 Marchena in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Marchena López[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-07-31)31 July 1979 (age 46)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Las Cabezas, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cabecense | |||
| 1990–1997 | Sevilla | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2000 | Sevilla | 68 | (1) |
| 1998 | Sevilla B | 3 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Benfica | 20 | (2) |
| 2001–2010 | Valencia | 230 | (8) |
| 2010–2012 | Villarreal | 45 | (1) |
| 2012–2014 | Deportivo La Coruña | 44 | (5) |
| 2015 | Kerala Blasters | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 411 | (17) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999 | Spain U20 | 7 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | Spain U21 | 17 | (0) |
| 2000 | Spain U23 | 5 | (0) |
| 2002–2011 | Spain | 69 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2017–2018 | Sevilla C (assistant) | ||
| 2018 | Spain (assistant) | ||
| 2019–2020 | Sevilla B (assistant) | ||
| 2023 | Valencia (assistant) | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Carlos Marchena López (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈkaɾlosmaɾˈtʃenaˈlopeθ]; born 31 July 1979) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer. Mainly acentral defender with an aggressive approach, he also played as adefensive midfielder.[2]
Most of his career (nine years) was spent atValencia, where he helped the club to win five major titles, including twoLa Liga championships. He amassed competition totals 330 matches and 11 goals over 13 seasons, also playing forSevilla,Villarreal andDeportivo.
ASpain international for the better part of the 2000s, Marchena won 69caps and represented the national team in twoWorld Cups and twoEuropean Championships, winning each tournament once.[3]
Born inLas Cabezas de San Juan,Province of Seville,Andalusia, Marchena started his professional career in hometown clubSevilla at the age of 18, when the club was in theSegunda División.[4] He made hisLa Liga debut on 22 August 1999, playing the entire 2–2 home draw withReal Sociedad.[5]
When Sevilla were relegated again at the end ofthe season, Marchena earned a transfer to Portugal'sBenfica.[6] During his spell inLisbon he scored in two narrow wins, at home againstBelenenses (1–0)[7] and atSalgueiros (2–1),[8] but almost left theEstádio da Luz in late 2000 due to lack of payment.[9]
Marchena returned to his country in summer 2001 as he signed a four-year contract withValencia, withZlatko Zahovič moving in the opposite direction.[10] Having signed as a cover for ageingMiroslav Đukić, he took a while to impress in hisfirst season (16 appearances), as Valencia clinched their first league title in 30 years, but gradually became first choice.[11]
In the2003–04 campaign, with the side capturing an historic league andUEFA Cupdouble,[12] Marchena played a pivotal role in defence, teaming up withRoberto Ayala; the former played 44 games in all competitions, the latter 45.[13]
2004–05 was not a very successful season for Valencia, as under new coachClaudio Ranieri the team struggled both domestically and in European tournaments. In aUEFA Champions Leaguegroup-stage match againstWerder Bremen at theWeser-Stadion, Marchena was also given hismarching orders in the early minutes of the second half (2–1 defeat)[14] and his team was eventually eliminated from the elite competition; he remained a regular at both defensive positions.
During theChampions League match againstInter Milan on 6 March 2007, Marchena was involved in the on-pitch melee sparked by his teammateDavid Navarro: the former appeared to kick Inter defenderNicolás Burdisso after an angry exchange of words and, after the latter punched the Argentine's nose, a scuffle took place with several of Burdisso's teammates chasing Navarro all the way into the dressing room.[15][16][17]
Consequently, Marchena, Navarro and several other Inter players involved were later charged with "gross unsporting conduct" byUEFA after the investigation.[18] Both clubs were fined£106,000 while Marchena was banned for four games; after Euro 2008 he was selected by his teammates as the newcaptain, although he missed the first two months of thenew season due to injury.[19]
In the2009–10 campaign, veteran Marchena contributed 24 appearances as theChe finished third andreturned to the Champions League. He scored in two 3–1 away victories, overOsasuna[20] andXerez,[21] only beingbooked seven times.
On 1 August 2010, the 31-year-old Marchena joinedVillarreal for three years.[22] He made his competitive debut for theValencians 18 days later, opening the 5–0 home win againstDnepr Mogilev inthat campaign's Europa League.[23] Regularly used in both defensive positions again, he scored his second goal for theYellow Submarine on 7 April 2011, in a 5–1 home rout ofTwente in the first leg of the competition's quarter-finals.[24]
Marchena left at the end of2011–12 after being released from contract, and his team also suffered relegation.[25]
In the 2012 off-season, Marchena initially moved toDeportivo de La Coruña on a one-year deal.[26] TheGalicians wereeventually relegated, but he chose to remain for afurther season in spite of more lucrative offers.[27][28]
Following Deportivo's return to the top flight in 2014, Marchena left the club;[29] he remained unemployed until 1 August 2015 when he signed forIndian Super League sideKerala Blasters as its marquee player.[30] After missing the start ofthe season with injury,[31] he made his debut on 18 October in a 0–1 home loss toDelhi Dynamos.[32] On 4 November, he left for personal reasons.[33]
After a period of training with amateursGerena, Marchena announced his retirement in January 2016.[34] On 7 June of the following year he returned to his first club Sevilla, being appointed assistant manager ofthe C team.[35]
Marchena then had assistant spells atSevilla Atlético and Valencia, respectively under his former teammatesPaco Gallardo andRubén Baraja.[36][37]
Marchena first appeared forSpain as part of theunder-20 team alongsideIker Casillas andXavi, finishing first at the1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.[38] He was also on the roster for the2000 Summer Olympics,winning the silver medal.[3]
Marchena made his senior debut on 21 August 2002, in atestimonial match for Hungarian legendFerenc Puskás inBudapest just after the2002 FIFA World Cup inSouth Korea andJapan.[39] Subsequently, he was part of the squad atUEFA Euro 2004, where he was chosen at the last minute by coachIñaki Sáez as a strategic move to bolster his side defensively;[40] while Spain bowed out after the group phase, he did manage two appearances, but picked up two yellow cards in the process.[41][42]
On 8 June 2005, Marchena scored his first international goal, a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw inBosnia and Herzegovina for the2006 World Cup qualifiers, played inValencia.[43] He was picked for the finals,[44] but only played the last group fixture againstSaudi Arabia.[45]
Marchena was selected again byLuis Aragonés forEuro 2008, this time as undisputed starter, having also featured prominently in thequalifying stages. WithJoan Capdevila,Carles Puyol andSergio Ramos, he formed a rock-solid defense and conceded only two goals in five games, his hard work and man-marking skills earning him a spot in the team of the tournament.[46]
Under new coachVicente del Bosque, Marchena slowly lost his spot toGerard Piqué, but was still included in the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup[47] and the2010 World Cup squads. As Spain downed Saudi Arabia on 29 May 2010 in preparation for the latter competition (where he played six minutes in the 1–0 quarter-final win overParaguay, adding two injury-time appearances for the champions),[48][49][50] he played his 50th consecutive undefeated match with the national team, surpassing previous holderGarrincha (49).[51]
In June 2018, Marchena was allowed by Sevilla to join newly appointedFernando Hierro's coaching staff for theupcoming World Cup in Russia.[52]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sevilla | 1997–98 | Segunda División | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Segunda División | 18 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 1999–00 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| Total | 68 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 1 | ||
| Benfica | 2000–01 | Primeira Liga | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Valencia | 2001–02 | La Liga | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | La Liga | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 28 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |
| Total | 230 | 8 | 32 | 2 | 57 | 1 | 319 | 11 | ||
| Villarreal | 2010–11 | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 40 | 3 |
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 1 | |
| Total | 45 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 64 | 4 | ||
| Deportivo | 2012–13 | La Liga | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Segunda División | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| Total | 44 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2015 | Indian Super League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 408 | 17 | 43 | 2 | 75 | 4 | 526 | 23 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2002 | 3 | 0 |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 69 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 June 2005 | Mestalla,Valencia, Spain |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 22 August 2007 | Toumba,Thessaloniki, Greece |  Greece | 1–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Valencia
Spain U20
Spain U23
Spain
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