 Oleguer training withAjax in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oleguer Presas Renom[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-02-02)2 February 1980 (age 45)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sabadell, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft1+1⁄2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lepanto | |||
| Sant Gabriel | |||
| 1997–1999 | Gramenet | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2001 | Gramenet | 35 | (2) |
| 2001–2003 | Barcelona B | 68 | (2) |
| 2003–2008 | Barcelona | 127 | (1) |
| 2008–2011 | Ajax | 36 | (2) |
| Total | 266 | (7) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2009 | Catalonia | 6 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Oleguer Presas Renom (born 2 February 1980), known simply asOleguer, is a Spanish former professionalfootballer. Primarily acentre-back, he could also operate as a defensiveright-back.
During his career, he was mostly associated withBarcelona, with which he won twoLa Liga championships and the2006 Champions League, appearing in 175 competitive matches. He signed forAjax in 2008, where he remained until his retirement.[2]
Oleguer was also known for his political approach; he supported left-wing causes andCatalan nationalism, which caused some controversy and led to one sponsor dropping him.[3][4][5]
Born inSabadell,Barcelona,Catalonia, Oleguer started his career at modest CD Lepanto, a club from his hometown. In 1997, he joined neighboursUDA Gramenet fromCE Sant Gabriel, making his senior debut two years later whilst at the service of the former.[6]
At 21, Oleguer signed withFC Barcelona, spending his debut season withtheir reserves. He would make his first-team debut during a2002–03 UEFA Champions League match againstGalatasaray SK, a 3–1 home victory where he came on as a latesubstitute forFrank de Boer.[7] Duringthat season he played for both sides, on occasion being a last-minute addition to the main squad.[8]
On 17 May 2006,Barça beatArsenal to win theChampions League forthe second time in its history. Oleguer started the match, but on the day he appeared tense and slow, struggling to neutraliseFreddie Ljungberg's runs down the wing and more importantly not being able to stopSol Campbell scoring the opening goal.[6] In the 71st minute he wassubstituted in favour ofJuliano Belletti by managerFrank Rijkaard, and the Brazilian went on to score the decider with less than ten minutes to go.[9]
Oleguer signed a contract extension in July 2006, keeping him with the club until 2010.[10] He had the honor ofcaptaining the team for the first time in their initial pre-season game of the2006–07 campaign, in recognition of his work over the last few seasons. With the arrival ofGianluca Zambrotta andLilian Thuram,[11] he found himself coming on from the bench in the first few matches ofthe season. On 29 November 2006, he was awarded thePresident Companys award for his efforts in promoting the official recognition of Catalan sports at an international level.[12]
2007–08 started positively in sporting terms, as Oleguer became a fixture in Rijkaard's starting eleven. However, he was accused of assaulting a policeman during an incident in a bar in Sabadell which occurred in 2003.[13] He also spoke out against the banning of theCatalan national team by theRoyal Spanish Football Federation, when the former was scheduled to play afriendly against theUnited States in conjunction withFIFA-recognised international fixtures in that same week.[14]
On 9 February 2008, in aLa Liga match againstSevilla FC, Oleguer broke a bone in his left hand.[15] He was operated on but he spent six weeks on the sidelines, and he took almost no part in the team's campaign overall;[16] Barcelona finished third, and his only competitive goal took place on 24 April 2005 when he opened the 4–0 away defeat ofMálaga CF.[17]
On 29 July 2008, Oleguer signed a three-season deal withAFC Ajax, which paid€3 million plus 2.25 million in variables, including an option for another year.[18] ManagerMarco van Basten said: "I am happy that we have acquired Oleguer. His qualities fit exactly with what Ajax needs. We are all convinced of that. He has the right age, experience at a high level and is a real defender".[19]
Oleguer scored a rare goal on 18 October 2008, the game's only in a home win overFC Groningen.[20] He had an extended run during hisfirst season due to injuries to teammates, but played mostly as backup to Belgian youngstersToby Alderweireld andJan Vertonghen.[21][22]
After only appearing in seven official games for theAmsterdam team in2010–11, the 31-year-old Oleguer was released.[23]
Oleguer majored ineconomics from theAutonomous University of Barcelona.[6] On 30 March 2006 he published his first book with recollections on his youth, early career and the league triumph of 2004–05 (and the subsequent street parade through theAvinguda Diagonal inBarcelona). The book, calledCamí d'Itaca (The Road toIthaca), dealt with such varied subjects as childhoodanorexia, the anti-fascist struggle and the previous Spanish government's involvement in bothGulf Wars.[24]
