 Soriano withRed Bull Salzburg in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Soriano Casas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-09-24)24 September 1985 (age 40)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | El Pont de Vilomara, Spain[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2001 | Espanyol | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2005 | Espanyol B | 70 | (32) |
| 2002–2009 | Espanyol | 43 | (3) |
| 2006 | →Almería (loan) | 17 | (6) |
| 2007 | →Poli Ejido (loan) | 12 | (2) |
| 2009 | →Albacete (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2009–2012 | Barcelona B | 79 | (55) |
| 2009 | Barcelona | 0 | (0) |
| 2012–2017 | Red Bull Salzburg | 144 | (120) |
| 2017–2018 | Beijing Guoan | 31 | (25) |
| 2019 | Al Hilal | 8 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Girona | 16 | (1) |
| 2021 | Castellón | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 439 | (248) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Spain U17 | 15 | (18) |
| 2003 | Spain U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2005 | Spain U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2005 | Spain U21 | 4 | (8) |
| 2004–2014 | Catalonia | 6 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jonathan Soriano Casas (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈɟʝonatansoˈɾjanoˈkasas]; born 24 September 1985) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
He spent his early career withEspanyol andBarcelona, mostly with the respective reserve teams. In January 2012 he moved toRed Bull Salzburg, where he won four league and cupdoubles, also finishing as theAustrian Football Bundesliga's top scorer three times; he totalled 172 goals in 202 matches for the latter club.
Soriano earned 25caps forSpain at youth level, scoring 27 times. He also played forCatalonia.
Born inEl Pont de Vilomara i Rocafort,Barcelona,Catalonia, Soriano emerged throughRCD Espanyol's youth ranks. He made his debut with the first team during the2002–03 season, playing one minute in a 3–1La Liga home win againstRayo Vallecano while still registered withthe B side.[2] He was not admitted as a full-time member of the main squad until2005–06.[3]
Soriano spent the second halves of that andthe following campaigns servingSegunda División loan stints, after which he returned to theEstadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, scoring twice in 24 appearances duringthe season, incidentally in both 1–0 victories overGetafe CF.[4][5]
In late January 2009, Soriano moved again on loan (and in the second tier), joiningAlbacete Balompié until the end ofthe campaign and being released by Espanyol after this spell, his contract not having been renewed.[6]
On 30 July 2009, Soriano joinedFC Barcelona'sreserves inSegunda División B.[7] He made his official first-team debut on 28 October 2009, playing the dying minutes of the 2–0 win atCultural y Deportiva Leonesa in theround of 32 of theCopa del Rey (7–0 on aggregate).[8] In the league, he ranked amongst the season's top scorers as the teamreturned to the second division after an 11-year absence.[9]
Soriano fared even better in2010–11, netting 32 times as Barcelona B finished in thepromotion play-offs zone, being however ineligible for contention.[10][11][12] This tally gave him the division'sPichichi Trophy,[13] and in the process he eclipsed the club's previous record for most goals by a player in a single season, which was 15 byMartín Domínguez in1987–88.[14] His performances caught the eyes ofReal Betis,[15] and his failure to get a contract with Barcelona was compared to the success of2. Bundesliga top scorerNils Petersen in signing forFC Bayern Munich.[16]
On 19 January 2012, Soriano moved to theAustrian Football Bundesliga withFC Red Bull Salzburg.[17] Inhis first year he helped his team winthe double,[18] but needing time to adapt, he contributed only five goals in 15 games.[19]
Soriano wassent off on 17 July 2012 in a 1–0 loss atF91 Dudelange, having played only 37 minutes as a substitute forGonzalo Zárate in the first leg ofthe second qualifying round of theUEFA Champions League.[20] He struck 26 goals in 32 games over theleague season, including a hat-trick on 20 April 2013 in a 6–2 win againstWolfsberger AC; that morning, he witnessed his wife Cristina Sabater giving birth to their daughter.[21]
In the summer of 2013, Soriano was appointed Red Bull's newcaptain.[22] He scored ahat-trick in theirUEFA Europa League play-off first leg againstVMFD Žalgiris Vilnius, a5–0 victory on 22 August.[23] In his team's first match in the group stage, on 19 September, he added another three to help to a 4–0 home defeat ofIF Elfsborg.[24] In theround of 32, he grabbed a brace in a 2–0 win atAFC Ajax,[25] and despite the team exiting in the next stage, he was the tournament's top scorer with eight goals, only the second Spaniard to do so afterRayo Vallecano'sBolo in2000–01.[26]
Soriano was the league's top scorer with 31 goals in 28 games – including four hat-tricks – as Salzburgregained the title. TheAustrian Cup alsoreturned to the team, and he netted another treble in a 9–0 first-round rout of lowlyUnion St. Florian.[27] In the final on 18 May, he scored twice in a 4–2 win overSKN St. Pölten at theWörthersee Stadion.[28]
