José Manuel Sánchez Guillén (born 6 June 1996), commonly known as Josema, is a Spanish 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 ...

who plays for CD Leganés. Mainly 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 ...

, he can also play as a left back.

Club career

Born in Lorquí,

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

, Josema joined

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

's youth setup in 2010, aged 14, after stints at ADM Lorquí and Nueva Vanguardia CF. On 14 July 2015, he wa promoted to the former's reserves in Segunda División B. Josema made his senior debut on 23 August 2015, starting in a 0–0 away draw against FC Jumilla. He scored his first goal on 15 May of the following year, netting his team's third in a 3–3 draw at

Mérida AD Asociación Deportiva Mérida, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2013 it is a successor club of CP Mérida, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1. His ...

, as his side was already

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. On 6 September 2016, Josema made his first team debut, starting in a 2–0

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 footb ...

home loss against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

. The following 11 January, he was loaned to

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...

until June. On 2 July 2017, Josema signed a three-year contract with Córdoba CF, for a fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

500,000. He made his Segunda División debut on 19 August, starting in a 2–1 home loss against Cádiz CF. On 20 June 2018, after featuring sparingly, Josema was loaned to Ligue 2 side FC Sochaux-Montbéliard for one year, with a buyout clause. His loan was terminated on 29 December, and he moved to

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...

the following 31 January, also in a temporary deal. On 15 June 2019, after both his loan and parent club suffered relegation, Josema terminated his contract with Córdoba, and signed for

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la He ...

exactly one month later. The following 17 January, he cut ties with the latter, and moved to fellow second division side

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 ''Es ...

fourteen days later. On 2 July 2020, after beginning to feature regularly under

Pacheta José Rojo Martín (born 23 March 1968), known as Pacheta, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Real Valladolid. He amassed La Liga totals of 183 matches and 15 goals over eight seasons, representing in ...

, agreed to a contract extension until 2022. He contributed with 16 appearances as his side achieved promotion 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' ...

. Josema made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 26 September 2020, starting in a 3–0 home loss against Real Sociedad. Still a regular starter under new manager

Jorge Almirón Jorge Francisco Almirón Quintana (born June 19, 1971), commonly known as Jorge Almirón, is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Career On July 26, 1997, Almirón made his Liga MX debut with A ...

, he further extended his contract until 2023 on 14 October. Josema lost his starting spot to new signing

Enzo Roco Enzo Pablo Roco Roco (born Enzo Pablo Andía Roco; 16 August 1992) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a central defender for La Liga club Elche and the Chile national team. Club career Born in Ovalle, Roco joined Universidad Ca ...

in 2021, and was loaned to second division side

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club c ...

for the remainder of the season on 26 January 2022. On 12 August, he signed a two-year deal with CD Leganés also in the second tier.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Josema 1996 births Living people Footballers from the Region of Murcia Spanish footballers Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players UD Almería B players UD Almería players Real Murcia players Córdoba CF players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Extremadura UD footballers Elche CF players Real Valladolid players CD Leganés players Ligue 2 players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Spanish expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Spain youth international footballers