Though injured just before the end of the 2005–06 season in a Champions League match and forced to miss the league-winning match againstRC Celta de Vigo, Oleguer was able to return to the pitch to play in the next match at theCamp Nou when the trophy was presented to the team. True to form, he celebrated wrapped in the colors of thesenyera estelada, the Catalan independence flag.[6]
Oleguer had sympathies withleft wing and Catalan nationalist causes (La Bressola)[25] and Escola Valenciana,[26][27] and was asked bySubcomandante Marcos of theZapatista Army of National Liberation to play a charity match inChiapas, Mexico, during the summer of 2005.[28] Later that year, he was invited to take part in a meeting of shortlisted players for theSpain national team, an invitation that he accepted only to tell managerLuis Aragonés he did not feel motivated enough to be selected.[29]
On 7 February 2007, in an article written forBasque language newspaperBerria, Oleguer questioned the validity and independence of legal and judicial processes in the Spanish state, using the example of convictedETA memberIñaki de Juana and hishunger strike to question those processes. His decision to write the article brought veiled criticism at Barcelona, both from coach Rijkaard and presidentJoan Laporta, as well as earning him disrespectful remarks from fellow professionalSalva Ballesta, known for hisFrancoist views.[30][31][32]
As a direct result of the article, Oleguer lost his boot sponsorship with sports firmKelme,[33] and he subsequently signed forDiadora.[34] He also became the subject of a strong public backlash among some elements in Spain, and was regularly heckled and booed in some of the country's football stadiums due to the article and his pro-Catalan independence stance.[35] When asked about whether he felt that he should not have written the piece, he replied, "The consequences I suffer are nothing compared to what many people go through. What did sadden me, though, was that most people didn't actually read the piece. If people engaged in dialogue with intelligence and still disagreed, then fine, but they didn't".
Oleguer later took Kelme to court, winning the case and being awarded €49.608 in compensation plus interests.[36] The company appealed, however, managing to overturn the original ruling in January 2009.[37]
In 2010, Oleguer appeared at a protest in Amsterdam against the Dutch ban onsquatting. His club Ajax had no problems with his presence, because he only participated in the peaceful sections of the protest.[38]
Oleguer was chosen as the eighty-third candidate on the CUP-Alternativa d'Esquerres list for theBarcelona electoral district in the 2012Catalan Parliament elections, with the aim of closing the list alongside writerJulià de Jòdar and lawyerAugust Gil Matamala, who were placed eighty-fourth and eighty-fifth respectively.[39][40][4] One example of this support was shown by the publication of the article "Ho volem tot" (We want it all).[41]
In 2015, Oleguer joined the list for Crida per Sabadell in the twenty-third position, the same number he wore during his time at Barcelona.[42][43] On 23 March 2018, the bookLa història de John Carlos, written byCarlos himself andDave Zirin and edited by Sembra Llibres, was published, for which he wrote the foreword.[44][45][46]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gramenet | 1999–2000 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Segunda División B | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 6[a] | 0 | 42 | 2 | ||
| Total | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 43 | 2 | |||
| Barcelona B | 2001–02 | Segunda División B | 28 | 0 | — | — | 6[a] | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Segunda División B | 28 | 2 | — | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||||
| 2003–04 | Segunda División B | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 2 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 74 | 2 | ||||
| Barcelona | 2002–03 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | — | 44 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11[b] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 127 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 175 | 1 | ||
| Ajax | 2008–09 | Eredivisie | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9[c] | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |
| 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Eredivisie | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| Total | 36 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 266 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 350 | 7 | ||
Barcelona
Ajax
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
