Iván de la Peña López (; born 6 May 1976) 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 lea ...
who played as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
. During his career, he earned the nicknames ('Little Buddha') and ('The Shaven One') due to his shaven head and slight frame.
Having started as a youth prodigy at
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, he incidentally closed out his extensive career at neighbouring
Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...
, amassing
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
totals of 269 games and 19 goals over the course of 12 seasons.
De la Peña was known for his technical skills and accurate passing ability, although his career was affected by several injuries.
Playing career
Club
Born in
Santander,
Cantabria
Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...
, de la Peña was recruited by
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
as a youth player in 1991 and made his debut for
the B-team two years later. He went on to play 37 games for them, and first-team manager
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
gave him his official main squad debut on 3 September 1995 as he came on as a
substitute – and scored – in a 2–0 away win against
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the .
The club ...
; at 19, he was initially regarded as the natural successor to
Pep Guardiola
Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...
. However, he gradually fell out of favour with Cruyff and found himself dropped, although he achieved a career-best seven league goals in that
rookie season.
With the arrival of
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town. ...
in 1996, de la Peña was given a second chance to establish himself in the team. He subsequently developed a partnership with
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, also prevalent in other Romance countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
Association footballe ...
and was a prominent member of the team that won the
Copa del Rey
The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
/
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
/
UEFA Supercup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
treble in 1997. He was also voted the best young player by ''
El País
(; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...
'' in both 1996 and 1997.
De la Peña fell out of favour at ''Barça'' once again after the arrival of another
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
coach,
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
, and he was consequently transferred to
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
, along with
Fernando Couto
Fernando Manuel Silva Couto (; born 2 August 1969) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
During a 21-year professional career, he played in a number of top clubs in Portugal, Spain and Italy (12 seasons ...
. However, he failed to establish himself in
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
and was loaned to
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
during the 1999–00 season. This move was not successful either and he returned to Barcelona, on loan, for
2000–01; after only appearing nine times (one start, against
Racing Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...
) throughout the season, under
Lorenzo Serra Ferrer
Lorenzo Serra Ferrer (; ; born 5 March 1953) is a Spanish football manager.
His career was mainly associated with Mallorca and Betis, and he also served the former in various other capacities.
Playing career
Born in Sa Pobla, Mallorca, Balea ...
, he returned to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, being released in the following summer.
In 2002, de la Peña moved to Barcelona neighbours
Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...
, where he gained the continuity and stability to produce some of the best football in his career. In the
2004–05 season, he helped the
Catalans
Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...
finish fifth in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, enabling them to
qualify
Qualification may refer to:
Processes
* Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress
* Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
for the
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. In the
2006 domestic cup final, de la Peña masterminded a 4–1 victory against
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 football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...
, setting up two goals:
Raúl Tamudo scored after two minutes when he headed in a rebound following a de la Peña
free-kick. The pair combined again to carve open the Zaragoza defence to lay on a goal for
Luis García; as a result, Espanyol again for the
qualified for the UEFA Cup and eventually reached the
competition final, losing to
Sevilla
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Seville ...
on
penalties.
From 2007 to 2009, after extending his contract, de la Peña was severely hindered with injury problems. However, on 21 February 2009, he managed to net twice in a 2–1
derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
win at ''Barça'', with one side ranking first in
the league
''The League'' is an American television sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football l ...
and the other last; Espanyol eventually finished in 10th position.
After the shocking death of new
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
Daniel Jarque
Daniel Jarque González (1 January 1983 – 8 August 2009) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a central defender and spent his entire career with Espanyol. He was named team captain one month before his death from a heart attac ...
, in August 2009, de la Peña was named as his replacement. His physical problems continued to bother him tremendously, to a point which he said that if this became a major issue he would retire, which happened on 22 May 2011 at the age of 35, immediately after a home match against Sevilla.
International
De la Peña, alongside the likes of
Gaizka Mendieta
Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (, ; born 27 March 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
A versatile player, with good technique, offensive capabilities and tackling skills, who was capable of creating goals both ...
,
Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes Sánchez (; born 5 April 1976) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker.
He played for a number of clubs during his career, including Real Madri ...
and
Raúl, played for the
Spanish under-21s at both the
1996 UEFA European Championship
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
and the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, helping the nation
reach the quarter-finals in the latter.
Despite this, he did not make his debut for the
senior team until 9 February 2005, at the age of 28 years and 9 months in a
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
qualifier against
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...
(
Almería
Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...
, 5–0). He subsequently played for Spain on five occasions during the year, with his last coming against the same opponent.
Post-retirement
On 8 June 2011, de la Peña was announced as part of the new coaching staff that would work alongside new manager
Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain.
A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playin ...
– a former teammate at Barcelona – at
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
People, characters, figures, names
* Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas.
* Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun
* Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
.
It was announced in August that he would be taking a leave of absence for family reasons.
Currently, he works as a football agent, and his most known client that he represents is young
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
talent
Gavi
GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a Public–private partnership, public–private global health partnership with the goal of incr ...
.
Career statistics
Club
:Source:
International
Honours
Club
Barcelona
*
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
:
1997–98
*
Copa del Rey
The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
:
1996–97,
1997–98
*
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
:
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
:
1996–97
*
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
:
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
Lazio
*
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...
:
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
:
1998–99
Espanyol
*
Copa del Rey
The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
:
2005–06
*
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: Runner-up
2006–07
International
Spain
*
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...
: Runner-up
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
Individual
*
Don Balón Award
From 1976 until 2010, the Spanish sports magazine '' Don Balón'' conferred the Don Balón Award (''Premio Don Balón'') to the best Spanish player, the best foreign player, the best referee and the breakthrough player in La Liga. These awards ceas ...
– Breakthrough Player of the Year in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
:
1995–96
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Ivan De La
1976 births
Living people
Spanish men's footballers
Footballers from Santander, Spain
Men's association football midfielders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
FC Barcelona Atlètic players
FC Barcelona players
RCD Espanyol footballers
Serie A players
SS Lazio players
Ligue 1 players
Olympique de Marseille players
Spain men's youth international footballers
Spain men's under-21 international footballers
Spain men's under-23 international footballers
Spain men's international footballers
Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers for Spain
Spanish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France