Javier Espinosa

Javier Espinosa González (born 19 September 1992) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Dutch club FC Twente as a central midfielder.[1]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Espinosa and the second or maternal family name is González.
Javier Espinosa
Espinosa in action for Elche in 2015
Personal information
Full name Javier Espinosa González
Date of birth (1992-09-19) 19 September 1992
Place of birth Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Twente
Number 8
Youth career
2005–2011 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Barcelona B 101 (14)
2014–2016 Villarreal 6 (1)
2015 → Almería (loan) 15 (1)
2015–2016 → Elche (loan) 38 (0)
2016–2018 Levante 27 (0)
2017–2018 → Granada (loan) 27 (2)
2018– Twente 52 (5)
National team
2009 Spain U17 5 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 February 2020

Club career

Barcelona B
Espinosa playing for Barcelona B in 2012

Born in Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Espinosa moved to FC Barcelona's youth system, La Masia, at the age of 13.[2] On 1 May 2010, whilst still a junior, he made his senior debut with the B-team, playing the second half in a 2–1 home win against Valencia CF Mestalla for the Segunda División B championship; on 26 February of the following year, after replacing fellow youth graduate Albert Dalmau, he contributed with one goal to a 6–4 Segunda División away victory over CD Numancia.[3]

Espinosa became a regular fixture under new manager Eusebio Sacristán. He scored five times in 27 games in the 2012–13 season, again spent in the second level, and continued to appear regularly in the following campaign, netting a career-best seven goals as Barça B finished third.[4]

Villarreal

On 11 July 2014, Espinosa signed a three-year deal with Villarreal CF.[5] He made his debut in La Liga on 31 August, replacing Cani in the 70th minute of a 0–1 loss against former club Barcelona.[6]

Espinosa scored his first goal in the top level on 21 September, netting his team's first in a 4–2 home win against Rayo Vallecano.[7] On 9 January 2015 he was loaned to fellow league side UD Almería, until June.[8]

On 28 August 2015, Espinosa joined Elche CF in the second division, in a season-long loan deal.[9]

Levante

On 19 July 2016, after cutting ties with Villarreal, Espinosa signed a two-year contract with Levante UD, recently relegated to the second tier.[10] After helping achieve promotion at the first attempt, he extended his link until 2019 and was immediately loaned to Granada CF for one year.[11]

On 30 August 2018, Espinosa terminated his contract with the Valencian club.[12]

Twente

On 31 August 2018, Espinosa moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing for FC Twente.[13] He made his debut in the Dutch Eerste Divisie on 8 September, starting in a 1–2 home loss against TOP Oss.[14]

Club statistics
As of 29 May 2016[15][16]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other [17] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2009–10 10—10
2010–11 41—41
2011–12 321—321
2012–13 275—275
2013–14 377—377
Total 1011400000010114
Villarreal 2014–15 612072—153
Almería 2014–15 15110—161
Elche 2015–16 38110—390
Career totals 1601740720017118

Honours

Club

Levante

Twente

International

Spain U17

References
  1. "Se reactiva el fichaje de Javier Espinosa" [Javier Espinosa signing again in the news] (in Spanish). Levante-EMV. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  2. Javi Espinosa: otro Iniesta se cuece en La Masía (Javi Espinosa: another Iniesta being cooked in La Masía) Archived 10 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Sport, 22 March 2011 (in Spanish)
  3. Festival de goles en Soria (Goal festival in Soria); Diario AS, 26 February 2011 (in Spanish)
  4. "Todos los goles del Barça B 2013–14" [All 2013–14 Barça B goals] (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  5. El Villarreal CF ficha a Javier Espinosa (Villarreal CF sign Javier Espinosa) Archived 2014-08-10 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal CF, 11 July 2014 (in Spanish)
  6. Sandro Ramirez strikes to give Barcelona victory over Villarreal; ESPN FC, 31 August 2014
  7. El Villarreal llega a tiempo (Villarreal arrive on time); Marca, 21 September 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. El Almería cierra el fichaje del centrocampista Espinosa, un jugador de calidad y talento (Almería complete the signing of midfielder Espinosa, a player of quality and talent) Archived 9 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine; UD Almería, 9 January 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. Espinosa jugará cedido en el Elche CF (Espinosa will play on loan at Elche CF); Villarreal CF, 28 August 2015 (in Spanish)
  10. El Levante UD llega a un acuerdo con Javier Espinosa para su incorporación para las dos próximas temporadas (Levante UD reach an agreement with Javier Espinosa for his signing for the following two seasons); Levante UD, 19 July 2016 (in Spanish)
  11. Comunicado | Espinosa se suma al Granada CF (Announcement | Espinosa adds to Granada CF); Granada CF, 7 August 2017 (in Spanish)
  12. "Espinosa se desvincula del Levante" [Espinosa cuts ties with Levante] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  13. Sancho, Luis; Casero, Javier (31 August 2018). "Espinosa ya es jugador del Twente" [Espinosa is already a Twente player] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  14. Van Nassau, Johan (8 September 2018). "Matig spelend FC Twente onderuit tegen TOP Oss: 1–2" [Subpar FC Twente downed by TOP Oss: 1–2] (in Dutch). Twente Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  15. "Javier Espinosa". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  16. Javier Espinosa at WorldFootball.net
  17. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.
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