Juan Ángel Albín

Juan Albín
Personal information
Full name Juan Ángel Albín Leites
Date of birth (1986-07-17) 17 July 1986
Place of birth Salto, Uruguay
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Omonia
Number 10
Youth career
2000–2004 Nacional
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Nacional 64 (24)
2006–2011 Getafe 116 (19)
2011–2013 Espanyol 13 (2)
2013 → Nacional (loan) 8 (1)
2013–2014 Petrolul Ploiești 37 (15)
2015–2018 Veracruz 62 (13)
2017 → Dinamo București (loan) 4 (0)
2018– Omonia 0 (0)
National team
2003 Uruguay U17 1 (1)
2005 Uruguay U20 3 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 May 2018

Juan Ángel Albín Leites (born 17 July 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Cypriot club AC Omonia mainly as an attacking midfielder.

He spent most of his career in Spain after starting out at Nacional, going on to acquire Spanish citizenship. He amassed La Liga totals of 129 games and 21 goals over the course of seven seasons, representing Getafe and Espanyol in the competition.

Club career

Early years

Born in Salto, Salto Department, Albín started his career at Club Nacional de Football, where he won two national championships. His strong performances earned him a transfer to Spanish team Getafe CF during the 2006 summer transfer window.

Getafe

In his first season, Albín appeared sparingly (13 La Liga games), but blossomed as first-choice in the following campaign as the Madrid outskirts team reached the quarterfinals in the UEFA Cup,[1] and a mid-table league position. After a coaching change brought Míchel to the club's bench, however, he began appearing less regularly;[2] on 29 November 2008, in a rare start, he scored in a 3–1 home win over Real Madrid.[3]

On 21 April 2009, also against Real Madrid, Albín was struck in the face by Pepe, in the mêlée which resulted after the Portuguese's aggression on Javier Casquero.[4] He continued being used intermittently in the 2010–11 campaign, netting a last-minute winner at home against Villarreal CF on 11 December 2010 but also being sent off for lifting his shirt, in a second bookable offense.[5]

Espanyol

In mid-April 2011, Getafe agreed to sell Albín to fellow league side RCD Espanyol for €3 million, as his contract was set to expire in June 2012.[6] He spent several months of his first season on the sidelines, nursing a leg injury.[7]

On 4 February 2012, Albín scored his first goal for the Catalans, netting in the 92nd minute for a 3–3 away draw against Athletic Bilbao.[8]

Late career

It's true that I came here for Contra, but I've found a great group [of players] and some incredible fans. [...] I want to stay.

— Albín, a few weeks before extending his contract, on 15 March 2014[9]

On 6 September 2013, Albín signed a one-year contract with FC Petrolul Ploiești in Romania, rejoining former Getafe teammate Cosmin Contra who was now a head coach.[10] He made his debut in Liga I on the 21st, scoring his team's only goal in a 1–1 draw at FC Dinamo București.

Although Albín admitted that Contra played a big role in his transfer at Petrolul, on 31 March 2014 he chose to extend his link by one year, even if at that time the coach had already left.[11] He ended the campaign with 28 matches and ten goals, all competitions comprised.

On 28 August 2014, Albín scored a goal against GNK Dinamo Zagreb in the second leg of the Europa League play-off round. However, his team lost 2–5 on aggregate and failed to progress to the group stage.[12]

On 16 December 2014, as Petrolul faced financial issues which led to insolvency and later bankruptcy, Albín was transferred to Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz of Mexico.[13] He returned to Romania and its top division nearly three years later, joining Dinamo București on a season-long loan with an option to buy in June 2018.[14]

On 18 July 2018, 32-year-old Albín joined Cypriot First Division club AC Omonia.[15]

International career

Albín represented Uruguay at under-17[16] and under-20 level.[17]

Style of play

Albín, who is predominantly left-footed, primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also be deployed as a winger. He was described as a footballer with "great speed and a very good technique"[18] and, during his first spell in Romania, was regarded as one of the best free kick takers in the competition.[19][20]

Adrian Mutu, who played with him at Petrolul, regarded Albín in 2016 as the best foreigner that the Romanian championship ever had.[21]

Honours

Club

Nacional

Getafe

Veracruz

References

  1. ↑ "Albín fires Getafe into last eight". UEFA. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Albín: "Pensaba que Míchel me iba a tratar de otra forma"" [Albín: "I thought Míchel was going to treat me differently"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 25 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Miserable return for Schuster". ESPN Soccernet. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "Pepe receives 10-game ban". Sportsnet. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Albin leaves it late". ESPN Soccernet. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "El Getafe traspasa a Albín al Espanyol por 3 millones de euros" [Getafe transfer Albín to Espanyol for 3 million euros]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 April 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  7. ↑ "Albín, operado y tres meses KO" [Albín, surgery and three months out]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 13 September 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "Athletic y Espanyol igualaron en un duelo espectacular" [Athletic and Espanyol drew in spectacular duel] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Pierde Petrolul stranierul cu cel mai bun CV din Liga 1? » Ce spune Albin despre o eventuală despărţire de "lupi"" [Will Petrolul lose Liga I's player with the best CV? » What Albín says about leaving the "wolves"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Juan Angel Albin a semnat cu FC Petrolul Ploieşti" [Juan Ángel Albín has signed with FC Petrolul Ploieşti] (in Romanian). Petrolul Ploiești. 6 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Juan Albin a semnat prelungirea contractului" [Juan Albín signed the contract extension] (in Romanian). Petrolul Ploiești. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Dinamo Zagreb 2–1 Petrolul". UEFA. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Juan Ángel Albín es refuerzo de nuestro equipo" [Juan Ángel Albín is an addition to our team] (in Spanish). Tiburones Rojos. 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "OFICIAL. Juan ALBIN la Dinamo" [OFFICIAL. Juan ALBÍN to Dinamo] (in Romanian). FC Dinamo București. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "Juan Albin a semnat cu Omonia Nicosia. Uruguayanul a plecat de la Dinamo după o bătaie în Centrul Vechi" [Juan Albín signed with Omonia Nicosia. The Uruguayan left Dinamo after being involved in a brawl in the Old Town]. Libertatea (in Romanian). 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Sigue su preparación la selección sub 17" [Under-17 national team still preparing] (in Spanish). La Red 21. 28 March 2003. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "XXII Sudamericano Juvenil 2005 (Colombia)" [XXII Youth Southamerican 2005 (Colombia)] (in Spanish). RSSSF. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  18. ↑ ""Începe să-şi arate valoarea!" El e omul cu care Petrolul vrea să îi 'fure' titlul Stelei. A fost la un pas de Real în urmă cu patru ani" ["He starts to show his full potential!" He is the player with which Petrolul wants to 'steal' Steaua's title. He was close to signing with Real four year ago] (in Romanian). ProSport. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Juan Albin, două goluri, unul dintr-o lovitură liberă fabuloasă" [Juan Albín scored a double, of which one goal was the result of an incredible free kick.]. Adevărul (in Romanian). 25 November 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "Gol Petrolul! Brac își îngroapă echipa. Execuție perfectă a lui Albin" [Petrolul score! Brać makes an awful mistake. Perfect free kick taken by Albín] (in Romanian). Look TV. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "Mutu: "Cel mai bun străin care a ajuns vreodată în România a jucat cu mine. 90% sunt slabi"" [Mutu: "The best foreigner ever who came to Romania played with me. 90% of the others are weak"] (in Romanian). DigiSport. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
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