Jesús Gámez Duarte (; born 10 April 1985) is a Spanish 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 plays mainly 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 ...

. He spent most of his career with Málaga, making his debut with the first team in 2005 and going on to make 293 official appearances. He also played two seasons in England with Newcastle United.

Club career

Málaga

Born in Fuengirola, Málaga,

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 ...

, Gámez first appeared professionally with Málaga CF's

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

in 2003–04's Segunda División, and helped them to retain their status three seasons. However, midway through 2005–06, he was promoted to the first team, making his

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' ...

debut on 27 November 2005 (five minutes played in a 3–2 away loss to Getafe CF) as both the first and the second teams from the city eventually dropped down a level in June. Gámez was an undisputed starter the next second-tier seasons, replacing

Gerardo Gerardo may refer to: People Given name Gerardo is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of the male given name Gerard. * Gerardo Amarilla (born 1969), Uruguayan politician * Gerardo Bonilla (born 1975), Puerto Rican-born professional race ...

as and contributing 35 games in 2007–08 as the club returned to the top flight after a two-year absence. He continued to be first choice throughout the following campaign, appearing in roughly the same matches and minutes. Gámez was made captain in summer 2011, after the retirement of veteran

Francesc Arnau Francesc Xavier Arnau Grabalosa (23 March 1975 – 22 May 2021) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a 16-year professional career he played for Barcelona and Málaga, appearing in 126 La Liga games over the course of 12 seas ...

. He made his 200th league appearance on 29 January 2012, featuring one minute in a

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against

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 ...

(2–1 home win); that same season, he helped the ''Boquerones'' to their highest ever league finish, a fourth place with the subsequent spot in the playoff-round of 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 ...

. On 15 May 2012, Gámez extended his contract with Málaga until June 2016. On 21 October of the following year, he added one more year to his link.

Atlético Madrid

On 8 August 2014, Gámez signed a three-year deal with reigning champions Atlético Madrid. For most of his first season, he was used by manager

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011. In his cl ...

as a left-back.

Newcastle United

During the 2016 summer transfer window, the 31-year-old Gámez moved abroad for the first time in his career and joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club Newcastle United on a two-year deal. He made his competitive debut on 23 August, starting in a 2–0 home win against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

in the EFL Cup. His maiden league appearance took place four days later, as he came on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Vurnon Anita against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

, also a 2–0 home victory. With the team back in 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 ...

, Gámez made his debut in the competition on 10 September 2017 at the age of 32 years and 152 days, playing the entire 1–0 victory at Swansea City. He left

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...

in June 2018, with only ten competitive appearances to his credit.

Career statistics

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

runner-up: 2015–16 Spain U23 * Mediterranean Games: 2005 Newcastle United * Sky Bet Championship winners: 2016-17

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamez, Jesus 1985 births Living people People from Fuengirola Sportspeople from the Province of Málaga Spanish footballers Footballers from Andalusia Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players Atlético Madrid footballers Premier League players English Football League players Newcastle United F.C. players Spain under-23 international footballers Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England