Xavi Torres
 Torres playing with Levante in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Xavier Torres Buigues | ||
| Date of birth | 21 November 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Xàbia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Betis | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2006 | Villarreal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2006 | Villarreal B | ||
| 2006–2007 | Alicante | 36 | (4) |
| 2007–2009 | Barcelona B | 59 | (5) |
| 2009 | Barcelona | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | Málaga | 11 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | → Levante (loan) | 69 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Getafe | 35 | (0) |
| 2013– | Betis | 24 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 February 2015. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Xavier 'Xavi' Torres Buigues (born 21 November 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Betis as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
Early years
Born in Xàbia, Alicante, Valencian Community, Torres played his youth career at two clubs, including Villarreal CF where he finished his formation in 2006. He made his professional debut at another club in the region, Alicante CF, in the 2006–07 Segunda División B.
Barcelona
In the 2007 summer Torres signed for FC Barcelona, spending the vast majority of his two-year spell with the reserve team, which he helped return to the third level in his debut campaign, as the Catalans were coached by young Pep Guardiola.
On 17 May 2009 Torres made his La Liga debut, appearing for the already crowned champions in a 1–2 away loss against RCD Mallorca. After the match, the player said that he was very grateful to Guardiola – promoted to first-team manager in the previous summer – for giving him an opportunity to play in the main squad;[1] it would be the first of two appearances.
Málaga
On 12 June 2009 Málaga CF signed Torres on a free transfer, for four seasons.[2] On 30 August he scored his first goal with the Andalusians, closing the score at 3–0 against Atlético Madrid in the 89th minute, in the season's opener.[3]
On 13 September 2009 Torres made his Málaga debut as a starter, in a 0–1 defeat at Deportivo de La Coruña, being replaced by Victor Obinna in the 84th minute.[4] However, he appeared rarely in his first year and, on 7 June 2010, was loaned to freshly-promoted side Levante UD.[5] He made his debut on 28 August, playing the entire 1–4 home loss against Sevilla FC.
Levante
In early December 2010, Torres was linked with a potential move to Everton,[6] but nothing came of it. He rarely missed a game for Levante – being the second most used player in the squad – as the Valencian team finally retained its top division status. In July 2011, the move was extended for a further season.
Torres scored his first goal for Levante on 20 November 2011, in a 2–3 defeat at Atlético Madrid.[7] He ended the campaign with five as the Granotas finished sixth and qualified to the UEFA Europa League for the first time ever.
Getafe
On 31 May 2012, Levante activated the €300.000 buying option it had on Torres, offering the player a four-year contract[8] which he refused.[9] On 1 August, after lengthy negotiations, he signed a four-year deal with fellow league team Getafe CF, for a fee of €400.000.
Torres started in most of his league appearances for the Madrid outskirts club (37 official contests during the season), his first being on 26 August 2012 in a 2–1 home win against Real Madrid, where he featured the 90 minutes.[10]
Betis
On 7 August 2013, Torres signed for four seasons with Real Betis. He scored his first goal for the Andalusians 22 days later, grabbing his team's last in a 6–0 home routing of FK Baumit Jablonec for the Europa League playoff round.[11] In December, however, he suffered an Achilles tendon injury in a game against HNK Rijeka for the same competition, being sidelined for the rest of the campaign,[12] which ended with relegation to the second tier.
Honours
- Barcelona
Club statistics
- As of 28 April 2012[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Alicante | 2006–07 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 4 |
| Total | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 4 | |
| Barcelona B | 2007–08 | 33 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 33 | 4 |
| 2008–09 | 26 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 26 | 1 | |
| Total | 59 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 59 | 5 | |
| Barcelona | 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Málaga | 2009–10 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 15 | 1 |
| Total | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 15 | 1 | |
| Levante | 2010–11 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 38 | 0 |
| 2011–12 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 5 | |
| Total | 66 | 5 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 72 | 5 | |
| Career totals | 174 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 185 | 15 | |
References
- ↑ Xavi Torres thrilled with Barcelona debut; Tribal Football, 18 May 2009
- ↑ Malaga sign Barcelona's Xavi Torres; The Guardian, 12 June 2009
- ↑ Málaga 3–0 Atlético Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 30 August 2009
- ↑ Filipe strike enough for Depor; ESPN Soccernet 13 September 2009
- ↑ Xavi Torres, al Levante (Xavi Torres, to Levante); Marca, 7 July 2010 (Spanish)
- ↑ English eyes on Torres; Sky Sports, 6 December 2010
- ↑ Atletico edge Levante in thriller; ESPN Soccernet, 20 November 2011
- ↑ El Levante ejerce la opción de compra por Xavi Torres (Levante exercise buying option on Xavi Torres); Diario AS, 31 May 2012 (Spanish)
- ↑ Xavi Torres vuelve al Málaga por ahora (Xavi Torres returns to Málaga for the time being); El Desmarque Málaga, 28 June 2012 (Spanish)
- ↑ El Madrid no aprende (Madrid does not learn); Marca, 26 August 2012 (Spanish)
- ↑ "Real Betis 6–0 FK Jablonec: A la Europa League por la puerta grande con Rubén Castro" [Real Betis 6–0 FK Jablonec: To the Europa League through the front door with Rubén Castro] (in Spanish). Goal.com. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ↑ "Xavi Torres se rompe el tendón de Aquiles del pie izquierdo" [Xavi Torres fractures Achilles tendon in left foot] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ↑ "Xavi Torres". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
External links
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