Jesús Seba

Jesús Seba

Personal information
Full name	Jesús Seba Hernández
Date of birth	11 April 1974 (1974-04-11)
Place of birth	Zaragoza, Spain
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1989–1990	Miralbuena
1990–1991	CD Oliver
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1994	Zaragoza B
1992–1995	Zaragoza	18	(2)
1994–1995	→ Villarreal (loan)	21	(1)
1995–1996	Wigan Athletic	21	(3)
1996–1998	Zaragoza B	47	(6)
1997	Zaragoza	1	(0)
1998–1999	Chaves	31	(10)
1999–2002	Belenenses	66	(10)
2002–2003	Orihuela	26	(2)
2003–2005	Palencia	58	(3)
2005–2009	Andorra CF	94	(22)
2009–2010	CD Oliver
National team
1992–1993	Spain U21	3	(1)
2002–2006	Aragon (non-affiliated)	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Seba and the second or maternal family name is Hernández.

Jesús Seba Hernández (born 11 April 1974) is a retired Spanish professional footballer who played mostly as a forward.

Mostly associated to Real Zaragoza, he is also known as one of the 'Three Amigos', the collective name given to the first three Spanish footballers to play in the English Football League, as he had signed with Wigan Athletic.

Club career

Real Zaragoza

Seba was born in Zaragoza, Aragon. He made his professional - and top-level - début at the age of 18 for local Real Zaragoza, in a 1–1 draw against Real Sociedad; he would garner praise for his early performances, ultimately leading to a call-up for the Spain under-21 team - notably scoring twice against Boldklubben Frem for the 1992–93 UEFA Cup (eventually 6–1 aggregate win).

However, in March 1993, Seba suffered a serious ankle tear when attempting a turn in a Copa del Rey match. The injury would stunt his development and later prove a turning point in his career, as he would figure sparingly in topflight football during the following seasons.

After a loan in the second division with Villarreal CF, Seba was released by Zaragoza and snapped on a free transfer by England's Wigan Athletic, for the start of the 1995–96 season.

Wigan Athletic

Seba came to Wigan as one of the 'Three Amigos', alongside Roberto Martínez - also his teammate at Zaragoza - and Isidro Díaz, drafted in by new Chairman Dave Whelan in the summer of 1995. The signings were a real coup for an English Third Division club, especially considering Football League teams rarely searched for talent abroad in the mid-90s, and that Seba was also an under-21 international. 'Jesus is a Wiganer' was an early joke at the club, and Spanish flags adorned Springfield Park on matchdays, as Spanish fever gripped the town's football supporters.

Seba would score for his new club with his first touch, in a pre-season friendly, and made his début in the opening match of the league campaign against Gillingham, before grabbing his first goal in his first game at home (also league), a 2–1 defeat of Scunthorpe United.

Following a series of good results, aided by a string of impressive performances from Seba, Wigan were made early favourites for the Third Division Championship. Mid-season, however, the player found himself on the fringes of the first team, and with the club's league position only 'satisfactory', manager Graham Barrow was sacked following a 6–2 loss to Mansfield Town. Caretaker manager Frank Lord reinstated Seba to the first team and oversaw a 4–0 win over Exeter City, in which the player scored two goals.

Seba was immediately dropped by new manager John Deehan, however, and would later see his appearances limited to mainly substitute roles, as he struggled to find form in the latter half of the season. He made just two appearances, both from the bench, in the first couple of months of the 1996–97 season, and played his final game for Wigan on 7 September 1996, 30 minutes against Scunthorpe.

Seba then had trials at Burnley and Bristol Rovers, before being allowed to leave the club by Deehan in October 1996, having started 11 games and appearing as a substitute on sixteen further occasions for Wigan. Of the three Spaniards, he found it most difficult to settle, and his struggle to grasp the English language was another contributory factor in his departure.

Spain and Portugal

In the 1996, Seba returned to his country and Zaragoza, but spent almost two years appearing for the reserve team, only playing once for the first squad, during the 1–3 home loss to SD Compostela, on the final day of the 1996–97 season. He then had a four-year spell in Portugal, playing for G.D. Chaves and C.F. Os Belenenses, where a heart condition whilst with the latter put his career on hold.

He eventually recovered, but spent his later years in Segunda División B (Orihuela CF, CF Palencia) or lower - during his four-year stint at amateur Andorra CF, he served as club captain and was a highly popular figure.

After considering retirement at the end of the 2008–09 season, Seba decided to return to CD Oliver, the club that gave him his professional break. Upon joining, he expressed his desire to finish his career at the club at which he began more than twenty years earlier.

International career

As well as playing three games for the Spanish Under-21 side, Seba appeared twice for the non-affiliated Aragonese football team, against Castile and León in 2002 and Chile in December 2006.

The latter, a 1–0 victory, was Aragon's first fixture against a FIFA-accredited international team.

Honours

Club

• Spanish Cup: 1993–94

Personal life

Seba is married with two daughters, his former teammates Roberto Martínez and Xavier Aguado ranking amongst his closest friends.

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• Jesús Seba career stats at Soccerbase
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)