Cristian López

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Not to be confused with Christian Lopez.
Cristian
Personal information
Full nameCristian López Santamaría
Date of birth (1989-04-27) 27 April 1989
Place of birthCrevillent, Spain
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current clubHuddersfield Town
Number19
Youth career
1999–2002Crevillente
2002–2003Hércules
2003–2007Crevillente
2007–2009Alicante
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2009Alicante8(2)
2009–2011Real Madrid B44(10)
2011→ Valencia B (loan)16(11)
2011–2012Valencia B31(11)
2012–2013Atlético Baleares35(9)
2013–Huddersfield Town2(0)
2013→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)5(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:05, 14 December 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is López and the second or maternal family name is Santamaría.

Cristian López Santamaría (born 27 April 1989), known as simply Cristian, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Huddersfield Town in the Football League Championship, as a forward.

Football career

Alicante

Born in Crevillent, Province of Alicante, Cristian played for several clubs as a youth, including local Crevillente Deportivo and Alicante CF. He made his debuts for the latter's first team during the 2007–08 season, as the Valencian Community side returned to Segunda División after a 50-year absence.

In the following campaign Cristian continued playing mostly with the reserves in Tercera División, with the main side finally being relegated. He made his division two debut in a game against Hércules CF on 6 June 2009, scoring in a 1–2 local derby home loss.[1]

Castilla / Mestalla

López signed for Real Madrid Castilla in the 2009 summer, with Real Madrid's reserves in the third division. He finished his first year with ten goals – second-best in the squad – as the team finished eighth in the league.

In January 2011 Cristian signed for Valencia CF's B-team in the fourth level, in a season-long loan.[2] He scored in double digits as the Che reserves returned to the "bronze category" at the first attempt, and the move was made permanent in the summer.[3]

Cristian spent the 2012–13 campaign still in division three, with CD Atlético Baleares.[4]

Huddersfield

On 24 July 2013, trialist Cristian played for Huddersfield Town against Real Betis, in a 2–4 friendly loss at the John Smith's Stadium, and he scored in the next pre-season match with Oldham Athletic (2–3 defeat). The following week he signed a one-year deal with the Terriers, taking the number 19 shirt vacated by Alan Lee.[5]

Cristian made his Football League Championship on 3 August 2013, coming on as a substitute in a 0–1 defeat at Nottingham Forest – in the process, he became the club's first ever Spanish player in its 105-year history. On 10 October, however, he joined Football League One side Shrewsbury Town on a month's loan, becoming the first Spaniard to sign for the club.[6] He scored his first goal for the team and in English football on the 22nd, in a 1–1 draw against Colchester United,[7] but returned to Huddersfield on 5 November following an injury crisis to its offensive sector.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "El Hércules sigue con vida (1–2)" [Hércules still alive (1–2)] (in Spanish). La Verdad. 7 June 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  2. ↑ "El Valencia ficha a Cristian, delantero del Castilla" [Valencia signs Cristian, Castilla forward] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Cristian sigue los pasos de Canales" [Cristian in the footsteps of Canales] (in Spanish). Defensa Central. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2013. 
  4. ↑ Presentación oficial de José Picón, Cristian López y Roque Mesa por el Atco. Baleares (Official presentation of José Picón, Cristian López and Roque Mesa by Atco. Baleares); Fútbol Balear, 5 September 2012 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Huddersfield Town sign striker Cristian Lopez; BBC Sport, 31 July 2013
  6. ↑ "Cristian Lopez: Shrewsbury Town sign Huddersfield striker on loan". BBC Sport. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013. 
  7. ↑ "Shrewsbury Town 1–1 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Shrewsbury Town after new striker as Cristian Lopez returns to Huddersfield". Shropshire Star. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013. 

External links

Huddersfield Town F.C. – current squad
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