Albert Celades

Albert Celades

Celades with the New York Red Bulls in 2009
Personal information
Full name Albert Celades López
Date of birth (1975-09-29) 29 September 1975
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Spain U21 (coach)
Youth career
1990–1994 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Barcelona B 14 (3)
1995–1999 Barcelona 72 (4)
1999–2000 Celta 24 (1)
2000–2005 Real Madrid 56 (1)
2003–2004 → Bordeaux (loan) 27 (3)
2005–2008 Zaragoza 71 (2)
2009 New York Red Bulls 17 (1)
2010 Kitchee 0 (0)
Total 281 (15)
National team
1991–1992 Spain U16 2 (0)
1992 Spain U17 3 (0)
1993–1994 Spain U18 8 (1)
1996–1998 Spain U21 8 (1)
1998–2000 Spain 4 (0)
1998–2005 Catalonia 7 (1)
Teams managed
2013 Spain U20
2014– Spain U21

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Celades and the second or maternal family name is López.

Albert Celades López (born 29 September 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and the current manager of the Spanish under-21 team.

A tactically astute player with a strong defensive mentality, he is best known for his stints with Barcelona and Real Madrid,[1] and he amassed La Liga total of 223 games and eight goals over the course of 12 seasons, winning 14 major titles both teams combined.

Celades appeared with the Spanish national team at the 1998 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Celades – who left Barcelona at age seven with his family to live in Andorra –[2] was a product of FC Barcelona's youth system. He made his debuts with the main squad during 1995–96, and finished his first professional season with 16 games and two goals as the Catalans finished third in La Liga. Nevertheless, he would still spend another full campaign with the club's B-team.

In 1997–98, Celades played in 36 matches, mostly as a sweeper,[3][4] as the Louis van Gaal-led team conquered the national title after a three-year drought. He also started both legs of the 1997 UEFA Super Cup, helping Barça to a 3–1 aggregate victory over Borussia Dortmund, but appeared less significantly in the following season, with Barça renewing its domestic supremacy.

After a year with Celta de Vigo, Celades moved to Real Madrid, against which he had scored the winner (1–0) in the previous campaign, on 28 November 1999.[5] During four seasons he was used sparingly, but added two league trophies and the 2002 UEFA Champions League to his résumé. He also played 2003–04 on loan, to Ligue 1 side FC Girondins de Bordeaux.[6]

From 2005 to 2008, Celades represented Real Zaragoza:[7] in his first year he helped the club reach the Copa del Rey final, and would be relatively used during three seasons, as the Aragonese were relegated at the end of 2007–08, and the player was released after his contract expired. In February 2009, he went on trial with the New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer[8] and, after impressing, signed in March.[9]

Celades retired from competitive football on 24 October 2009, immediately following the conclusion of the MLS season.[10] However, in early 2010, Kitchee SC from Hong Kong signed him, alongside compatriot Agustín Aranzábal;[11] they both appeared with the team at the 2010 Lunar New Year Cup, a mid-season exhibition tournament.

International career

Celades played four times for Spain, and was a participant at the 1998 FIFA World Cup with two substitute appearances against Nigeria[12] and Paraguay[13] in an eventual group stage exit.

His debut was on 3 June 1998, in a 4–1 friendly win with Northern Ireland in Santander where he started and played the entire game,[14] and his last match consisted of 30 minutes in a 2–1 away success over Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.

On 7 May 2014, after Julen Lopetegui left for FC Porto, Celades was named manager of the Spanish under-21s.[15] In October, the team lost their play-off against Serbia for entrance to the 2015 UEFA European Championship, in which they would have been defending champions; the 1–2 second leg loss in Cádiz was their first in 35 games.[16]

Honours

Club

Barcelona
Real Madrid
Zaragoza

References

External links

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