Josemi

Josemi
Personal information
Full name José Miguel González Rey
Date of birth (1979-11-15) 15 November 1979
Place of birth Torremolinos, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Defender
Youth career
Torremolinos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Torremolinos
1998–2001 Málaga B 67 (4)
2001–2004 Málaga 93 (0)
2004–2006 Liverpool 21 (0)
2006–2008 Villarreal 32 (0)
2008–2010 Mallorca 53 (1)
2010–2011 Iraklis 26 (0)
2011–2012 Cartagena 18 (0)
2012–2013 Levadiakos 25 (0)
2013–2014 Skoda Xanthi 16 (0)
2014–2015 Atlético Kolkata 20 (0)
Total 371 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

José Miguel González Rey (born 15 November 1979), known as Josemi, is a Spanish former footballer. Mainly a right back, he also played as a central defender.

He appeared in 178 La Liga games over the course of nine seasons (one goal), with Málaga, Villarreal and Mallorca, also representing Liverpool for one-and-a-half seasons where he won two major titles including the 2005 Champions League. He later competed professionally in Greece, before moving to the newly formed Indian Super League.

Club career

Early career

Born in Torremolinos, Málaga, Josemi started his professional career at Málaga CF, arriving from local amateurs Torremolinos Club de Fútbol in 1998. He started appearing for his new club with the reserve team, in Tercera División.

After one match in 2000–01's closer, a 0–4 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña on 17 June 2001,[1] Josemi went on to become an essential defensive element for the Andalusia side, helping it to the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup and soon attracting interest from bigger European clubs.

Liverpool

Subsequently, Josemi became Rafael Benítez's first signing as Liverpool manager, for £2 million in the summer of 2004.[2] He played 15 games in the Premier League in his debut season and, after an initial run, he was sent off in the club's 4–2 victory at Fulham on 16 October 2004,[3] his subsequent ban leading to Steve Finnan re-establishing himself as first-choice right-back.

Josemi made seven appearances (five starts) in the Reds' victorious campaign in the UEFA Champions League, but struggled to make the substitutes bench in the knockout stages, and also lost his place in the first half of 2005–06, suggesting he would soon leave Anfield.

Return to Spain

On 29 December 2005, it was announced that Liverpool and Villarreal CF had agreed to swap Josemi and Jan Kromkamp in the January 2006 transfer window.[4] He made a good start and appeared in 22 league matches in 2006–07, but only took part in only one the following season for the eventual La Liga runners-up.

In July 2008, Josemi signed for RCD Mallorca. He scored his first goal as a professional on 23 November, in a 2–2 home draw against former owners Málaga.[5] In his second year he was challenged by new signing Felipe Mattioni, but ended up contributing with 28 games as the Balearic Islands side finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League.

Later years

In August 2010, at nearly 31, Josemi left Spain for the second time, signing a three-year contract with Iraklis Thessaloniki FC. After only one season – which brought Superleague Greece relegation due to irregularities – however, he returned to his country and joined FC Cartagena in Segunda División, on a two-year deal.[6]

On 21 August 2014, after two seasons in Greece with Levadiakos F.C. and Skoda Xanthi F.C. respectively, Josemi was a third-round draft pick for Atlético de Kolkata in the inaugural draft of the Indian Super League draft.[7] He made his debut in the competition in the opening match, starting a 3–0 home victory over Mumbai City FC,[8] and formed a formidable stopper partnership with Arnab Mondal during his first year,[9] acting as team captain in the final win over the Kerala Blasters in the absence of countryman Luis García,[10] where he also won the Fittest Player of the Match award.[11]

Following his successful debut season, on 12 June 2015 Josemi renewed his contract with Atlético for one more year.[12] He was released on 13 November, after being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign due to injury.[13]

On 22 September 2016, after almost a year with a club, 36-year-old Josemi announced his retirement.[14] In February 2017, he returned to Málaga as match delegate.[15]

Club statistics

[16][17]

Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Málaga 2000–01 La Liga 1000—10
2001–02 La Liga 23020—250
2002–03 La Liga 3202014[lower-alpha 1]0—480
2003–04 La Liga 37040—410
Total 93080140—11510
Liverpool 2004–05 Premier League 150107[lower-alpha 2]0—230
2005–06 Premier League 60004[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 3]0120
Total 2101011020350
Villarreal 2005–06 La Liga 9010—100
2006–07 La Liga 220401[lower-alpha 4]0—270
2007–08 La Liga 10403[lower-alpha 5]0—80
Total 3209040—450
Mallorca 2008–09 La Liga 25150—301
2009–10 La Liga 28030—310
Total 53160—591
Iraklis 2010–11 Superleague Greece 26020—280
Cartagena 2011–12 Segunda División 18010—190
Levadiakos 2012–13 Superleague Greece 25050—300
Skoda Xanthi 2013–14 Superleague Greece 16020—180
Atlético Kolkata 2014 Indian Super League 170—170
2015 Indian Super League 30—30
Total 200—200
Career total 3041340290203691
  1. ↑ 8 appearances in UEFA Cup and 6 appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ 1 appearance in UEFA Super Cup and 1 appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  5. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Málaga
Liverpool
Atlético Kolkata

References

  1. ↑ El Deportivo exhibe su enorme pegada y derrota a un Málaga tenaz (Deportivo displays enormous pace and defeats tenacious Málaga); El País, 18 June 2001 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ Josemi joins Liverpool; UEFA.com, 29 July 2004
  3. ↑ Fulham 2–4 Liverpool; BBC Sport, 16 October 2004
  4. ↑ Anfield calls for Kromkamp; UEFA.com, 30 December 2005
  5. ↑ Mallorca 2–2 Málaga; ESPN Soccernet, 23 November 2008
  6. ↑ Josemi es el central tapado por Paco Gómez (Josemi is Paco Gómez's surprise stopper); Diario AS, 1 July 2011 (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ "Kerala snap up Michael Chopra, Kolkata sign Josemi as ISL teams splash Rs 16 crore". First Post. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ex-Liverpool stars Luis Garcia and Josemi start as Atletico de Kolkata win first Indian Super League clash against Mumbai City". Daily Mail. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Josemi: Arnab Mondal has the quality to play abroad". Goal.com. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Substitute Mohammed Rafique hands Atlético de Kolkata the title". Indian Super League. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Awards". Indian Super League. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Atletico de Kolkata retain Josemi and Ofentse Nato for the second edition of ISL". Goal.com. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "ISL: Helder Postiga, Dejan Lekic boost Atletico de Kolkata". NDTV. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "Former Liverpool defender Josemi retires". Yahoo! Sports. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Josemi ocupará el cargo de delegado" [Josemi will occupy the delegate position] (in Spanish). Málaga CF. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  16. ↑ "Josemi: José Miguel González Rey". BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "Josemi". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
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