Albert Luque

Albert Luque

Personal information
Full name	Albert Luque Martos
Date of birth	11 March 1978 (1978-03-11) (age 32)
Place of birth	Terrassa, Spain
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Striker / Winger
Club information
Current club	Málaga
Number	5
Youth career
	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–1999	Mallorca B	62	(25)
1998–2002	Mallorca	67	(24)
1999–2000	→ Málaga (loan)	23	(3)
2002–2005	Deportivo La Coruña	101	(26)
2005–2007	Newcastle	21	(3)
2007–2009	Ajax	16	(4)
2008–2009	→ Málaga (loan)	32	(8)
2009–	Málaga	16	(1)
National team
1998–2000	Spain U21	13	(3)
2000	Spain U23	2	(0)
2002–2005	Spain	18	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 May 2010. † Appearances (Goals).

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Spain
Men's Football
Silver	2000 Sydney	Team Competition

Albert Luque Martos (born 11 March 1978) is a Spanish footballer currently playing with Málaga CF.

He can play as either a left winger or striker.

Club career

Mallorca and loan to Málaga

Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia, Luque was a lifelong supporter of FC Barcelona, and started out in football on trial with them, but was released by the C team when he was still not aged 20. He was then taken by RCD Mallorca, and immediately sent to its B side, but eventually broke into the first team after a successful loan spell at Málaga CF.

In 2000–01, he scored nine goals for Mallorca, helping the Balearic Islands side qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club's history, after finishing third. Luque’s extra time goal in the qualifying round against HNK Hajduk Split carried Mallorca into the first group stage.

Deportivo La Coruña

He was transferred to Deportivo de La Coruña in 2002, in a deal worth €15 million (approximately £10 million), for strikers José "Turu" Flores and Walter Pandiani (on loan). In his first season at Depor, Luque scored the winning goal against former club Málaga with a bicycle kick, adding another league winners against Athletic Bilbao, Racing de Santander and RCD Espanyol. He scored a total of 12 goals in that season, mostly from substitute appearances.

The 2003–04 season saw Luque's firm establishment as a Deportivo starter, as he scored the winner against Rosenborg B.K. in the Champions League qualifying round, the only goal in both legs. He also netted important goals in the competition against PSV Eindhoven, Juventus FC and A.C. Milan, adding 11 in his final season in Galicia.

Newcastle United

In August 2005, Luque was sold to Newcastle United for a fee of €14 million (£9.5), signing a five-year contract. He made his debut against Manchester United at St. James Park, which included having a goal ruled out for offside. However, in his next game, he suffered a hamstring injury while playing against Fulham FC. Upon return from injury, he was used in a number of roles, including left midfielder, failing to live up to his large price tag.

On April 17, 2006, Luque scored his first goal for Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby, when he broke free from the Sunderland defence and calmly chipped goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.^[1] He commented after the game that he hoped to score before the end of the season, and thanked the team's physio for bringing him back to full fitness after injury. However, Luque played no part in Newcastle's remaining fixtures.

Luque's first competitive home goal came against Lillestrom S.K. at the start of Newcastle's Intertoto Cup tournament.^[2] He added two against Liverpool's reserves in a 4–1 success in October. After having fallen low in the side's offensive pecking order, a number of injuries awarded him a start against then Serie A table-toppers U.S. Palermo on November 2, in the UEFA Cup, and rewarded then-manager Glenn Roeder's choice scoring the game's only goal with a header.^[3] Since then, however, Luque had few significant first-team appearances, by now behind the likes of Matty Pattison, a reserve/first team fringe player. In the January 2007 transfer window, Luque was even linked with a loan move to PSV, but the deal fell through, reportedly due to high wage demands.^[4]

On 23 June 2007, new Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce revealed that he would be willing to give Luque a proper chance to impress. However, this did not prevent him from awarding Luque's number 7 shirt to new signing Joey Barton, which initially left the Spaniard without a squad number.^[5] He was eventually given the number 19 jersey, previously worn at Deportivo, and used in Newcastle by defender Titus Bramble.

