Spanish footballer
In this
Spanish name , the first or paternal
surname is
Magro and the second or maternal family name is
Matilla .
Javier Magro Matilla (born 16 August 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Super League Greece club Athens Kallithea .
Club career
Spain
Matilla was born in Quero , Province of Toledo . After finishing his football development at Villarreal CF , he made his debut for the main squad on 4 April 2009: he started and finished the La Liga away match against UD Almería , but his team lost 3–0.[ 1] In addition, he spent three full seasons with the reserves , one in the Segunda División and two in the Segunda División B .
On 28 June 2011, Matilla signed for Real Betis , recently returned to the top flight , for 3+1 years and € 1.3 million.[ 2] He made his official debut on 18 September, coming on as a substitute for Beñat Etxebarria in the dying minutes of a 3–2 away win over Athletic Bilbao .[ 3]
Matilla was irregularly put to use during his four-and-a-half-year tenure in Andalusia , contributing 15 games and one goal[ 4] as the club promoted in 2015 . In the 2012–13 campaign , also in the second tier, he scored a career-best 12 goals whilst on loan to Real Murcia ,[ 5] [ 6] including one in a 1–0 home victory against UD Las Palmas in the last matchday that certified survival.[ 7]
In mid-October 2013, Matilla's contract was further extended until 2017,[ 8] but it was mutually terminated on 15 January 2016 as the player was still nursing a serious knee injury.[ 9] Subsequently, he went on trial with English Championship side Reading ,[ 10] but nothing came of it.
On 6 July 2016, Matilla signed for Elche CF in division two.[ 11] After suffering relegation , he spent six months without a club before joining Gimnàstic de Tarragona .[ 12]
Greece
On 10 July 2018, Matilla moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining Aris Thessaloniki F.C. on a one-year contract with the possibility of an additional season.[ 13] On 14 January 2019, his first goal for the Greek team was scored through an injury-time free kick to help the hosts beat PAS Lamia 1964 1–0,[ 14] and he repeated the feat on 17 February, this time against Panionios F.C. and also for the Super League and at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium (1–1).[ 15]
On 15 August 2019, Matilla opened an eventual 3–1 home win over Molde FK in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League , but his side was eliminated due to a 3–0 loss in the first leg.[ 16] From 2020 to 2022 , he helped them to finish third in the domestic front.[ 17] [ 18] [ 19]
Matilla remained in Greece after leaving Aris, with Volos FC (top division) and Athens Kallithea FC (Super League 2 ).[ 20] [ 21]
International career
Matilla's only cap with the Spain under-21 team arrived on 4 September 2009, as he played 15 minutes in a 2–0 win over Poland for the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign , in Oviedo .[ 22]
References
^ Almeria 3–0 Villarreal Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine ; ESPN Soccernet , 4 April 2009
^ Matilla llega al Betis por 1.350.000 euros (Matilla arrives at Betis for 1.350.000 euros) ; Marca , 28 June 2011 (in Spanish)
^ Betis maintain 100% record ; ESPN Soccernet, 18 September 2011
^ 2–3: El Betis sufre al final para sumar los tres primeros puntos (2–3: Betis suffer in the end to get first three points) ; Mundo Deportivo , 24 August 2014 (in Spanish)
^ Matilla llega al Real Murcia "para jugar muchos minutos, crecer y disfrutar" (Matilla arrives at Real Murcia "to play a lot of minutes, grow and have fun") Archived 20 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine ; ABC , 30 July 2012 (in Spanish)
^ "Matilla: "Mi primer año fue error mio y vengo con ganas de revancha" " [Matilla: "My first year was my bad and I come for revenge"] (in Spanish). El Correo de Andalucía. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2021 .
^ Matilla salva al Murcia con un golazo y Las Palmas promociona (Matilla saves Murcia with wonder goal and Las Palmas go to promotion) ; Diario AS , 8 June 2013 (in Spanish)
^ Matilla, bético hasta 2017 (Matilla, bético until 2017) ; Diario de Sevilla , 17 October 2013 (in Spanish)
^ El Betis anuncia la rescisión del contrato de Javier Matilla (Betis announce contract termination of Javier Matilla) ; Marca, 15 January 2016 (in Spanish)
^ "Reading FC transfers: Javier Matilla on trial as Royals weigh up midfielder swoop" . Reading Post . 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016 .
^ Matilla refuerza la medular franjiverde (Matilla bolsters franjiverde midfield) ; Elche CF, 6 July 2016 (in Spanish)
^ "Llegan Matilla y César Arzo al Nástic; Toscano, sale cedido" [Matilla and César Arzo arrive at Nàstic ; Toscano, out on loan] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 29 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018 .
^ "Επισημοποιήθηκε η συμφωνία Άρη-Ματίγια!" [Aris-Matilla agreement finalised] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018 .
^ "Άρης – Λαμία 1–0: Νίκη "πεντάδας" στο 90+2' για τους "κίτρινους" " (in Greek). Sport 24. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019 .
^ "Άρης – Πανιώνιος 1–1: Έχασε έδαφος με δέκα παίκτες" [Aris – Panionios 1–1: Overpowered with ten players] (in Greek). Sport 24. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019 .
^ "Άρης – Μόλντε 3–1: Ήταν παλικάρι, αλλά δεν άντεξε" [Aris – Molde 3–1: It was a boy, but he could not live long] (in Greek). Sport 24. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2023 .
^ "Άρης: Τα 4+2 ρεκόρ του Άκη Μάντζιου" [Aris: Akis Mantzios' 4+2 records] (in Greek). Nova Sports. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2023 .
^ "El Aris se vuelve 'invencible': "Con 'El Mono' Burgos nos sentimos capaces de todo" " [Aris become 'invincible': "With 'Monkey' Burgos we feel we can accomplish anything"] (in Spanish). Marca. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023 .
^ "El Aris prescinde de Germán Burgos a pesar de ganar 12 de 18 partidos" [Aris release Germán Burgos in spite of winning 12 of 18 matches] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023 .
^ "Javier Matilla joins Athens Kallithea FC" . Athens Kallithea F.C. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023 .
^ "Javier Matilla extends contract" . Athens Kallithea F.C. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023 .
^ "Crónica del España – Polonia; 2–0" [Spain – Poland match report; 2–0] (in Spanish). Europa Press . 4 September 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2017 .
External links