Javier Portillo

Javier Portillo
Personal information
Full name Javier García Portillo
Date of birth (1982-03-30) 30 March 1982
Place of birth Aranjuez, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Forward
Youth career
1994–2001 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Real Madrid B 28 (17)
2002–2006 Real Madrid 31 (6)
2004Fiorentina (loan) 11 (1)
2005–2006Club Brugge (loan) 24 (8)
2006–2007 Gimnàstic 34 (11)
2007–2009 Osasuna 40 (3)
2010–2011 Hércules 42 (6)
2011–2012 Las Palmas 34 (8)
2012–2015 Hércules 128 (36)
Total 372 (96)
National team
2002–2003 Spain U21 10 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Javier García Portillo (born 30 March 1982 in Aranjuez, Community of Madrid) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward.

He started out at Real Madrid, but appeared in only 59 competitive games during his tenure (17 goals). In La Liga, he also played for Gimnàstic, Osasuna and Hércules for a total of 131 matches and 21 goals, and also competed professionally in Italy and Belgium.

During a 14-year senior career, Portillo represented Hércules in all three major levels of Spanish football.

Club career

In 1994, aged 12, Portillo entered Real Madrid's youth system. During seven seasons he was a prolific scorer, netting 150 goals and breaking a record previously held by Raúl. In 2002 he signed his first professional contract, running until 2007 with a release clause of 35 million.

On 6 October 2002, Portillo made his first La Liga appearance and second overall for the main squad, starting in a 5–2 home win against Deportivo Alavés[1] and ending that season with five goals in only ten games. He also scored a vital last-minute equaliser against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League second group phase, a goal which ultimately proved to be crucial in the Merengues' making it into the knockout stages.[2]

In July 2004, Portillo was loaned to Serie A side ACF Fiorentina, but was recalled by new manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who arrived midway through the 2004–05 campaign.[3] However, the same coach deemed him surplus to requirements and another loan ensued, to Club Brugge KV in the Belgian Pro League.

At the end of this loan period, Portillo returned to Real under newly hired coach Fabio Capello. With new signing Ruud van Nistelrooy adding to already present Raúl, Antonio Cassano and Ronaldo, he was released and signed a two-year contract with recently promoted Gimnàstic de Tarragona.[4]

After a successful individual season (12 goals across all competitions, although the Catalans were relegated from the top flight), in July 2007 Portillo replaced at Osasuna Roberto Soldado, who returned from loan to Real Madrid.[5] He was used irregularly during his first two campaigns, and only netted three times in the league.

In late December 2009, Portillo – who was only fourth or fifth-choice striker for Osasuna coach José Antonio Camacho[6]– finally moved clubs, signing until the end of the season plus two more with second division's Hércules CF. After some time to adjust he finished in the starting XI, netting vital goals in the final stretch, including one in the last round for a 2–0 win at Real Unión as the Alicante club returned to the first division after 13 years.[7]

In 2010–11, Portillo returned to reserve status after Hércules signed David Trezeguet and Nelson Valdez in the off-season. He only started through injury or suspension to the pair, and only scored twice in official matches, one coming in a 3–1 away win against Real Sociedad on 3 April 2011,[8] with Hércules being immediately relegated back.

On 2 August 2011, Portillo signed for three years with UD Las Palmas in the second level.[9] For the 2012–13 season, however, he moved teams again, returning to Hércules on a three-year deal.[10]

International career

During one year – shortly after his arrival at the Real Madrid senior setup – Portillo played ten times for Spain under-21s, and scored five goals.[11][12][13]

Club statistics

As of 9 June 2013[14][15]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2001–02Real MadridLa Liga------1111
2002–0310568--712314
2003–0418171--40292
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2004–05FiorentinaSerie A11173----184
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2004–05Real MadridLa Liga3010----40
Belgium League Belgian Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005–06Club BruggeBelgian Pro League248--83
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2006–07GimnàsticLa Liga341121----3612
2007–08Osasuna18220----202
2008–0920120----221
2009–102010----30
2009–10HérculesSegunda División15521----176
2010–11La Liga26121----282
2011–12Las PalmasSegunda División34810----358
2012–13Hércules401710----4117
Total Spain 202442712--12224158
Italy 11173----184
Belgium 248--833211
Career total 237533415205

Honours

Club

Real Madrid
Club Brugge

Individual

References

  1. Ronaldo irrumpe con dos goles en media hora (Ronaldo bursts with two goals in thirty minutes); El Mundo, 6 October 2002 (in Spanish)
  2. Javier García Portillo – Matches in European Cups; at RSSSF
  3. Portillo regresa al Real Madrid (Portillo returns to Real Madrid); El Mundo, 14 January 2005 (in Spanish)
  4. El Real Madrid traspasa a Portillo al Nástic de Tarragona (Real Madrid transfer Portillo to Nástic de Tarragona); El País, 7 August 2006 (in Spanish)
  5. Duo boost Osasuna forward line; UEFA, 19 June 2007
  6. Osasuna no coloca a Portillo y Nico Medina se queda sin ficha (Osasuna cannot relocate Portillo and Nico Medina is not registered); Marca, 1 September 2009 (in Spanish)
  7. El Hércules vuelve a Primera y condena al Real Unión (Hércules return to Primera and condemn Real Unión); Marca, 19 June 2010 (in Spanish)
  8. Hercules claim giant win; ESPN Soccernet, 3 April 2011
  9. La UD Las Palmas ficha al delantero Portillo por tres temporadas (UD Las Palmas sign forward Portillo for three seasons Archived 18 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine.; UD Las Palmas, 2 August 2011 (in Spanish)
  10. Portillo regresa al Hércules (Portillo returns to Hércules) Archived 17 February 2013 at Archive.is; Hércules CF, 2 August 2012 (in Spanish)
  11. Los Sub'21 tumban a Eslovenia con tres golpes (The Under'21s down Slovenia with three blows); El Mundo, 15 October 2002 (in Spanish)
  12. Portillo abrió el camino al festival goleador sub 21 (Portillo paved way for under 21 scoring festival); ABC, 20 November 2002 (in Spanish)
  13. Los sub'21 se conforman con endosar una 'manita' a Armenia (Under'21s settle with handing Armenia a 'fiver'); El Mundo, 2 April 2003 (in Spanish)
  14. "Javi Portillo". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  15. Javier Portillo at ESPN FC
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