		33	0
	Total		97	0	1	0	—		98	0
Career total			326	13	15	0	11	1	352	14

1. Appearances in UEFA Cup
2. Appearances in Promotion Play-offs

Honours

Club

Celta

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000

International

Spain U16

• UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1999

References

1. El Celta de Vigo supera el trámite (Celta de Vigo play for calendar); El Mundo, 9 December 1999 (in Spanish)
2. "El Deportivo incendia Balaídos" [Deportivo set Balaídos on fire] (in Spanish). El País. 4 January 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
3. "Jonathan Aspas entrenará con el Racing de Ferrol, como los brasileños Bryan y Luiz Henrique" [Jonathan Aspas will train with Racing Ferrol, as will the Brazilians Bryan and Luiz Henrique] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
4. "Jonathan Aspas si allena col Pro Piacenza" [Jonathan Aspas trains with Pro Piacenza] (in Italian). Sport Piacenza. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
5. "Calciomercato – Dopo Aspas anche Bruno, Nibbiano&Valtidone scatenato. Marco Parma sarà il ds" [Transfer market – After Aspas and Bruno, Nibbiano&Valtidone set off. Marco Parma will be the sporting director] (in Italian). Sport Piacenza. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
6. La saga moañesa del Celta (Celta's Moaña saga); Faro de Vigo, 11 June 2009 (in Spanish)
7. Jonathan Aspas ve a Iago cerca del Valencia (Jonathan Aspas sees Iago close to Valencia); Faro de Vigo, 26 March 2013 (in Spanish)
8. "Aitor Aspas emula con el Coruxo el gol de Messi contra el Getafe" [Aitor Aspas emulates Messi's goal against Getafe with Coruxo] (in Spanish). Marca. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
9. "Jonathan Aspas: Jonathan Aspas Juncal". BDFutbol. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
10. "Jonathan Aspas". Celta Vigo. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
11. "Jonathan Aspas". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 March 2015.

External links

• Jonathan Aspas at BDFutbol
• Jonathan Aspas – FIFA competition record
• Jonathan Aspas at FootballDatabase.eu
• Jonathan Aspas at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)