Carlos Cuéllar facts for kids
Cuéllar in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jiménez | ||
| Date of birth | 23 August 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Inter Argibay | |||
| Santa Ana | |||
| Pegaso | |||
| → San Federico (loan) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2003 | Numancia | 62 | (4) |
| 2000–2001 | → Calahorra (loan) | 27 | (1) |
| 2003–2007 | Osasuna | 71 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | Rangers | 36 | (4) |
| 2008–2012 | Aston Villa | 94 | (2) |
| 2012–2014 | Sunderland | 30 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Norwich City | 8 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Almería | 18 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 30 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 31 | (1) |
| 2018 | Beitar Jerusalem | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Bnei Yehuda | 23 | (1) |
| Total | 430 | (16) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jiménez is a Spanish former professional footballer. He was born on August 23, 1981. Carlos mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play as a right-back.
Contents
Carlos Cuéllar's Football Journey
Starting Out: Early Career
Carlos Cuéllar was born in Madrid, Spain. As a young player, he played for several youth teams like Internacional de Argibay and DAV Santa Ana. In 2000, he joined CD Numancia. He was immediately loaned to CD Calahorra to gain experience.
Carlos returned to Numancia after his loan. He made his first professional appearance on September 23, 2001. This was in a game against Xerez CD. He scored his first professional goal on May 12, 2002, in a big 4–0 win against Racing de Ferrol.
Playing for Osasuna
On August 29, 2003, Carlos signed a three-year contract with CA Osasuna. This team played in La Liga, Spain's top football league. He played his first game for Osasuna on October 19, helping them win 2–1 against Real Murcia.
For his first two seasons, Carlos was a backup player. But he worked hard and became an important part of the team. Osasuna reached the Copa del Rey final in 2005. The next season, they finished fourth in the league. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
Osasuna then played in the UEFA Cup. Carlos played seven times in this European competition. His team reached the semifinals. He scored two goals, including a very fast goal against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in April 2007.
Time in Scotland: Rangers F.C.
In July 2007, Carlos moved to the Scottish club Rangers. He signed a four-year contract. He made his first game for Rangers on July 31, 2007, in a 2–0 win. He played so well that he won the Scottish Premier League Player of the Month award for August 2007. He scored his first Rangers goal on September 1, 2007.
Carlos continued to play strongly for Rangers. He was named the Scottish Premier League Player of the Year and the SFWA Footballer of the Year for the 2007–08 season. He even said he wanted to "stay at Rangers for life." He played 65 games for Rangers in one season, which was a club record. He scored 5 goals during his time there.
Moving to England: Aston Villa
On August 12, 2008, Carlos joined the English Premier League team Aston Villa. He signed a four-year contract. His move surprised his former manager at Rangers.
Carlos played his first game for Aston Villa on September 18 in a UEFA Cup match. His first league game was on September 21 against West Bromwich Albion. He often played as a right-back in his first season.
In 2009, Carlos helped Villa win the Peace Cup final in Spain. He scored the winning penalty kick in the shootout against Juventus.
He scored his first goal for Villa on November 7, 2009, against Bolton Wanderers. His second goal came against Manchester United on February 10, 2010. He also scored a header in a 3–1 FA Cup win against Blackburn Rovers in January 2010.
Carlos left Aston Villa in the summer of 2012 when his contract ended. He said it was one of the "saddest days" to leave his home club.
Playing for Sunderland
On July 2, 2012, Carlos joined Sunderland on a free transfer. He signed a two-year contract. He made his first appearance for Sunderland on August 18 in a game against Arsenal. He scored his first goal for the club on November 18, 2012, in a 3–1 win against Fulham.
He was released by Sunderland at the end of the 2013–14 season.
Short Stays: Norwich City and Almería
Carlos signed a one-year deal with Championship team Norwich City on August 20, 2014. He played his first game for Norwich six days later. He left Norwich after they were promoted back to the Premier League.
On August 10, 2015, Carlos signed a one-year deal with UD Almería in Spain's second division.
Later Career in Israel
Carlos then moved to Israel. He signed with Maccabi Petah Tikva on August 12, 2016. The next year, on May 22, 2017, he signed with Ironi Kiryat Shmona.
In May 2018, Carlos joined Beitar Jerusalem. He left the team a few months later. On September 7, 2018, he signed with Bnei Yehuda. He left this club in the summer of 2019 and announced his retirement from football on October 17, 2019.
Life Outside Football
In December 2015, Carlos Cuéllar decided to become a vegan. He made this choice for health reasons after watching a documentary called Forks Over Knives.
Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Calahorra | 2000–01 | Segunda División B | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| Numancia | 2001–02 | Segunda División | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | Segunda División | 39 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 42 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 62 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 66 | 4 | |||||
| Osasuna | 2003–04 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| Total | 71 | 2 | 13 | 1 | — | 11 | 2 | — | 95 | 5 | ||||
| Rangers | 2007–08 | Scottish Premier League | 36 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 0 | — | 65 | 5 | |
| 2008–09 | Scottish Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2008–09 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 48 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 94 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 120 | 3 | |||
| Sunderland | 2012–13 | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | ||||
| Norwich City | 2014–15 | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Almería | 2015–16 | Segunda División | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2016–17 | Israeli League | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 2017–18 | Israeli League | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 2 | ||
| Beitar Jerusalem | 2018–19 | Israeli League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Bnei Yehuda | 2018–19 | Israeli League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 430 | 16 | 45 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 543 | 22 | ||
Awards and Achievements
Carlos Cuéllar won several awards and helped his teams achieve great things:
- Osasuna
* Copa del Rey runner-up: 2005 (finished second in the cup)
- Rangers
* Scottish Cup: 2008 (won the cup) * Scottish League Cup: 2008 (won the league cup) * UEFA Cup runner-up: 2008 (finished second in the European competition)
- Aston Villa
* Football League Cup runner-up: 2010 (finished second in the league cup)
- Bnei Yehuda
* Israel State Cup: 2019 (won the cup)
- Individual Awards
* Scottish Premier League Player of the Year: 2008 * SFWA Footballer of the Year: 2008
See also
In Spanish: Carlos Cuéllar para niños
