Diego León
 León with Nea Salamina in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego León Ayarza | ||
| Date of birth | 16 January 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Palencia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Doxa | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2004 | Real Madrid B | 10 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Real Madrid | 0 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Arminia Bielefeld II (loan) | 18 | (7) |
| 2005 | → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Grasshoppers | 30 | (3) |
| 2007 | Grasshoppers II | 8 | (8) |
| 2008–2009 | Barnsley | 37 | (2) |
| 2009–2010 | Las Palmas | 22 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Wacker Burghausen | 11 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Nea Salamina | 17 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Kerkyra | 26 | (0) |
| 2013–2015 | Nea Salamina | 57 | (12) |
| 2015 | Olympiacos Volou | 5 | (1) |
| 2015– | Doxa | 1 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2001 | Spain U16 | 16 | (6) |
| 2001 | Spain U17 | 4 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 1 February 2016 (UTC). | |||
Diego León Ayarza (born 16 January 1984 in Palencia, Castile and León) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Cypriot club Doxa Katokopias F.C. as a midfielder.
Club career
Real Madrid / Grasshoppers
A youth product of Real Madrid, León could never appear for more than its B-team. He was initially given a number with the main squad for the 2004–05 season, but moved to Arminia Bielefeld in Germany (first on loan) in January 2005 before he could make his official debut for the Spanish giants.
León stayed at Arminia until the end of the 2005–06 campaign, after which he joined Grasshopper Club Zürich in the Swiss Super League.
Barnsley
On 21 December 2007, it was announced that León had signed a pre-contract agreement with Barnsley, with the transfer due to go through at the opening of the transfer window. The Yorkshire club had hoped to make the move official in time for him to play in the FA Cup third-round tie against Blackpool on 5 January 2008, but had to wait until the 9th:[1] he made his first appearance that evening, playing in a reserve team match against Sheffield United.
León put in a great performance to earn himself his first matchball as a Barnsley player, with a Man of the match award against Colchester United on 29 January 2008. He went on to play in the memorable away victory over Premier League's Liverpool in the FA Cup,[2] and also played a key role in the Reds 3–0 win at Watford on 9 April, being involved in all three goals, including a sumptuous flick for Jon Macken to square to Kayode Odejayi to score: his corner allowed Stephen Foster to head home and his throughball enabled Odejayi to score his second.
In the following game against Preston North End, León netted a key goal in Barnsley's Championship survival in the 2007–08 campaign, scoring from a 35-yard free kick for the 2–1 triumph.[3] His second and final goal for the Tykes came in a 3–2 win over Burnley on 24 November 2008[4] and, on 7 May of the following year, he was told, along with Dennis Souza, Kyle Letheren and Marciano van Homoet he was free to look for a new club in the summer; shortly after he returned to his country, agreeing a deal with Segunda División side UD Las Palmas.[5]
Later years
On 13 December 2010 León moved teams – and countries – again, signing with lowly SV Wacker Burghausen in Germany.[6] In June of the following year, after a failed move to HNK Hajduk Split, he joined Nea Salamis Famagusta FC in Cyprus.
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup[9] | Continental[10] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid B | 2002–03 | Segunda División B | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Real Madrid | 2004–05 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Arminia Bielefeld | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| Grasshoppers | 2006–07 | Swiss Super League | 26 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 37 | 6 |
| 2007–08 | Swiss Super League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 6 | ||
| Barnsley | 2007–08 | Championship | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| Total | 37 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Las Palmas | 2009–10 | Segunda División | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| Total | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Wacker Burghausen | 2010–11 | 3. Liga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Nea Salamina | 2011–12 | Cypriot First Division | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| Kerkyra | 2012–13 | Superleague Greece | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Total | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| Nea Salamina | 2013–14 | Cypriot First Division | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 8 |
| 2014–15 | Cypriot First Division | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |
| Total | 57 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 12 | ||
| Career total | 217 | 19 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 240 | 22 | ||
Honours
- Spain U16
References
- ↑ "Diego free to play!!!". Barnsley F.C. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
- ↑ "Liverpool 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ↑ "Preston 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ↑ "Barnsley 3–2 Burnley". BBC Sport. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ↑ "Diego León rescinde contrato y Francis Suárez, cedido a la Ponferradina" [Diego León has contract terminated and Francis Suárez, loaned to Ponferradina] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Wacker Burghausen verstärkt Offensive" [Wacker Burghausen strengthens offense] (in German). Fussball 24. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ↑ "Diego León: Diego León Ayarza". BDFutbol. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ↑ "Diego León". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ↑ Includes DFB-Pokal, Swiss Super Cup, FA Cup, Football League Cup and Greek Football Cup
- ↑ Includes UEFA Europa League and UEFA Intertoto Cup
External links
- Diego León profile at BDFutbol
- Diego León profile at Fussballdaten
- Diego León career statistics at Soccerbase
- Diego León – FIFA competition record
- Official website (Spanish)
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