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Javi López
	López in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Javier López Rodríguez
Date of birth	21 January 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Osuna, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Full-back, central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Adelaide United
Number	21
Youth career
	Betis
Senior career*
Years	Team
2005–2006	Betis C
2005–2007	Betis B
2007–2010	Espanyol B
2009–2020	Espanyol
2020–	Adelaide United
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2024

Javier 'Javi' López Rodríguez (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ ˈlopeθ]; born 21 January 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a full-back for Australian club Adelaide United.^[1]

He spent the vast majority of his professional career with Espanyol, having signed in 2007. During his spell, he appeared in 283 competitive matches.^[2]^[3]

Club career

Espanyol

Born in Osuna, Province of Seville, Andalusia, and a product of Real Betis' youth ranks, López signed with RCD Espanyol in 2007.^[4] On 4 October 2009, he made his debut for the first team of the latter club in a La Liga match against Villarreal CF, taking the pitch with less than ten minutes to go as the ten-man side eventually held off the hosts to a 0–0 draw.^[5]^[6] The vast majority of his first season was spent, however, with the reserves, which suffered relegation from Segunda División B.

López was promoted to the main squad for the 2010–11 campaign, being used by manager Mauricio Pochettino in various midfield and defender positions.^[7] He scored his first goal as a professional on 18 September 2011, but in a 2–1 away loss to Real Zaragoza where he was also sent off for two bookable offences, one of them resulting in a penalty.^[8]

On 29 March 2014, after Kiko Casilla was sent off late in the home fixture against FC Barcelona and his team had no replacements left, López played as a goalkeeper; he conceded no goals in the 1–0 defeat.^[9] He extended his contract for two more years in March 2017,^[10] and earned an automatic extension to that deal due to playing the majority of games at the age of 33.^[11]

On 21 July 2020, López signed a new deal after Espanyol's relegation.^[12] A month later, he terminated it.^[13]

Adelaide United

López joined A-League club Adelaide United FC on 25 November 2020, on a one-year deal.^[14] He was persuaded to join the team by compatriot Isaías Sánchez.^[15]

In June 2021, López and fellow Spaniard Juande signed new deals to stay in South Australia for the following season.^[16] He scored his first goal for Adelaide on 1 January in a 4–0 win over Wellington Phoenix FC at Hindmarsh Stadium.^[17] After contributing to a fourth-place finish and post-season semi-final, he was named as a substitute in the league's team of the year at the PFA Footballer of the Year Awards,^[18] and his contract was extended for another year.^[19]

At the end of the 2023–24 campaign, López agreed to a new contract alongside Sánchez, one that would see out his playing career as he also completed a coaching badge with the club.^[20]

Honours

Individual

PFA A-League Men Team of the Season: 2021–22^[18]

References

^ Martínez, Alberto (19 February 2017). "Plantilla versátil: el 64% ha jugado en varias posiciones" [Versatile squad: 64% of them have played in several positions]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^ Martínez, Alberto (24 August 2020). "Javi López: "El Espanyol ha estado a la altura de mi familia"" [Javi López: "Espanyol has been as important as my family"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ Manchón, Martín (24 June 2021). "Javi López: "Echo mucho de menos al Espanyol"" [Javi López: "I miss Espanyol so much"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
^ Molero, Iván (15 October 2015). "La pasión de sus aficiones es el nexo entre Espanyol y Betis" [The passion of their fans is the link between Espanyol and Betis]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
^ "Drab draw for Villarreal". ESPN Soccernet. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
^ "Javi López debutó en Primera ante los amarillos" [Javi López made Primera debut against yellows]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 6 November 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
^ Bernad, Marc (31 July 2011). ""Mi polivalencia me da vida: quiero ser clave"" ["My versatility is my bread and butter: I want to play a big part"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 January 2012.
^ Egea, Pablo (18 September 2011). "Luis García se crece ante el Espanyol" [Luis Garcia gets all over Espanyol]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2017.
^ Ruiz, David (29 March 2014). "El Barça derrota al Espanyol con un gol de Messi de penalti" [Barça beat Espanyol with Messi penalty goal]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^ "Javi López renueva su contrato con el Espanyol hasta 2019" [Javi López renews his contract with Espanyol until 2019] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ Piferrer, Dídac (6 April 2019). "Javi Lopez earns contract extension at Espanyol". Marca. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ Navarro, Cristina (21 July 2020). "El Espanyol renueva a Javi López, Diego López y Dídac Vilà" [Espanyol renew with Javi López, Diego López and Dídac Vilà]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ Miserachs, Jaume (22 August 2020). "La incoherencia del 'caso Javi López'" [The incoherence of the 'Javi López affair']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ "Reds sign experienced Spaniard, Javi López". Adelaide United FC. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
^ Monteverde, Marco (22 December 2020). "A-League: Javi Lopez's La Liga experience to aid Adelaide United". News.com.au. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ "United extend Spanish duo's Adelaide stay". Adelaide United FC. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ Ottenhoff, Cameron (2 January 2022). "Adelaide United claim first win with a textbook performance". The Football Sack. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b "PFA reveals player-voted Austraffic A-League Men Team of the Season on eve of Grand Final". Professional Footballers Australia. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
^ "Reds re-sign experienced Spanish duo". Adelaide United FC. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ "Reds veterans Isaías and Javi López commit to one final year". Adelaide United FC. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.