Carlos Cuéllar facts for kids
Cuéllar in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 August 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.90 m | ||
| Playing position | 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) | |
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Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jiménez (born 23 August 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He mostly played as a central defender. Sometimes, he also played as a right-back.
Contents
Carlos Cuéllar's Football Journey
Starting Out in Spain
Carlos Cuéllar was born in Madrid, Spain. As a young player, he played for several youth teams. In 2000, he joined CD Numancia. He was immediately loaned to CD Calahorra to gain experience.
Carlos made his first professional game on 23 September 2001. He played for Numancia in a match against Xerez CD. He scored his first goal on 12 May 2002, helping his team win 4–0 against Racing de Ferrol.
Playing for Osasuna
In August 2003, Carlos joined CA Osasuna, a team in Spain's top league, La Liga. For his first two seasons, he was a backup player. However, he soon became a key part of the team.
Osasuna reached the Copa del Rey final in 2005. The next season, they finished fourth in the league. This allowed them to play in the UEFA Champions League. Later, they played in the UEFA Cup. Carlos played seven times in European games. He even scored two goals, including a very fast goal against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Success with Rangers
In July 2007, Carlos moved to the Scottish club Rangers. He signed a four-year contract. He quickly impressed everyone and won the Scottish Premier League Player of the Month award in August 2007. He scored his first Rangers goal in September 2007.
Carlos played very well for Rangers. He was even named the Scottish Premier League Player of the Year. He also won the SFWA Footballer of the Year award. He once said, "I want to stay at Rangers for life." He played 65 games for Rangers in one season, which was a club record.
Time at Aston Villa
On 12 August 2008, Carlos joined Aston Villa in the English Premier League. This move surprised his former manager at Rangers. Carlos made his first team debut in a UEFA Cup match.
He played his first league game for Aston Villa in September. Carlos often played as a right-back during his first season. This was because other defenders were playing very well in the central position.
Carlos scored his first goal for Villa against Bolton Wanderers in November 2009. He scored another goal against Manchester United in February 2010. He also scored a header in an FA Cup game against Blackburn Rovers.
In February 2012, Carlos said he would play anywhere on the field to help the team. He even played as a left-back in a Premier League match. In May 2012, Carlos announced he would leave Aston Villa. He said it was one of the "saddest days" to leave his home club.
Playing for Sunderland
On 2 July 2012, Carlos joined Sunderland on a free transfer. He was signed by his former manager, Martin O'Neill. He played his first game for Sunderland in August against Arsenal. He scored his first goal for the club in November 2012 against Fulham. He was released by Sunderland at the end of the 2013–14 season.
Later Career Clubs
Carlos then signed with Norwich City in August 2014. He played 10 games for them before leaving. In August 2015, he moved back to Spain to play for UD Almería.
After that, Carlos played for several clubs in Israel. These included Maccabi Petah Tikva, Ironi Kiryat Shmona, and Beitar Jerusalem. His last club was Bnei Yehuda, where he played until 2019. He announced his retirement from football on 17 October 2019.
Carlos's Personal Life
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 | ||
Honours and Awards
Carlos Cuéllar won several awards and trophies during his career:
With Osasuna
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 2004–05 (finished second in the Spanish Cup)
With Rangers
- Scottish Cup: 2007–08 (won the Scottish Cup)
- Scottish League Cup: 2007–08 (won the Scottish League Cup)
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 2007–08 (finished second in the European UEFA Cup)
With Aston Villa
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2009–10 (finished second in the English League Cup)
With Bnei Yehuda
- Israel State Cup: 2018–19 (won the Israeli Cup)
Individual Awards
- Scottish Premier League Player of the Year: 2007–08
- SFWA Footballer of the Year: 2007–08
See also
In Spanish: Carlos Cuéllar para niños
