José Izquierdo (footballer, born 1992)

José Heriberto Izquierdo Mena (American Spanish: [xoˈse isˈkjeɾðo]; born 7 July 1992) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League and for the Colombia national team.

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

José Izquierdo

Izquierdo playing for Club Brugge in April 2015
Personal information
Full name	José Heriberto Izquierdo Mena[1]
Date of birth	(1992-07-07) 7 July 1992[2]
Place of birth	Pereira, Colombia
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Playing position(s)	Left winger
Club information
Current team	Brighton & Hove Albion
Number	19
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2013	Deportivo Pereira	69	(14)
2013–2014	Once Caldas	40	(12)
2014–2017	Club Brugge	84	(34)
2017–	Brighton & Hove Albion	47	(5)
National team^‡
2017–	Colombia	6	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 July 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 October 2018

Club career

Izquierdo started playing football at an early age, starting out as a goalkeeper before moving outfield into a midfield/winger position. His parents initially wanted him to become a tennis player, however Izquierdo "constantly preferred to kick tennis balls with his feet rather than use rackets, and his teacher promptly advised him to switch to his natural sport". Izquierdo would subsequently abandon football for several years following his brother's death in a traffic accident, before eventually returning to join Deportivo Pereira.[4]

Izquierdo joined Once Caldas in 2013 from Deportivo Pereira,[5] and moved to Club Brugge one year later.[6]

Club Brugge

In his first season with Club Brugge, the 2014–15 season, Izquierdo scored 13 Belgian Pro League goals for the club, and also made six UEFA Europa League appearances as Brugge finished top of their group in the group stage of the competition, advancing through to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Ukrainian club FC Dnipro 1–0 on aggregate.[7] Izquierdo started in both legs of the quarter final.[8][9]

Izquierdo won the Belgian Pro League with Club Brugge in the 2015–16 season, finishing top of the table in the regular season and winning the Championship play-offs with the club. He contributed 7 league goals in 24 Pro League appearances, and also made several appearances in Brugge's UEFA Europa League campaign.[10] He was also the winner of the Belgian Golden Shoe award for 2016 in recognition of his performances throughout the season at Brugge.[11]

Throughout the 2016–17 season, Izquierdo made 32 appearances for Club Brugge, scoring 14 Belgian First Division A goals to help them finish second in the league's regular season, these including braces against Oostende and Mouscron, as well as a hat-trick against Charleroi on 5 May 2017. He also scored one UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–1 defeat to English champions Leicester City on 22 November 2016.[12] Izquierdo's goal against Leicester was described as "a thumping finish following a terrific solo run".[13]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 10 August 2017, it was announced that newly-promoted Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion had agreed a club record transfer fee with Club Brugge for Izquierdo, reported to be around £13.5 million. He will join Brighton subject to a medical, international clearance and a successful work permit application.[14] Izquierdo passed his Brighton medical on 12 August 2017, with his work permit hearing scheduled for the following Wednesday.[15] On 16 August 2017, Club Brugge confirmed that Izquierdo's work permit had been granted and that he would be joining Brighton.[16] He was officially unveiled as a Brighton player on 21 August, taking the number 19 shirt and signing a four-year contract with the Albion.[17]

Izqueirdo made his Premier League debut for Brighton on 26 August 2017, coming on as a second half substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Watford.[18]

On 20 October 2017, Izquierdo scored his first goal for Brighton in a 3–0 away win against West Ham United, a spectacular curled effort from distance.[19] He scored his second league goal of the season on 20 November, the equalising goal in a 2–2 home draw against Stoke City.[20]

On 1 January 2018, Izquierdo provided two assists in Brighton's 2–2 home draw against AFC Bournemouth, winning the Man of the Match award.[21]

Izquierdo has been hit by many injuries during his time in Sussex and as a result of his injuries didn't play any games for The Seagulls in the 2019–20 season.[22]

International career

Izquierdo received his first callup to the Colombia national team for friendlies in June 2017 against Spain and Cameroon. He scored his first goal at international level in the friendly against Cameroon on 13 June 2017, the fourth goal in a 4–0 victory.[23]

