Javier Magro Matilla (born 16 August 1988) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

central 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 ...

for

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

Athens Kallithea Athens Kallithea Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, a city and a suburb in Athens. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. The club has finishe ...

Club career

Spain

Matilla was born in Quero,

Province of Toledo Toledo () is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the western part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid Province, Madrid, Cuenca Province (Spai ...

. After finishing his football development at

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

, he made his debut for the main squad on 4 April 2009: he started and finished the

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 ...

away match against

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

, but his team lost 3–0. In addition, he spent three full seasons with the reserves, one in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

and two in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. On 28 June 2011, Matilla signed for

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, recently returned to the top flight, for 3+1 years and

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1.3 million. He made his official debut on 18 September, coming on as a substitute for Beñat Etxebarria in the dying minutes of a 3–2 away win over

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. Matilla was irregularly put to use during his four-and-a-half-year tenure in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, contributing 15 games and one goal as the club promoted in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. In the 2012–13 campaign, also in the second tier, he scored a career-best 12 goals whilst on loan to

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

, including one in a 1–0 home victory against

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

in the last matchday that certified survival. In mid-October 2013, Matilla's contract was further extended until 2017, but it was mutually terminated on 15 January 2016 as the player was still nursing a serious knee injury. Subsequently, he went on trial with English

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 sys ...

side

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, but nothing came of it. On 6 July 2016, Matilla signed for

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

in division two. After suffering relegation, he spent six months without a club before joining

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

Greece

On 10 July 2018, Matilla moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining Aris Thessaloniki F.C. on a one-year contract with the possibility of an additional season. On 14 January 2019, his first goal for the Greek team was scored through an injury-time

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

to help the hosts beat

PAS Lamia 1964 Lamia Football Club () is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Lamia (city), Lamia, Greece. It was founded in 1964. The club plays in the Super League Greece 2, Super League 2, the second tier of Greek football. It ...

1–0, and he repeated the feat on 17 February, this time against

Panionios F.C. Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

and also for the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and at the

Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium The Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium () or Charilaou Ground (Γήπεδο Χαριλάου) is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was built in 1951 as the home stadium of Aris F.C. (Thessaloniki), one of the most p ...

(1–1). On 15 August 2019, Matilla opened an eventual 3–1 home win over

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a association football, football club based in Molde Municipality, Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club w ...

in the

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, but his side was eliminated due to a 3–0 loss in the first leg. From

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, he helped them to finish third in the domestic front. Matilla remained in Greece after leaving Aris, with

Volos FC Volos Football Club () is a Greek professional football club based in Volos, Magnesia, Greece. The club currently competes in the Super League, the first tier of football in Greece. Volos plays its home matches at the Panthessaliko Stadium. Histo ...

(top division) and Athens Kallithea FC ( Super League 2).

International career

Matilla's only

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the Spain under-21 team arrived on 4 September 2009, as he played 15 minutes in a 2–0 win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

for the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matilla, Javier 1988 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Toledo Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Villarreal CF B players Villarreal CF players Real Betis players Real Murcia CF players Elche CF players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Super League Greece players Super League Greece 2 players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Volos F.C. players Athens Kallithea F.C. players Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece