Asier del Horno Cosgaya (born 19 January 1981) 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, rugb ...

who played as a

left 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 ...

. After solid displays with

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los L ...

, for which he appeared in 126 official games in five years scoring 17 goals, he moved to

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 ...

in England, where he won the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

in the 2005–06 season. Subsequently, del Horno – who missed the 2006 World Cup with

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") , ...

due to a last-minute injury – returned to his country with

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, who loaned him to several clubs for the duration of his contract. He dealt with several physical problems in the latter part of his career, amassing

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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

totals of 187 matches and 15 goals.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo h ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

, del Horno began his career at

in 1999, where his combative tackling and strength in the air saw him rise through the ranks as a left-footed

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 ...

. However, his pace and ability to contribute to the attack led to his being switched to the flank by the time he had arrived in the seniors for both club and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

. Del Horno made his first-team debut in the 2000–01 opener at only 19, and finished his first season at the San Mamés Stadium with 14 games to help the

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Ba ...

finish in 12th position.

Chelsea

In June 2005, del Horno moved to

for a fee of £8 million. He won the first and only league championship of his career with the ''Blues'', as part of the squad that conquered the

title. During his spell at Stamford Bridge, del Horno played 34 overall matches and scored once, against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

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in a 2–0 victory on 27 August 2005. The following 22 February, late into the first half of a

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 ...

round-of-16 clash at home against

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 ...

, he received a straight

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for a foul on

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...

, as his team went on to lose the match 1–2 and the tie 2–3.

Valencia

On 21 July 2006, del Horno returned to Spain to sign for

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

on a six-year contract worth

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8 million, seen as a natural replacement for Amedeo Carboni who had retired at 41. Athletic Bilbao had expressed interest, but withdrew from further negotiations, forfeiting any further financial advantage; following surgery on his injured

Achilles heel An Achilles' heel (or Achilles heel) is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to ...

, which kept him off the pitches for most of the season, he made his debut for his new team on 3 March 2007 in a 1–0 home win over

RC 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 ...

. Del Horno was placed on the transfer list by manager Quique Sánchez Flores, as the latter announced that the defender would not retain his position for 2007–08. In the last day of the

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 ...

, he agreed to join his former club Athletic on a one-year loan deal, returning to Valencia after an injury-filled campaign. At the ''Che'', his physical problems persisted and, after an unassuming first half of 2009–10 – only played in 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 footb ...

and only when facing rivals of smaller entity – he was loaned to

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 ...

until the end of the season, on 30 January; an undisputed starter since his arrival, he could not however prevent the

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of th ...

side from 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 L ...

, after a three-year stay in the top division. For

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. ...

, 29-year-old del Horno was loaned once again, joining freshly promoted side

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a Spanish football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante play in Segunda División, holding home games at Ciu ...

. He was used regularly in both defensive positions as 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 Aut ...

eventually retained their league status, but also missed the final stretch due to physical ailments which had been bothering him since early into the campaign.

Later years

Upon returning to Valencia, del Horno's contract was immediately terminated. In early August 2011, he re-joined Levante on a permanent deal. After again dealing with injury throughout the season, where he was not able to dislodge 35-year-old Juanfran from the left-back position, del Horno was released.

International career

Del Horno made his

debut on 3 September 2004, against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He scored the winner in a 1–0 friendly with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

played in

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 ...

, two months later. An ankle injury forced del Horno to withdraw from the 23-man squad named by

Luis Aragonés Luis Aragonés Suárez (; 28 July 1938 – 1 February 2014) was a Spanish football player and manager. Aragonés spent the majority of his career as a player and coach at Atlético Madrid. He was a prominent player and then coach of the succe ...

for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

in Germany. Medical staff in the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation ( es, Real Federación Española de Fútbol; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. It is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. It was founded on 14 October 19 ...

alleged that Chelsea had prior knowledge of the former's injury, but allowed him to continue playing; subsequently, his vacant position was controversially filled in by naturalised Argentinian Mariano Pernía, of

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and o ...

. Del Horno also represented the Basque Country regional team.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

(Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Del Horno goal)

Honours

Chelsea *

: 2005–06 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

References

External links

* *
CiberChe stats and bio
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horno, Asier Del 1981 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Barakaldo Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players Bilbao Athletic footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Valencia CF players Real Valladolid players Levante UD footballers Premier League players Chelsea F.C. players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers Basque Country international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England