In June 2018 he was named in Colombia’s 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His only game was where Colombia lost to Japan 2–1 in their opening group game.[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of end of 2019–20 season[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Deportivo Pereira	2010	Categoría Primera A	9	1	0	0	—		—		—		9	1
	2011	Categoría Primera A	21	1	6	1	—		—		—		27	2
	2012	Categoría Primera B	24	10	2	0	—		—		—		26	10
	2013	Categoría Primera B	15	2	6	0	—		—		—		21	2
	Total		69	14	14	1	—		—		—		83	15
Once Caldas	2013	Categoría Primera A	16	3	5	1	—		—		—		21	4
	2014	Categoría Primera A	24	9	0	0	—		—		—		24	9
	Once Caldas		40	12	5	1	—		—		—		45	13
Club Brugge	2014–15	Pro League	32	13	6	2	—		6[lower-alpha 1]	0	—		44	15
	2015–16	Pro League	24	7	6	0	—		6[lower-alpha 2]	0	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	37	7
	2016–17	First Division A	28	14	1	0	—		4[lower-alpha 4]	1	1[lower-alpha 3]	1	34	16
	2017–18	First Division A	0	0	0	0	—		2[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		2	0
	Total		84	34	13	2	—		18	1	2	1	117	38
Brighton & Hove Albion	2017–18	Premier League	32	5	3	0	1	0	—		—		36	5
	2018–19	Premier League	15	0	2	0	0	0	—		—		17	0
	2019–20	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		47	5	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	53	5
Career total			240	65	37	4	1	0	18	1	2	1	298	71

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, five in Europa League
3. Appearances in the Belgian Super Cup
4. Appearances in Champions League

International

As of 3 July 2018[26]

Colombia
Year	Apps	Goals
2017	2	1
2018	4	0
Total	6	1

International goals

Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.[5]

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 June 2017	Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, Getafe, Spain	Cameroon	4–0	4–0	Friendly

Honours

Club Brugge

• Belgian First Division: 2015–16
• Belgian Cup: 2014–15
• Belgian Super Cup: 2016

Individual

• Belgian Golden Shoe: 2016

References

1. "Squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
2. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: List of players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA. 10 June 2018. p. 5. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
3. "José Izquierdo: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
4. Michael Yokhin (11 May 2016). "Club Brugge on brink of Belgian title thanks to Jose Izquierdo". ESPN.
5. "Colombia – J. Izquierdo – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
6. "Colombia – Two South Americans on their way to Club Brugge". nieuwsblad.be. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
7. "Dnipro strike late to reach first semi-final". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
8. "FC Dnipro 1–0 Club Brugge (1–0 Agg) Lineups". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
9. "Club Brugge 0–0 FC Dnipro". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
10. "Games played by Jose Heriberto Izquierdo in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
11. "Jose Izquierdo Wins Golden Shoe". Club Brugge. 8 February 2017.
12. "Games played by Jose Heriberto Izquierdo in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
13. "Leicester City 2–1 Club Brugge". BBC Sport. 22 November 2016.
14. "Jose Izquierdo: Brighton agree club record deal for Colombian winger". BBC Sport. 10 August 2017.
15. "Albion's Jose Passes Medical as Record Move Edges Closer". The Argus. 13 August 2017.
16. "Club Brugge Izquierdo Statement (Belgian)". Club Brugge Official Site. 16 August 2017.
17. "Izquierdo Completes Record Move to Albion". Brighton & Hove Albion Official Site. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
18. "Watford 0–0 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 26 August 2017.
19. "West Ham United 0–3 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 20 October 2017.
20. "Brighton & Hove Albion 2–2 Stoke City". BBC Sport. 20 November 2017.
21. "Brighton & Hove Albion 2–2 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 1 January 2018.
22. "Jose Izquierdo won't play a part in the restarted season". We Are Brighton. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
23. "Cameroon 0–4 Colombia". Sky Sports. 13 June 2017.
24. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced? - Goal.com".
25. "J. Izquierdo". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
26. "José Izquierdo". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 14 July 2018.