Javier Calleja

Javier Calleja
Personal information
Full name Javier Calleja Revilla
Date of birth (1978-05-12) 12 May 1978
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1998 Real Madrid C 60 (11)
1998 Almería 3 (0)
1998–1999 Alcalá
1999–2006 Villarreal 124 (9)
1999–2000 → Onda (loan) 29 (17)
2006–2009 Málaga 104 (5)
2009–2012 Osasuna 46 (1)
Total 366 (43)
National team
1993 Spain U16 1 (0)

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


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

Javier Calleja Revilla (born 12 May 1978) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a left midfielder.

He amassed La Liga totals of 192 games and nine goals over the course of one full decade, mainly with Villarreal (six seasons) and Osasuna (three). He also represented Málaga in the competition, in a professional career which lasted 16 years.

Club career

After growing unsuccessfully through the ranks of Real Madrid and making his professional debuts with lowly UD Almería, Madrid-born Calleja was bought by Villarreal CF, but spent some months with its feeder club CD Onda. He made his first-team debuts in the second division, playing nine games in the 1999–2000 campaign as the side returned to La Liga and contributing with one goal, in the 1–3 away loss against CA Osasuna.

In his first three seasons in the category, Calleja was a very important member for the Yellow Submarine, scoring four goals in 35 matches in 2001–02. On 5 April 2003, he netted a penalty kick as a late substitute in a 2–0 home win over FC Barcelona, dedicating the goal to his mother who had died hours before;[1] however, the emergence of Santi Cazorla and two consecutive serious knee injuries limited him to just 25 appearances the following three campaigns combined.[2]

In 2006–07, Calleja left Villarreal joining Málaga CF. He was an instant first-choice in Andalusia, appearing in 38 contests in his second season as the club returned to the top flight after a two-year hiatus.

After a serious injury to teammate Adriano Rossato, Calleja spent much of the following campaign playing as left back.[3][4] On 12 June 2009, after his contract with Málaga expired, he moved to Osasuna in a 2+1 years deal.[5]

Honours

References

  1. ↑ El Villarreal impone la pena máxima al Barcelona (Villarreal imposes maximum penalty on Barcelona); Terra, 5 April 2003 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Javier Calleja: "Ahora estoy seguro de que he hecho lo correcto al quedarme" (Javier Calleja: "Now i'm sure i did the right thing by staying"); El Periódico Mediterráneo, 20 January 2006 (Spanish)
  3. ↑ Calleja (Málaga): "Soy optimista, pero sé que la dificultad de ganar en el Bernabéu es muy grande" (Calleja (Málaga): "I am optimistic, but I know it is very difficult to win at the Bernabéu"); Europa Press, 6 November 2008 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ ""Formamos una gran pareja de laterales"" ["We are a great set of fullbacks"] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Calleja refuerza la banda izquierda de Osasuna (Calleja strengthens Osasuna's left flank); Marca, 12 June 2009 (Spanish)
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