Armando Lozano Sánchez (born 16 December 1984), known simply as Armando, is a Spanish 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. A veteran of 192

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

matches over nine seasons, he totalled eight goals for Málaga B,

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

Barcelona B Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Córdoba and

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Motril Motril () is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and is from Granada. Hi ...

Province of Granada Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropical). ...

, Armando began playing football in his hometown with

Motril CF Motril Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Motril, Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1984 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at ''Estadio Escribano Castilla'', with a capacity of 4,400 seats. ...

. In 2002, he moved to

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

neighbours

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

to finish his development, spending his first two professional seasons with its

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

in the

.El capitán del rival: Armando Lozano (The rivals' captain: Armando Lozano)
Sport Aragon, 24 February 2017 (in Spanish) Armando was definitely promoted to the first team in 2006–07, appearing regularly as they were also in the second division. For the following campaign he moved to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

with

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...

, making his competition debut on 17 February 2008 in a 2–1 home win against

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...

; in the middle of a serious financial crisis, the

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...

club would also be relegated. After a spell with

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at ''Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 spe ...

, which he helped promote to division two, Armando stayed nonetheless in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

, signing with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

's reserves. He was only played regularly in the last season of his three-year spell, starting in all 23 of his appearances under the guidance of new manager

Eusebio Sacristán Eusebio Sacristán Mena (; born 13 April 1964), known simply as Eusebio in his playing days, is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He had a 20-year playing career, which started and en ...

. On 18 December 2012, after an unassuming spell in Mexico with

C.D. Veracruz Club Deportivo Veracruz, commonly known as Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, was a Mexican professional football club based in the city of Veracruz. ''El Aston'' was founded in 1943, and played in the Liga MX of Mexico. Their nickname, "Tiburones Ro ...

, Armando returned to his country and joined

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

in the second division, penning a two-and-a-half-year contract. He made his official debut on 10 January of the following year, featuring the full 90 minutes of the 5–0 away loss to his former team Barcelona in the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

, and appeared regularly during the second half of the league campaign, forming a solid partnership with Kiko. On 23 January 2014, Armando signed with the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He appeared in 25 competitive matches in his only season, being waived in early March 2015. On 8 August 2015, Armando agreed to a two-year deal at second-tier

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at ''Estadi ...

. He scored his first goal for his new team on the 30th, helping to a 2–1 home win over

Bilbao Athletic Athletic Club "B", commonly known as Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Club, a association football, football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Count ...

. Armando retired in 2019 at age 34, following spells in the third division with

CF Fuenlabrada Club de Fútbol Fuenlabrada, S.A.D. is a football club based in Fuenlabrada, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, the third tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded in 1975. It holds ...

and

Salamanca CF UDS Salamanca Club de Fútbol UDS, previously known as ''CF Salmantino'', is a Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 2013 after the dissolution of UD Salamanca, it currently plays in ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lozano, Armando 1984 births Living people People from Motril Sportspeople from the Province of Granada Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Andalusia Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Motril CF players Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players Atlético Levante UD players Levante UD footballers FC Cartagena footballers FC Barcelona Atlètic players Córdoba CF players Elche CF players CF Fuenlabrada footballers Salamanca CF UDS players C.D. Veracruz footballers Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States