| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antonio Álvarez Pérez | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Almendralejo, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Extremadura | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1993–1997 | Extremadura | 116 | (7) |
| 1997–1998 | Celta | 34 | (1) |
| 1998–2004 | Betis | 160 | (5) |
| 2004–2007 | Espanyol | 66 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Córdoba | 65 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Cacereño | 22 | (0) |
| Total | 463 | (13) | |
| National team | |||
| 1993 | Spain U18 | 10 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Spain U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 1998 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Antonio Álvarez Pérez, (born 21 January 1975 in Almendralejo, Extremadura), aka Ito, is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
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Ito started playing professionally with local outfit CF Extremadura, helping it rise from the third to the first division, making his top flight debuts on 9 September 1996, in a match against Real Betis. Even though Extremadura was finally relegated, he was a key midfield element (39 matches, one goal), and attracted interest from Real Club Celta de Vigo, which he helped qualify for the UEFA Cup in his sole season.
Subsequently, Ito spent six seasons with Betis, being relegated in his second season but always being an important first-team member, on occasion wearing the captain's armband. Released in 2004, he joined Barcelona's RCD Espanyol.
With Espanyol, Ito won the 2006 Spanish Cup and, although a reserve in the Catalan side's 2006–07 league campaign (eight appearances), he played in ten UEFA Cup contests, as Espanyol lost the competition final on penalties, to Sevilla FC.
On July 2007, Ito signed with second division outfit Córdoba CF, being released after two seasons of regular playing time, aged 34, after which he dropped down a division and joined CP Cacereño, in his native region.
After a fine individual season with Celta which led to a transfer to Betis, Ito gained his sole cap for Spain on 23 September 1998, appearing in the last two minutes of a 1–0 friendly win over Russia, in Granada.
Previously, he helped the U21s win the 1998 European Championships, playing in the final against Greece.
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