Adrián López Álvarez

Adrián

Adrián playing for Spain under-21s
Personal information
Full name	Adrián López Álvarez
Date of birth	(1988-01-08) 8 January 1988 (age 24)
Place of birth	Teverga, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Atlético Madrid
Number	7
Youth career
2004–2005	Oviedo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2006	Oviedo	30	(4)
2006–2011	Deportivo La Coruña	92	(13)
2008	→ Alavés (loan)	10	(3)
2008–2009	→ Málaga (loan)	28	(3)
2011–	Atlético Madrid	36	(7)
National team‡
2005	Spain U17	1	(0)
2007	Spain U19	3	(3)
2007	Spain U20	5	(5)
2007–2011	Spain U21	19	(9)
2012–	Spain	2	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 May 2012

Adrián López Álvarez, simply Adrián (born 8 January 1988 in Teverga, Asturias), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid as a forward.

Club career

Oviedo / Deportivo

A product of Real Oviedo's youth system, Adrián quickly made the transition into Oviedo’s first squad, scoring twice in 26 matches, while playing in Segunda División B. However, he didn’t have a professional contract because he was a youth player, and the only way to acquire his services for free was to offer him a professional contract.

Deportivo de La Coruña obliged and, in October 2006, Oviedo were given a €330.000 compensation by the La Liga side. Adrián's finest moment of the 2006–07 season arrived when, on 31 March 2007, he entered Deportivo’s league match in the Camp Nou in the 61st minute. Although FC Barcelona won it 2–1, he managed to score with a clever touch;^[1] it was his only league goal of the campaign, in 15 appearances (six starts, 750 minutes).

After receiving few first team opportunities during 2007–08, Adrián was loaned to Segunda División strugglers Deportivo Alavés, in March 2008. After helping the Basque team avoid relegation with three league goals, he returned to A Coruña to be loaned again, on 14 August, now to newly-promoted Málaga CF, on a season-long deal.

On 28 September 2008, Adrián scored his first goal for Málaga, in a 2–1 home win over Real Valladolid, and appeared regularly throughout the season, albeit without a good scoring record (only three goals). For 2009–10, he returned to Deportivo, where he began to feature prominently in the starting XI, in various offensive positions. On 23 March 2010, he equalized for 10-men (eventually nine) Depor at Sporting de Gijón, in a final 1–2 loss.^[2]

Adrián continued to appear regularly for Deportivo in the 2010–11 campaign, again as a starter. In the season's Copa del Rey, the Galicians faced Córdoba CF in the round-of-16: after a 1–1 draw in Andalusia, he scored the 1–1 in the 90th minute of the second leg, taking the match to extra time, where he netted two more (3–1 win) to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.^[3][4] He finished the season as the team's top scorer at eight (in 36 games), but Deportivo returned to the second division after 20 years.

Atlético Madrid

Adrián was cleared to join Atlético Madrid on a free transfer, after it was ruled he was a free agent. He signed for the club on 19 July 2011, agreeing to a four-year contract.^[5] Nine days later, in his official debut, he assisted in both José Antonio Reyes goals in a 2–1 home win against Strømsgodset IF, for the season's UEFA Europa League.^[6] In the second leg, he scored the opening goal for in a 2–0 success.

In the same competition, on 25 August 2011, Adrián added a brace in a 4–0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães (6–0 on aggregate), which ensured Atlético's qualification to the group stage.^[7] His first league goal came in a 4–0 home win against Racing de Santander on 18 September, heading in the closer from an Arda Turan cross.^[8]

As volatile Reyes became increasingly disgruntled with his reserve status at the club, Adrián firmly established himself in the starting eleven. In two games separated by only five days, he scored four goals, netting braces against Real Zaragoza in the league (3–1 home win) and Udinese Calcio (4–0, also at home) in the Europa League;^[9][10] in the latter competition, as the team reached and won the final, he scored 11 goals all rounds comprised.

International career

From left: Juan Mata, Adrián and Alberto Botía.

In the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada, Adrián scored a hat-trick for Spain on 7 July, in the final group stage game against Jordan, with all three goals coming in a span of 10 minutes, late in the first half.^[11]

Subsequently, he represented the under-21s in two UEFA European Championships. In the 2011 edition in Denmark, Adrián scored a brace in a 2–0 group stage win against the Czech Republic,^[12] adding another in the next match against Ukraine (3–0).^[13] In the semifinal against Belarus, he scored the late 1–1 equalizer which took the game into extra time, adding another in that period in an eventual 3–1 success;^[14] he was awarded the Golden Boot as the highest scorer in the tournament.^[15]

Adrián made his full team debut on 26 May 2012 in a friendly with Serbia: after replacing Roberto Soldado at half-time, he scored with a header in the 64th minute, and later gained a penalty kick which resulted in the final 2–0 in St. Gallen.^[16]

International goals

Scores and results table:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 May 2012	AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland	Serbia	1–0	2–0	Friendly

Club statistics

(correct as of 5 May 2012)

Honours

Club

Atlético Madrid

• UEFA Europa League: 2011–12

Country

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 2011

Individual

• 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup: Silver shoe (5 goals)
• 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Golden boot (5 goals), Team of the Tournament

References

External links

• Atlético Madrid official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• Deportivo archives
• Adrián López – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile

Spain squads v t e Spain squad – 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup 1 Adán (c) 2 Barragán 3 Crespo 4 Valiente 5 Piqué 6 M. Suárez 7 Calvo 8 J. García 9 Bueno 10 Granero 11 Capel 12 Canella 13 Bernabé 14 A. González 15 Iriome 16 Mata 17 Elustondo 18 A. López 19 Marquitos 20 Sunny 21 J. Martínez Coach: Meléndez v t e Spain squad – 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Roberto 2 Torres 3 Monreal 4 J. García 5 Torrejón 6 Javi Martínez 7 Sisi 8 R. García 9 Bojan 10 Jurado 11 Granero 12 Azpilicueta 13 Asenjo 14 S. Sánchez 15 Chico 16 Marcano 17 Capel 18 M. Suárez 19 Xisco 20 J. Pereira 21 Adrián 22 León 23 Adán Coach: López Caro v t e Spain squad – 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Winners (3rd Title) 1 Miño 2 Azpilicueta 3 Domínguez 4 J. Martínez 5 San José 6 Jeffrén 7 Adrián 8 Parejo 9 Bojan 10 Mata 11 Capel 12 Montoya 13 De Gea 14 Nsue 15 José Ángel 16 Ruiz 17 Dídac 18 Herrera 19 Thiago 20 Botía 21 R. Pérez 22 Muniain 23 Mariño Coach: Milla