Carlos Marchena

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Carlos Marchena bigraphy, stories - Spanish footballer

Carlos Marchena : biography

31 July 1979 –

Carlos Marchena López ( born 31 July 1979) is a Spanish professional footballer.

Mainly a central defender with an aggressive approach,; FIFA.com he can also pitch in as a defensive midfielder. Most of his professional career was spent at Valencia (nine years), which he helped to five major titles, namely two La Liga championships.

A Spanish international for the better part of the 2000s, Marchena represented the nation in two World Cups and as many European Championships, winning once in each competition.

Club career

Early years

Born in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Province of Seville, Andalusia, Marchena started his professional career in hometown club Sevilla FC at the age of 18, when the club was playing in the second division. In 1999–2000 he made his La Liga debut, playing the entire match in a 2–2 home draw with Real Sociedad on 22 August 1999.; El Mundo Deportivo, 23 August 1999

When Sevilla was relegated again at the end of the season, Marchena earned a transfer to Portugal’s S.L. Benfica.; Record, 6 June 2000 During his spell in Lisbon he scored in two narrow wins, at home against C.F. Os Belenenses (1–0) and at S.C. Salgueiros (2–1),; Record, 8 January 2001 but almost left the club in late 2000 due to lack of payment.; Record, 31 October 2000

Valencia

Marchena returned to his country in the 2001 summer as he signed a four-year contract with Valencia CF which involved a swap-deal, with Zlatko Zahovič moving in the opposite direction.; Record, 20 June 2001 Having signed as a cover for ageing Miroslav Đukić, he took a while to impress in his first season (16 appearances) as Valencia clinched its first league title in 30 years, but gradually became first-choice.

In the 2003–04 season, with the club capturing an historic league and UEFA Cup double, Marchena played a pivotal role in defense, teaming up with Roberto Ayala. These performances led to his selection for the Spanish national team for the Euro 2004 tournament.

2004–05 was not a very successful season for Valencia, as under new coach Claudio Ranieri the team struggled both domestically and in European tournaments. In a UEFA Champions League group stage match against SV Werder Bremen at the Mestalla Stadium, he was also given his marching orders in the final minutes of the match (0–2 defeat) and Valencia was eliminated from the elite competition. Marchena remained a regular at both defensive positions.

During the Champions League match against Inter Milan on 6 March 2007, Marchena was involved in the on-pitch melee sparked by his teammate David Navarro: Marchena appeared to kick Inter defender Nicolás Burdisso after an angry exchange of words and, after Navarro punched the Argentine’s nose, a scuffle took place with several of Burdisso’s teammates chasing Navarro all the way into the dressing room.

Consequently Marchena, Navarro and several other Inter players involved were later charged with "gross unsporting conduct" by UEFA after the investigation.; The Guardian, 7 March 2007 Both clubs were fined ₤106,000 while Marchena was banned for four games; after Euro 2008 Marchena was selected by Valencia teammates as new team captain, although he missed the first two months of the new season due to injury.

In 2009–10, veteran Marchena contributed with 24 matches as the Che finished third and returned to the Champions League. He scored in two 3–1 away wins, against CA Osasuna; ESPN Soccernet, 22 November 2009 and Xerez CD,; ESPN Soccernet, 10 January 2010 only being booked seven times.

Late career

On 1 August 2010, 31-year-old Marchena signed with Villarreal CF for three seasons.; Marca, 1 August 2010 On the 19th, he made his official debut for the Valencian, opening the score in a 5–0 home win against FC Dnepr Mogilev for the season’s Europa League.

Regularly used in both defensive positions again, Marchena scored his second goal for the Yellow Submarine on 7 April 2011, in the same competition, a 5–1 home success against FC Twente in the quarterfinals’ first leg.; UEFA.com, 7 April 2011 He left at the end of 2011–12 after being released from contract as his team suffered relegation.; Diario AS, 22 May 2012