Juan Velasco Damas (born 17 May 1977) is a Spanish retired
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 played as a
right back
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 ...
, and is a
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
.
He played for seven clubs during his professional career, appearing in 213 matches in
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' ...
and scoring one goal. He also competed abroad in England and Greece.
Velasco represented
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
at
Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament was ...
.
Club career
Born in
Dos Hermanas
Dos Hermanas () is a Spanish city south of Seville in Andalusia, with a population of 131,317 as of 2015.
History
The city's name, which means "two sisters", dates from its founding in 1248 by King Ferdinand III of Castile and honours Elvir ...
,
Province of Seville, Velasco started representing professionally local giants
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...
, appearing in 13
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' ...
matches in the
1996–97 season, which ended in relegation. His league debut occurred on 5 March 1997 in a 0–2 away 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 ...
, and in the following two years he amassed nearly 72 official appearances, contributing prominently in
the second
''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the orig ...
as the
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost 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 "historical nationality". The t ...
ns returned to the top level.
After helping Sevilla promote, Velasco joined
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
, experiencing his most successful period: in the
2002–03 campaign he played 31 games to help the
Galicians
Galicians ( gl, galegos, es, gallegos, link=no) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group from Spain that is closely related to the Portuguese people and has its historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance la ...
qualify for the first time ever to the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. In
the following season, however, he saw his team suffer relegation.
Velasco played the following three years with
Atlético Madrid (two) and
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...
, averaging 22 contests per season. On 18 February 2008, after spending the first months of the new campaign without a club, he signed a three-month contract with
Football League Championship side
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, following a successful trial; at the end of
the season he left for
Panthrakikos FC, freshly promoted to the
Superleague Greece.
After one-and-a-half seasons of relative playing time, Velasco moved teams in January 2010 but stayed in the country, signing with
Athlitiki Enosi Larissa FC. He retired in June of the following year at the age of 34, and in 2013 returned to football, being appointed manager at
Xerez CD B.
On 13 October 2016, Velasco signed as head coach of
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 ...
.
International career
Velasco was
capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
five times by
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, his debut coming on 26 January 2000 in a 3–0
friendly win over
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
(
Cartagena). Selected for
UEFA Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament wa ...
,
Spanish squad unveiled
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
, 28 May 2000 he did not leave the bench.
Honours
Celta
* UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Juan
1977 births
Living people
Footballers from Dos Hermanas
Spanish footballers
Association football defenders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Segunda División B players
Tercera División players
Coria CF players
Sevilla Atlético players
Sevilla FC players
RC Celta de Vigo players
Atlético Madrid footballers
RCD Espanyol footballers
English Football League players
Norwich City F.C. players
Super League Greece players
Panthrakikos F.C. players
Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players
Spain under-21 international footballers
Spain international footballers
UEFA Euro 2000 players
Spanish expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Greece
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Spanish football managers
Segunda División B managers
Extremadura UD managers