José Enrique Sánchez Díaz (born 23 January 1986), known as José Enrique, 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Starting his career with Levante, José Enrique was signed by their rivals

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and made

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 ...

appearances for Celta Vigo and Villarreal. He then spent nine years in England with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, totalling 161

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

appearances. With the latter club, he won the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

and lost the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

final in 2012. He retired through injury in 2017, after a year back in Spain with

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 ...

Club career

Early life and career

José Enrique was born in

. He began his football career at hometown club Levante before being acquired by rivals

, who sent him to Celta Vigo for a season-long

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

. At the conclusion of this loan spell, he was signed by Villarreal in 2006.

Newcastle United

On 6 August 2007, José Enrique signed for English

club

for a fee believed to be £6.3 million. He signed a five-year contract with the club. He made his Newcastle debut on 29 August against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in which he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 victory, and his Premier League debut as a substitute against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 23 September. José Enrique's performances were rewarded when he was made the official Newcastle United Player of the Season for 2009–10, voted for by the fans. He also achieved the accolade of being named in the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

alongside Newcastle teammates Fabricio Coloccini, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll. José Enrique scored his only goal for the club in a 2–0 league win over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on 29 March 2010. He made 36 Premier League appearances for Newcastle in the 2010–11 season.

Liverpool

On 12 August 2011, José Enrique signed for Liverpool for a reported fee of £6 million. He made his debut two days later in Liverpool's first game of the 2011–12 Premier League season, starting in a 1–1 draw against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. On 26 February 2012, he helped Liverpool win the 2012 Football League Cup Final against Cardiff City, their first honour since 2006. On 1 April, he was forced to play as a goalkeeper for the remaining 13 minutes of the match against his old club Newcastle after Pepe Reina was sent off for headbutting James Perch. Although José Enrique kept a clean sheet, Liverpool, being down 2–0 at the time of Reina's red card, failed to level the score. He also played in the 2012 FA Cup Final on 5 May, a 2–1 loss to Chelsea. On 17 November 2012, in a league match against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, José Enrique scored his first goal for Liverpool in the 65th minute, having been increasingly reinvented as a left wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation under manager Brendan Rodgers. On 1 October 2014, he made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut for Liverpool against

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in Switzerland, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat. In his final three seasons at Liverpool, José Enrique made only 21 total appearances, 12 of which were in the league. He was hampered by a persistent injury to his right knee, and the side-effects of medication to deal with it. He captained the club in his final appearances, against Exeter City in the FA Cup in January 2016. José Enrique was released by Liverpool at the end of the 2015–16 season.

Real Zaragoza

On 7 September 2016, José Enrique signed for

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 ...

club

on a two-year contract. He made his debut on 8 October, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 loss away to

Sevilla Atlético Sevilla Atlético is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1950, it is the reserve team of Sevilla FC, Sevilla. It plays in and holds home games at the Ciu ...

, and scored his first goal on 5 November in a 2–2 draw away to

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

. On 6 September 2017, José Enrique announced his retirement from football due to a persistent knee injury.

Personal life

José Enrique was diagnosed with

chordoma Chordoma is a rare slow-growing neoplasm (cancer) that arises from cellular remnants of the notochord in the bones of the skull base and spine. The evidence for the notochordal origin of chordoma is the location of the tumors (along the neuraxis ...

, a rare brain tumour, in May 2018. On 23 June 2018, he announced that he was recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumour. He stated, "I am now in recovery and so thankful. Life is too precious." In April 2019, he received the all-clear.

Career statistics

Honours

Newcastle United *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 2009–10 Liverpool *

runner-up: 2011–12 *

: 2011–12 Individual *

: 2009–10 Championship *

Player of the Year: 2009–10

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jose Enrique 1986 births Living people Footballers from Valencia Spanish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Atlético Levante UD players Valencia CF players RC Celta de Vigo players Villarreal CF players Newcastle United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Real Zaragoza players Segunda División B players La Liga players Premier League players English Football League players Segunda División players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Spanish sportsmen