On 10 August 2014, Soriano scored five goals in an 8–0 home league demolition ofSV Grödig.[29] On 6 November, he netted a hat-trick as Salzburg won 5–1 atGNK Dinamo Zagreb in theEuropa League group stage.[30] He extended his contract in January of the following year until June 2018 or 2019, and at the end ofthe campaign was voted the league's Player of the Year.[31] In thecup final, he scored anextra-time goal in a 2–0 win overFK Austria Wien.[32]
On 26 September 2015, Soriano scored four goals in a 4–2 home win againstSV Mattersburg.[33] On 24 October, he netted his 100th league goal whilst helping to a 2–1 victory overSV Ried also at theRed Bull Arena.[34] He arrived at the century mark in 113 games, quicker than national iconsHans Krankl andToni Polster,[35] and by the following March he had achieved 150 goals in 170 matches across all competitions; managerÓscar García stated: "He is the best footballer I have ever worked with. I hope he never leaves".[19]
For the third successive year, Soriano was the top scorer as his teamwon the league, and he scored three times in a 5–0 win overFC Admira Wacker Mödling in thecup final to seal another double.[36] In March 2017, the club retired his number 26 jersey.[37]
On 26 February 2017, Soriano signed forBeijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. after recommendation from former club playerFrédéric Kanouté.[38] He scored regularly overhis first season in theChinese Super League, although his team finished ninth. On 23 July, his brace gave them a 2–1 win atShanghai Greenland Shenhua FC.[39]
On 14 December 2018,free agent Soriano moved toSaudi Professional League clubAl Hilal SFC on a one-and-a-half-year contract.[40] He returned to his home country on 31 August 2019, after agreeing to a one-year deal at second-tierGirona FC.[41]
On 7 March 2021, after nearly eight months without a club, Soriano signed a short-term contract withCD Castellón, also in the second division.[42] On 24 September, his 36th birthday, he officially announced his retirement from professional football.[43]
Soriano was the top scorer at the2002 UEFA European Under-17 Championship with seven goals, asSpain came fourth in Denmark. All of his goals came in group stage victories, a hat-trick againstMoldova between braces against theCzech Republic andFR Yugoslavia.[44]
On 8 February 2005, as a half-timereplacement forAlberto Zapater, Soriano scored four times for theunder-21 team in a 14–0 thrashing ofSan Marino inEl Ejido.[45] He also took part on theCatalan representative side, scoring their goal in a draw withParaguay at theCamp Nou on 28 December 2005.[46]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Espanyol B | 2000–01 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | |||||
| 2002–03 | 25 | 9 | — | — | — | 25 | 9 | |||||
| 2003–04 | 16 | 6 | — | — | — | 16 | 6 | |||||
| 2004–05 | 17 | 15 | — | — | — | 17 | 15 | |||||
| Total | 70 | 32 | — | — | — | 70 | 32 | |||||
| Espanyol | 2002–03 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||||
| 2005–06 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3[b] | 0 | — | 8 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 3 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 43 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 57 | 6 | |||
| Almería (loan) | 2005–06 | Segunda División | 17 | 6 | — | — | — | 17 | 6 | |||
| Poli Ejido (loan) | 2006–07 | Segunda División | 12 | 2 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| Albacete (loan) | 2008–09 | Segunda División | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| Barcelona B | 2009–10 | Segunda División B | 32 | 18 | — | — | 5[c] | 4 | 37 | 22 | ||
| 2010–11 | Segunda División | 37 | 32 | — | — | — | 37 | 32 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 10 | 5 | — | — | — | 10 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 79 | 55 | — | — | 5 | 4 | 84 | 59 | ||||
| Barcelona | 2009–10 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2011–12 | Austrian Bundesliga | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 15 | 5 | |
| 2012–13 | 33 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 29 | |||
| 2013–14 | 28 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 11[e] | 12 | — | 43 | 48 | |||
| 2014–15 | 32 | 31 | 5 | 7 | 12[f] | 8 | — | 49 | 46 | |||
| 2015–16 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 10 | 1[g] | 1 | — | 34 | 32 | |||
| 2016–17 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10[h] | 4 | — | 23 | 12 | |||
| Total | 144 | 120 | 21 | 27 | 37 | 25 | — | 202 | 172 | |||
| Beijing Guoan | 2017 | Chinese Super League | 19 | 16 | 1 | 3 | — | — | 20 | 19 | ||
| 2018 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 16 | 12 | ||||
| Total | 31 | 25 | 5 | 6 | — | — | 36 | 31 | ||||
| Al Hilal | 2018–19 | Saudi Pro League | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[i] | 1 | 13 | 4 | |
| Girona | 2019–20 | Segunda División | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 17 | 3 | ||
| Castellón | 2020–21 | Segunda División | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 439 | 248 | 42 | 38 | 40 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 528 | 316 | ||
Espanyol
Red Bull Salzburg
Beijing Guoan
Individual
