José María Movilla Cubero (born 8 February 1975) is a Spanish retired 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 mainly as a

central 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 ...

. He played 299

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 ...

matches in exactly ten seasons, representing mainly

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

and retiring at 39.

Club career

An unsuccessful graduate from

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 system,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

-born Movilla started his professional career with modest clubs:

CDC Moscardó Club Deportivo Colonia Moscardó is a Spanish football team based in Madrid, in the namesake community. Founded in 1945 it currently plays in Tercera División Group 7, holding home matches at Estadio Román Valero with a capacity of 14,000 se ...

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

and

CD Ourense Club Deportivo Ourense, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1952 after the dissolution of old UD Orensana, it played in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at ...

. He signed with

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, ...

in January 1998, being instrumental in the

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 ...

side's promotion from

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 ...

in just two years. Returning to

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 ...

, Movilla joined

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 ...

, where he managed another promotion in the 2001–02 season while playing all 38 games. He arrived on loan to

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

in January 2004, helping them to avoid top-flight relegation and win 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 ...

. The move was made permanent subsequently, and Movilla spent three additional campaigns with the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese, after which he joined newly promoted

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 ...

. At the start of 2008–09, with the side now in the second division, he was, alongside Paco Gallardo, ousted from the squad by coach

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

, only being reinstated after the latter's dismissal in December 2008. On 4 July 2009, Movilla moved close to home as he agreed to a two-year contract at

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 Lig ...

. In

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, he contributed 41 matches and 3,269 minutes in a return to the top flight after eight years. Movilla, who celebrated his 37th birthday in February, took part in 38 fixtures in 2011–12, being essential as Rayo retained their league status. He scored the first of his two goals in the season in the opener against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, a 1–1 away draw. Movilla returned to Zaragoza for

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, on a one-year deal. On 4 January 2013, after a 1–2 home loss to

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

, he became their oldest player to make a competitive appearance at the age of 37 years and 332 days, surpassing Enrique Yarza as the campaign went on to end in relegation. On 28 January 2014, after making negative remarks about the club's management in social media, Movilla was suspended for 30 days. He was released the following month along with

Javier Paredes Javier Paredes Arango (born 5 July 1982) is a Spanish former footballer who played mainly as a left back. He started his career with Real Oviedo, and made his La Liga debut with Getafe in 2005. During a 14-year professional career he represe ...

, finding about the news through Zaragoza's website.El Zaragoza despide a Movilla y Paredes (Zaragoza fire Movilla and Paredes)
Marca, 25 February 2014 (in Spanish)

Honours

Zaragoza *

: 2003–04 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Málaga *

: 1998–99 Atlético Madrid *Segunda División: 2001–02

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Movilla, Jose Maria 1975 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Madrid Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players CD Numancia players CD Ourense footballers Málaga CF players Atlético Madrid footballers Real Zaragoza players Real Murcia players Rayo Vallecano players