 Campo in 1996 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iván Campo Ramos | ||
| Date of birth | (1974-02-21)21 February 1974 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | San Sebastián, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Logroñés | |||
| Alavés | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1995 | Alavés | 45 | (2) |
| 1995–1997 | Valencia | 25 | (1) |
| 1995–1996 | →Valladolid (loan) | 24 | (2) |
| 1997–1998 | Mallorca | 33 | (1) |
| 1998–2003 | Real Madrid | 60 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | →Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 31 | (2) |
| 2003–2008 | Bolton Wanderers | 141 | (11) |
| 2008–2009 | Ipswich Town | 17 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | AEK Larnaca | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 384 | (21) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2000 | Spain | 4 | (0) |
| 2000–2006 | Basque Country | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Iván Campo Ramos (born 21 February 1974) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer. Originally acentre-back, he featured in adefensive midfield role in the later years of his career.
He played forReal Madrid and four other teams in his country, and is also remembered for his spell in England withBolton Wanderers.
Campo representedSpain in the1998 World Cup.
Born inSan Sebastián,Basque Country, Campo started his career atDeportivo Alavés ofSegunda División B. He stayed there for two and a half years, signing withValencia CF who immediately loaned him for the rest ofthe season toReal Valladolid, which he helped narrowly avoid relegation fromLa Liga.[1]
Subsequently, Campo returned to Valencia only to be released, joiningrecently promoted teamRCD Mallorca. In theBalearic Islands, he formed a formidable partnership withMarcelino Elena (later ofNewcastle United), as they finished fifth in1997–98.[1]
Campo signed withReal Madrid in the summer of 1998, and contributed to the1999–2000 conquest of theUEFA Champions League, playing the full 90 minutes inthe final against former club Valencia.[2] He often underachieved during his spell at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium due to pressure from the supporters and the press, which led to several situations ofanxiety disorder.[3][4][5]
After falling out of favour at Real, Campo was sent toBolton Wanderers on a one-year loan in August 2002.[6] Following the2002–03 campaign he was expected to return to theSpanish capital, but unexpectedly signed a three-year permanent deal with the English club, deciding he preferred living inBolton.[7]
On 19 August 2006, in the first match of thenew season, Campo scored a long-range drive which caughtTottenham Hotspur andEngland'sPaul Robinson off-guard and flew into the bottom corner of the net.[8][9] In a post-match interview, his bossSam Allardyce admitted Bolton's goal of the season competition may have already been decided[9] by the "wonder strike".[8]
Campo fitted in well with his side's style of play, but also topped the charts for mostred andyellow cards received of any player in thePremier League in2006–07.[10] In May 2008, he was not offered a new contract by managerGary Megson and left the team.[11]
Shortly before theUEFA Euro 2008 tournament, Campo wrote a letter to the Bolton faithful expressing his regret at not having been able to bid the club a proper farewell, and the letter appeared on a website run bySky Sports presenterGuillem Balagué.[12] He eventually played in atestimonial match at theReebok Stadium, in honour of teammateJussi Jääskeläinen.[13]
On 11 August 2008, Campo signed forIpswich Town of theFootball League Championship after passing a medical.[14] He scored his first goal againstBarnsley in a 3–0 win,[15] but after only featuring in roughly a third of the league's matches, the 35-year-old was released by managerRoy Keane at the end ofthe season.[16]
Campo joinedCypriot Second Division sideAEK Larnaca FC in December 2009. He retired in June of the following year, having appeared in 124 Spanish top-division games in seven years and 194 competitive matches for Bolton.[17]
Campo played four times withSpain, his debut coming on 25 March 1998 in a 4–0friendly victory overSweden, inVigo.[18] He was picked for the squad for the1998 FIFA World Cup in France, with the national team exiting in the group stage.[19]
Campo featured in a Spanish TV advert for a fruit drink. In the advert, two men take off their shirts to reveal tattoos of Campo's head on their chests.[20]
AnIndie band fromPreston, England have named themselvesIvan Campo. They featured as part of an interview given byCharlie Webster for aBBC News report after the player signed for Ipswich.[21][22]
Mallorca
Real Madrid
Bolton Wanderers
