Alan Navarro (born 31 May 1981) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Having come through the youth academy at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, he most notably played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with Tranmere Rovers,

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

, Milton Keynes Dons and Brighton & Hove Albion. He also had spells with Crewe Alexandra, Chester City, Accrington Stanley and Swindon Town

Club career

Early career

Born in

, Merseyside, Navarro started his career at hometown club

, coming through the youth system before signing a professional contract with the club in the summer of 2000. On 22 March 2001, Navarro joined Crewe Alexandra on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

for six weeks, making eight appearances and scoring one goal.

Tranmere Rovers

On 9 November 2001, Navarro joined Tranmere Rovers on an initial two-month loan deal where he made two league appearances, scoring one goal.Alan Navarro Appearance Data
, Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 July 2009 Liverpool also allowed Navarro to compete in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

whilst at Tranmere. It was in the FA Cup in which Navarro scored on his debut for the club in a 4–1 win over

Brigg Town Brigg Town Football Club CIC is a football club based in Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hawthorns. Established in 1864, they are one of the oldest football clubs in the world. History The club w ...

. On 23 January 2002, Navarro joined Tranmere permanently on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Whilst at Tranmere, Navarro was loaned out twice, first joining Chester City for a month on 20 August 2004 before completing a three-month spell at

which began on 15 December 2004. Navarro made 11 loan appearances for the club and scored one goal. On 12 May 2005, Navarro had his contract with Tranmere cancelled by mutual consent.

Macclesfield Town

On 12 September 2005, Navarro joined

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

team Accrington Stanley on non-contract terms after a successful trial with the club. However, after three substitute appearances for Accrington Navarro joined previous loan club Macclesfield on 11 October 2005 on a permanent transfer.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 1 August 2007, Navarro joined Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) on an initial one-year contract. He signed a one-year contract extension at MK Dons on 11 December 2007. After making 77 league appearances and scoring two goals over two seasons at Milton Keynes, Navarro was released from his contract on 19 May 2009.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Navarro joined Brighton & Hove Albion on trial during the summer of 2009 with a view to earning a professional contract. Navarro started during the 2–0 pre-season friendly victory over

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

and was praised by manager Russell Slade for a good performance. Navarro also started during the 2–0 pre-season friendly victory at

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

before signing a two-year contract with the League One club. In May 2011, Brighton announced that he would not be issued a new deal following the ending of his current contract, but would be invited back to pre-season training to prove he is worth a new contract after an injury-hit season. He earned a one-year contract, and featured in 33 league games during the 2011–12 season, scoring his first goal for Brighton in a 2–1 win against Leeds United at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

in the 90th minute on 11 February 2012. Navarro was released following the expiration of his contract at the end of April 2012.

Swindon Town

In June 2012 Navarro signed for Swindon Town on a free transfer. On his debut for Swindon he scored two goals to knock his former club Brighton out of the League Cup.

Career statistics

Honours

Milton Keynes Dons *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

: 2007–08 *

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

: 2007–08

References

External links

Alan Navarro player profile
at the Brighton & Hove Albion website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Alan 1981 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Liverpool F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players Swindon Town F.C. players