His transfer from Deportivo to Newcastle is one of those about which the Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns:

“There remains inconsistencies in evidence provided by Graeme Souness - a former manager of the club"

“The inquiry still has unanswered questions relating to possible payments made by agent Francis Martin, who Newcastle officials believed was working for the selling club.”^[6] At the end of the next month, Ajax Amsterdam agreed a fee to sign Luque.^[7]

Ajax

On August 25, 2007, Ajax confirmed they had signed Luque until 2010.^[8] On September 25, he scored his first two goals for Ajax, turning the scoresheet in two minutes against VVV-Venlo, coming out injured slightly afterwards.

He was fined after a game against Feyenoord Rotterdam in November 2007 for a half-time altercation in the changing rooms with team mate Luis Suárez, which caused manager Adrie Koster to substitute them both before the second half.^[9] It was reported on 14 July 2008 that Luque had no future at Ajax. Technical director Danny Blind told Sportweek: "Ajax has told Luque that he has to leave the club. I told Albert myself that we don't want to go on with him and if I've told it to him I really don't know who else I should inform."

Return to Málaga

Just before the September 1 transfer deadline of the 2008–09 season, Luque signed a one-year loan deal with Málaga, returning to the Andalusia outfit nine years later.^[10] On November 30, 2008, he came from the bench to open his scoring account for the club in his second spell, in a 4–2 home win over CA Osasuna, and was a crucial offensive element as the club fought for UEFA Cup qualification until the final days of the season.

On 30 July 2009, after lengthy negotiations, Málaga signed Luque from Ajax, on a free transfer.^[11] Under new coach Juan Ramón López Muñiz Luque played mainly from the bench and scored only once in the first half of the season, being then dropped out for almost one month; upon his return to first-team action, he replaced Duda in the 84th minute of a 3–0 win at Racing Santander.

International career

Luque played for Spain in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning a silver medal.

After a successful individual Mallorca season, he was called, still uncapped, to Spain's squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Luque made his international debut on 12 June 2002 against South Africa in a 3–2 win, and also appeared in the round-of-16 success against Republic of Ireland.

He made a brief appearance, out of position on the right-wing, in UEFA Euro 2004, in the 0–1 defeat to hosts Portugal, playing his last match on 7 September 2005, in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Serbia and Montenegro.

International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	9 October 2004	Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain	Belgium	1–0	2–0	2006 World Cup qualification
2.	4 June 2005	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain	Lithuania	1–0	1–0	2006 World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

• Supercopa de España: 2002
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

Country

• Summer Olympic Games: Silver medal 2000

References

External links

• Málaga CF profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Albert Luque career stats at Soccerbase

Spain Squad Spain squad – 2000 Summer Olympics Silver Medalists 1 Aranzubia • 2 Lacruz • 3 Capdevila • 4 Marchena • 5 Unai • 6 Albelda • 7 Angulo • 8 Xavi • 9 José Mari • 10 Gabri • 11 Ferrón • 12 Puyol • 13 Luque • 14 Amaya • 15 Ismael • 16 Velamazán • 17 Tamudo • 18 Felip • Coach: Sáez Spain squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Casillas • 2 C. Torres • 3 Juanfran • 4 Helguera • 5 Puyol • 6 Hierro (c) • 7 Raúl • 8 Baraja • 9 Morientes • 10 Tristán • 11 De Pedro • 12 Luque • 13 Ricardo • 14 Albelda • 15 Romero • 16 Mendieta • 17 Valerón • 18 Sergio • 19 Xavi • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Joaquín • 23 Contreras • Coach: Camacho Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Cañizares • 2 Capdevila • 3 Marchena • 4 Albelda • 5 Puyol • 6 Helguera • 7 Raúl (c) • 8 Baraja • 9 F. Torres • 10 Morientes • 11 Luque • 12 Gabri • 13 Aranzubia • 14 Vicente • 15 Bravo • 16 Alonso • 17 Etxeberria • 18 César • 19 Joaquín • 20 Xavi • 21 Valerón • 22 Juanito • 23 Casillas • Coach: Sáez