Julio Álvarez

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Julio Álvarez
Personal information
Full nameJulio Álvarez Mosquera
Date of birth (1981-05-01) 1 May 1981
Place of birthCaracas, Venezuela
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current clubNumancia
Number10
Youth career
Rayo Sadense
Ural
Deportivo La Coruña
1998–1999Real Madrid
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1997–1998Deportivo B11(4)
1999–2000Real Madrid C34(14)
2000Real Madrid B2(2)
2000–2003Real Madrid0(0)
2000–2002→ Racing Santander (loan)44(1)
2002–2003→ Rayo Vallecano (loan)26(8)
2003–2006Murcia72(7)
2006–2008Numancia66(10)
2008–2009Almería21(0)
2009–2010Mallorca26(6)
2010–2011Tenerife30(3)
2011–Numancia61(14)
National team‡
1998Spain U1610(2)
1998–1999Spain U176(1)
1999–2000Spain U185(1)
2002–2003Spain U217(1)
2011–Venezuela4(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 June 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 June 2012
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Álvarez and the second or maternal family name is Mosquera.

Julio Álvarez Mosquera (born 1 May 1981) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays for CD Numancia in Segunda División, mainly as an attacking midfielder.

He appeared in 98 La Liga games over the course of five seasons (14 goals), representing Racing de Santander, Rayo Vallecano, Murcia, Almería and Mallorca. In addition, he played in more than 250 matches in Segunda División.

After competing for Spain at youth level, Álvarez represented Venezuela internationally.

Football career

Real Madrid / Murcia

A playmaker, Álvarez was born in Caracas and moved to Spain aged four to reunite with his parents, settling in Sada, Galicia. He started his senior career at just 16 with local Deportivo de La Coruña B, showing early promise and playing for Spain's U17 at the 1999 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup (winning the tournament) and the 1998 European Championship (third place). Subsequently he joined Real Madrid to finish his formation but, despite very good performances overall for the B and C outfits, could never break into the first team.

Álvarez was loaned by the Merengues to Racing de Santander in 2000–01. However, he was mostly injured, and could not help the Cantabria team escape La Liga relegation at the season's end. The following season, with 31 matches and one goal, he helped Racing quickly return to the top flight.

In July 2002 Álvarez was sent on loan again, to first division's Rayo Vallecano, where he scored eight times and was one of the team's best players, but again his team failed to keep its status, ranking last. Several teams made offers, and he was finally signed by Real Murcia.[1] Before playing any games for his new team he got injured, and struggled throughout the vast majority of the season, finishing with 12 just appearances as the club went on to rank 20th;[2] fully recovered he went on to be a very important team player, showing impressive skills and netting some deciders, despite a poor year for the team in 2005–06, that almost ended in relegation – he also established himself as a free kick specialist.[3]

Late career

In the summer Álvarez was transfer listed and, on 9 August 2006, joined CD Numancia on a two-year deal.[4] Playing as an attacking or holding midfielder, he again showed enough quality to earn a regular starting eleven berth under manager Andoni Goikoetxea and, following the departure of some important players, became a key player in team's push for promotion, scoring more winning goals;[5] the Soria outfit won the 2007–08 championship, five points clear of Málaga CF.

Álvarez's contract expired by the end of the season and UD Almería signed him on a free transfer on 3 July 2008, where he got the opportunity to work again with Gonzalo Arconada, his former boss at Numancia. He replaced ACF Fiorentina-bound Felipe Melo.

After an irregular season in Andalusia, Álvarez was released hours before the transfer deadline in August 2009, and joined RCD Mallorca shortly after. On 23 July 2010, after helping the Balearic Islands side finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Europa League, the 29-year old signed a three-year contract with CD Tenerife, which had in turn relegated from the top division.[6]

International career

Álvarez gained 28 caps for Spain all youth levels combined. On 14 October 2011, after switching allegiance to his country of birth, the 30-year old made his debut for Venezuela in a 1–0 home win against Argentina for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Club statistics

Season Club Country Competition Apps Goals
1997–98 Deportivo B  Spain Segunda División B 11 4
1998–99 Real Madrid C  Spain Tercera División 35 15
1999–00 Real Madrid B  Spain Segunda División B 34 14
2000–01 Racing Santander  Spain La Liga 13 0
2001–02 Racing Santander  Spain Segunda División 31 1
2002–03 Rayo Vallecano  Spain La Liga 26 8
2003–04 Murcia  Spain La Liga 12 0
2004–05 Murcia  Spain Segunda División 35 5
2005–06 Murcia  Spain Segunda División 25 2
2006–07 Numancia  Spain Segunda División 33 4
2007–08 Numancia  Spain Segunda División 33 7
2008–09 Almería  Spain La Liga 21 0
2009–10 Mallorca  Spain La Liga 26 6
2010–11 Tenerife  Spain Segunda División 30 3
Total339 63

Personal life

Álvarez's older brother, Javier, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He played his entire career in Spanish amateur football.[7] In addition, he represented Spain in three FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups (2006, 2007 and 2008).[8]

References

  1. ↑ "El Murcia ficha a Julio Alvarez y Luis García" [Murcia signs Julio Álvarez and Luis García] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 15 July 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2008. 
  2. ↑ "Julio Álvarez estará al menos dos meses de baja" [Julio Álvarez to miss at least two months] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 8 August 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2008. 
  3. ↑ "Julio Álvarez hands Murcia triumph in the 94'" (in Spanish). Deia. 9 January 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2008. 
  4. ↑ "Julio Álvarez se incorpora al Numancia, equipo al que también se marchó Pulido" [Julio Álvarez joins Numancia, as well as Pulido] (in Spanish). La Verdad. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2008. 
  5. ↑ "Julio Álvarez pone líder al Numancia" [Julio Álvarez makes Numancia leader] (in Spanish). El Norte de Castilla. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2008. 
  6. ↑ "Julio Álvarez, un refuerzo de lujo" [Julio Álvarez, deluxe signing] (in Spanish). El Día. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  7. ↑ Javi Álvarez at Futbolme (Spanish)
  8. ↑ Javi Álvarez – FIFA competition record

External links

CD Numancia – current squad
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