Joan Capdevila Méndez (; born 3 February 1978) 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 ...

who played as a left back. Over 15 seasons 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' ...

, he amassed totals of 410 matches and 36 goals, mainly for Deportivo and

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

. In a 21-year senior career, he also played professionally in Portugal, India, Belgium, and Andorra. Capdevila won 60

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for

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 ...

, and was part of the squads which won

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

and the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Club career

Early years and Deportivo

Born in

Tàrrega Tàrrega is a town and municipality located in the Urgell comarca, Province of Lleida, Catalonia. According to the 2020 census ( Statistical Institute of Catalonia), the town has a population of 17,445. The village has a Mediterranean climate wi ...

, Lleida,

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, and a product of

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 ...

's youth system, Capdevila started playing football as a forward, and he made his debut for its first team during the 1998–99 season in a 2–2

draw at Athletic Bilbao. He joined Atlético Madrid the following year. After the ''Colchoneros''

relegation 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. ...

, Capdevila signed with

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

in the summer of 2000, and would be a regular fixture in the team as left-back, first competing with Enrique Romero then as the undisputed first choice. On 16 September 2006, he scored twice as 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 ...

overcame

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

2–0 at the Riazor Stadium.

Villarreal

For the 2007–08 campaign, Capdevila moved to Villarreal on a three-year deal, and played in all the league games except two for a side that finished runners-up, achieving direct

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

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 ...

. He produced similar numbers in his second year, bettering his goal total in the process (five). In the 2009–10 season, with no real competition for his position, Capdevila continued to figure prominently, only missing one league match – the defender added another five goals, but his team could not qualify for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

this time after finishing seventh. On 6 December 2009 he scored twice in a 3–2 home win against Getafe CF, precisely the side that prevented the

Valencians Valencians ( va, valencians) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Legally, Valencians are the inhabitants of the community. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Au ...

from reaching that achievement, even though they were later reinstated at the expense of RCD Mallorca. Midway through

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. ...

, Capdevila faced stiff competition from

José Catalá José Manuel Catalá Mazuecos (born 1 January 1985) is a Spanish footballer who plays for CD Gerena as a central defender or a left back. Club career Born in Villajoyosa, Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Catalá emerged through lo ...

, even being relegated to the bench on occasion. He did finish the campaign with more than 40 official appearances, including nine in Villarreal's Europa League semi-final run, where he scored in a 3–2 home victory over eventual winners FC Porto (7–4 aggregate loss).

Benfica

On 21 July 2011, aged 33, Capdevila moved abroad for the first time, joining

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

of Portugal on a two-year contract. On 20 August he made his official debut in a 3–1 Primeira Liga defeat of C.D. Feirense at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, it ...

, but was not included in the squad for the group stages of the Champions League, which prompted rumours that he would seek to leave in the January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

. Manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 1 ...

confirmed that another newly signed, Brazilian Emerson, would start at left-back and that the Spaniard would find it difficult to be included in matchday squads. However, during the final stages of the season, Jesus gave Capdevila a long run as a starter, and he made his Champions League debut for the Lisbon club on 4 April 2012, playing the second leg of the quarter-finals against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, a 2–1 loss at Stamford Bridge (3–1 on aggregate). He was also the habitual first-choice during the domestic League Cup, which Benfica won for the fourth time in a row, and finished the campaign with 12 competitive matches.

Later years

On 27 July 2012, Capdevila agreed on a return to his first professional club Espanyol. He was released alongside Simão Sabrosa on 22 May 2014, after only ten overall appearances in his second season. On 16 July 2014, Capdevila signed for

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Sup ...

, as their marquee player ahead of the inaugural

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

season. He said: “India is a huge country and it should be a privilege for me to be a small part in popularising this global game here and working with the young talented footballers of North East India”. He started in the franchise's first match, a 1–0 win over the

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

at the

Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, also known as Sarusajai Stadium, is a football stadium in Guwahati, Assam, India. It is the current home ground of NorthEast United FC. Besides hosting football matches, the stadium is also used for athletics. I ...

, being deployed by manager Ricki Herbert 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 ...

. On 27 November, in a 3–0 home victory against league leaders

Chennaiyin FC Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014 during the inaugural season o ...

, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

after 72 minutes for a second yellow card, as his team went on to rank in last position. Capdevila changed countries again on 21 January 2015, joining

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 tea ...

's Lierse SK. In May, he suffered a knee injury in training, ruling him out for six months. He returned to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

on 1 June 2016, signing for

FC Santa Coloma FC Santa Coloma is an Andorran football team based in the village of Santa Coloma, in the parish of Andorra la Vella. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió, and is its current champion and most successful team with thirteen titles. It ...

, champions of Andorra's

Primera Divisió The Primera Divisió (First Division) or Lliga Multisegur Assegurances for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of men's football in Andorra. The league was launched in 1995 sponsored by the local federation ( Andorran Football Federation) whi ...

. On 5 July 2017, the 39-year-old Capdevila announced his retirement.

International career

Capdevila played for

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, winning the silver medal and converting his

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

attempt as his team lost the final to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He made his debut for the full side on 16 October 2002 in a 0–0 friendly draw with

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, scoring his first goal in an

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...

against Sweden on 17 November 2007, a 3–0 win. Previously, he made the country's final squad for

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

as an injury replacement for

Míchel Salgado Miguel Ángel "Míchel" Salgado Fernández (born 22 October 1975) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right-back. Nicknamed ''Il Due'' ("two" in Italian), he was known for his combative tackling and attacking play. After excellent d ...

, but did not leave the bench. On 6 February 2008, Capdevila scored the winner in Spain's 1–0 victory over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in a friendly in Málaga. He was subsequently called up to the squad for Euro 2008, where he featured in all the games save one for the eventual champions. During the tournament he established himself as first choice, his clearance in the dying seconds against Sweden being a crucial part of

David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of the best Spanish strikers of all time. ...

's late winner to make the score 2–1; together with right-back Sergio Ramos and central defenders Carles Puyol and Carlos Marchena, he helped keep

clean sheets In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

during all three matches of the knock-out stages. During the first game of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup on 14 June 2009, Capdevila set up

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

's third goal of his

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

, and also assisted for

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...

's second international goal as Spain thrashed

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

5–0 – in fact, all five goals were created from the left wing, with him playing a crucial part in the Spanish attack. In the second game against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, three days later, he assisted Villa's on his 55th-minute goal (the match's only), which allowed for a run to the semi-finals of the competition. Eventually he, Puyol, Villa and Torres were named in the team of the tournament, as the national side finished third. During the group stages of the competition, he provided the most assists (three) and made the joint second–highest number of solo runs (ten). On 20 May 2010, after appearing in all the fixtures during the qualifying stages, contributing one goal in Spain's 4–0 home defeat of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, Capdevila was selected by manager

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

to the squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, where he played all the games and minutes for the eventual champions, being the only member of the starting line-up for the final who was not a Real Madrid or

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. Found ...

player, considering Villa had been signed by the latter days before the tournament. He was among the top ten players of the competition in terms of distance covered, having run 71.79 km.

Style of play

An offensive–minded left-sided full-back or wing-back, Capdevila was known for his speed and passing ability, which enabled him to get forward, make overlapping runs, provide width to his team and link-up with the attack. Regarded as one of the best left-backs in the world in his prime, although he was not as flashy as other players in his position, he was also known for his leadership and consistency as well as his defensive ability, although he was stronger in the offensive aspect of his game.

Awards, recognitions and distinctions

* Gold Medal of the

Royal Order of Sports Merit The Royal Order of Sports Merit ( es, Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo) is a Spanish civil order of merit established in 18 June 1982. The order is indented to recognise distinguished service in sports, in teaching physical education, or the man ...

, awarded by the Higher Sports Council (2011)

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Capdevila goal.''

Honours

Deportivo *

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 ...

: 2001–02 * Supercopa de España: 2002 Benfica * Taça da Liga: 2011–12 Santa Coloma *

: 2016–17 Spain U23 * Summer Olympic silver medal:

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 ...

Spain *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

: 2010 *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2009 Individual *FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA.com Users' Top 11: 2009 *

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 2010

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capdevila, Joan 1978 births Living people People from Tàrrega Sportspeople from the Province of Lleida Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players UE Tàrrega players RCD Espanyol B footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Deportivo de La Coruña players Atlético Madrid footballers Villarreal CF players Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers Indian Super League players NorthEast United FC players Indian Super League marquee players Belgian Pro League players Lierse S.K. players FC Santa Coloma players Spain under-21 international footballers Spain under-23 international footballers Spain international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2008 players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA European Championship-winning players 2010 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Spain Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Spain Olympic medalists in football Catalonia international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in India Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Andorra Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Andorra