José Antonio García Calvo (born 1 April 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender. During his professional career he represented both Madrid clubs, Real and Atlético (but was mainly associated with Valladolid), appearing in 355 La Liga matches over 15 seasons and scoring 12 goals.

Club career

A product of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

's youth system, Madrid-born García Calvo appeared in six games for the first team as they won the La Liga championship in the 1996–97 season, eventually totalling only 16 during his spell. His first match came on 2 March 1996, in a 5–0 home win against UD Salamanca ( Fernando Sanz, another centre-back from the academy, also played his first top-flight match that day); subsequently, he signed with Real Valladolid where he was a regular for four years, scoring his first professional goal in his first year. Calvo then spent five years in another club from the capital,

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. He was instrumental in the ''Colchoneros

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

promotion from the

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 ...

, with 35 matches and 11 bookings. Unable to settle at Atlético in his final two years, García Calvo returned to Valladolid in summer 2006, helping to a return to the top tier after a three-year absence. He was an undisputed starter throughout the following campaign, netting in a 2–2 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña on 2 September 2007 as the Castile-La Mancha side went on to finally retain their status. Following recurrent

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

problems that ailed him throughout 2008–09, Calvo announced his retirement from the game at 34. One year later, he was appointed his last club's director of football.

International career

García Calvo earned three caps for the Spanish national team, the first coming on 21 August 2002 against Hungary during a

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

testimonial match (1–1 draw).Poca luz para tanto estreno (Too little light for so many premieres)

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

, 22 August 2002 (in Spanish) Previously, he was picked for the under-21 side that won the 1998 UEFA European Championship.

Honours

Club

Real Madrid * La Liga: 1996–97 Atlético Madrid *

: 2001–02 Valladolid *

: 2006–07

International

Spain U21 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Calvo, Jose 1975 births Living people Footballers from Madrid Spanish footballers Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers Real Madrid CF players Real Valladolid players Atlético Madrid footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers