Sergio León

Sergio León Limones (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo leˈon]; born 6 January 1989) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Levante UD as a forward.

Not to be confused with Sergio Leone or Sergio Leo.
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is León and the second or maternal family name is Limones.
Sergio León
León playing for Elche in 2016
Personal information
Full name Sergio León Limones
Date of birth (1989-01-06) 6 January 1989
Place of birth Palma del Río, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Levante
Number 7
Youth career
2004–2008 Betis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Betis C 31 (15)
2008–2009 → Mairena (loan) 0 (0)
2009–2011 Betis B 15 (1)
2010 Betis 1 (0)
2011–2013 Reus 72 (29)
2013–2015 Elche B 26 (12)
2013 → Murcia (loan) 2 (0)
2014–2015 → Llagostera (loan) 35 (9)
2015–2016 Elche 41 (22)
2016–2017 Osasuna 33 (10)
2017–2019 Betis 47 (11)
2019– Levante 22 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 July 2020

An academy graduate of Betis where he was mainly a reserve, he played more frequently at Reus before being signed by Elche in 2013. After finishing as top scorer in Segunda División three years later, he joined La Liga team Osasuna.

Football career

Betis / Reus

Born in Palma del Río, Córdoba, León joined Real Betis' youth ranks at the age of 15 and made his debut for the first team on 27 March 2010, playing 26 minutes in place of Juanma in a 0–1 loss against Girona FC at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.[1] It would be his only appearance of the campaign, as the Verdiblancos failed to regain their La Liga status.

In the 2011 January transfer window, after featuring rarely also for the reserves over the course of 1½ seasons,[2] León left Betis and signed for CF Reus Deportiu in the fourth division.[3] He scored five goals in 14 games until the end of the season, helping the Catalans return to the third level after a five-year absence.[4][5]

León netted 18 times during 2012–13's division three, including a hat-trick on 17 February 2013 in a 3–2 home win over Ontinyent CF.[6]

Elche

In the summer of 2013, León joined Elche CF on a four-year deal, being assigned to their reserves and then loaned to Real Murcia.[7] After only three competitive appearances for the latter he was recalled by his parent club, continuing to feature and score regularly for the B's.

On 12 July 2014, León was again loaned to a second tier club, UE Llagostera, for the upcoming season.[8] In the second matchday, he scored his first professional goal to open a 2–0 win over CD Leganés at home for the team's first professional win;[9] he eventually finished as team top scorer for the Province of Girona side, who finished ninth.

León subsequently returned to Elche, and was promoted to the first team which had suffered top flight relegation for financial reasons. He made his competitive debut for the Valencians on 23 August 2015 by playing the full 90 minutes as they opened their campaign with a 0–2 loss at SD Ponferradina, and a week later scored his first goal to win a match 2–1 against Bilbao Athletic at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero;[10] he was the Segunda División Player of the Month in September 2015, having contributed three goals and an assist,[11] and eventually won the Pichichi Trophy for top scorer, netting his 22nd from the penalty spot in the final game against AD Alcorcón to overtake Córdoba CF's Florin Andone.[12]

Osasuna

On 24 August 2016, León signed a four-year contract with CA Osasuna for an undisclosed fee.[13] He made his debut in the top division three days later, replacing Oriol Riera in a 0–2 home loss against Real Sociedad,[14] and netted his first goal in the competition on 22 September to equalise in a 1–2 loss to RCD Espanyol again at the El Sadar Stadium.[15]

On 17 October 2016, León scored a brace in a 3–2 away win against SD Eibar.[16] He repeated the feat the next 9 April, netting in a 2–1 home success over CD Leganés;[17] he finished the season with a squad-best ten goals, but his team suffered relegation.[18]

Return to Betis

On 1 June 2017, León returned to Betis after agreeing to a four-year deal,[19] for a rumoured fee of €3.5 million. He was the club's top scorer with 11 goals as they qualified for the UEFA Europa League in his first season, though he played less frequently in the second half of the campaign following the promotion of Loren into the first team.[20]

Levante

On 12 June 2019, León agreed to a three-year contract with fellow top tier side Levante UD.[21]

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "El Girona frena en seco la escalada del Betis" [Girona stop Betis climb in its tracks]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 March 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  2. Ortiz, Vicente (April 2011). "El extraño caso de Sergio León (ex-Betis B)" [The strange case of Sergio León (ex-Betis B)] (in Spanish). Fútbol Mega. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. "Reus: se incorpora Sergio León" [Reus: Sergio León added.] (in Spanish). esFutbol. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. "El palmeño Sergio León "Trepa" sube a Segunda B con el Reus C.F." [Palma's own Sergio León "Trepa" promotes to Segunda B with Reus C.F.] (in Spanish). Minuto 90. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. "Sergio León disfruta de su mejor momento" [Sergio León enjoys best moment]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  6. "León sentencia el matx contra l'Ontinyent" [León decides the match against Ontinyent]. L'Esportiu (in Catalan). 18 February 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  7. "El Elche cede al delantero Sergio León al Murcia" [Elche loan forward Sergio León to Murcia]. Diario Información (in Spanish). 21 August 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  8. "Sergio León se marcha cedido al Llagostera" [Sergio León goes on loan to Llagostera]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  9. "Histórico primer triunfo del Llagostera" [Llagostera's historic first triumph]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 August 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  10. "El Bilbao Athletic sucumbe tras una remontada del Elche" [Bilbao Athletic succumb after Elche's comeback]. El Correo (in Spanish). 31 August 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  11. "Sergio León, mejor jugador de la Liga Adelante en septiembre" [Sergio León, best player in the Liga Adelante in September] (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  12. "Sergio León gana el pichichi de Segunda y está loco por jugar con el Betis en Primera" [Sergio León wins the Segunda pichichi and is mad about playing for Betis in Primera]. El Correo (in Spanish). 4 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  13. "Sergio León, nuevo jugador de Osasuna" [Sergio León, new player of Osasuna] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  14. Sierra, David (27 August 2016). "La Real bate al coraje de Osasuna" [Real defeat Osasuna's courage]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  15. Campos, Tomás (22 September 2016). "El Espanyol respira a costa de Osasuna" [Espanyol take a breather at the expense of Osasuna]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  16. "Sergio Léon alcanza los cuatro goles con un doblete ante el Eibar" [Sergio Léon reaches four goals with brace against Eibar]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 October 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  17. "Sergio León hace soñar a Osasuna con la salvación" [Sergio León makes Osasuna dream of survival] (in Spanish). Cadena COPE. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  18. "Pedro León y Sergio León alcanzan los diez goles; Kike García sigue en racha" [Pedro León and Sergio León reach ten goals; Kike García still on a streak] (in Spanish). Terra. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  19. "Real Betis signs Sergio León for the next four seasons". Real Betis. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  20. Galán, Gabriel (23 June 2018). "La delantera del Betis: sin salidas no hay fichajes" [Betis' forwards section: without exits there are no signings] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  21. "Levante UD sign Sergio León for the next three seasons". Levante UD. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
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