Álvaro Negredo

Álvaro Negredo

Personal information
Full name	Álvaro Negredo Sánchez
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Sevilla
Number	9
Youth career
2000–2001	Escuela Fútbol A.F.E
2001–2004	Rayo Vallecano
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2005	Rayo B	15	(14)
2004–2005	Rayo Vallecano	12	(1)
2005–2007	Real Madrid B	65	(22)
2007–2009	Almería	70	(32)
2009–	Sevilla	103	(45)
International career‡
2006	Spain U21	1	(0)
2009–	Spain	7	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 May 2012 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 February 2012

Template:Spanish name Álvaro Negredo Sánchez (born 20 August 1985) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Sevilla FC as a striker.

Nicknamed La fiera de Vallecas (The beast of Vallecas), his career was associated with Real Madrid, although he could never become a part of its first-team setup, going on to represent other teams in his country.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Madrid, Negredo started his career at local Rayo Vallecano, making his professional debuts in early 2005, with the team by then in the third level. He switched during that summer to another side in the country's capital, as he ended his formation in Real Madrid affiliate Real Madrid Castilla, from 2005–07.

In his last season, Negredo developed as a striker, scoring 18 league goals, although he could not prevent Castilla's drop from the second division. He impressed the first team's coach Fabio Capello, and was called for a few Real matches in the Spanish Cup, but stayed unused on the bench. Finally, he made his debut for the first team in a friendly against Atlético Madrid.

Almería

In July 2007, Negredo was sold to La Liga newcomers UD Almería, with Real Madrid having an option to rebuy. He made his topflight debut on 26 August, in a 3–0 shock win at Deportivo de La Coruña. On 2 February 2008, he scored from the penalty spot in a 2–0 home win against his former team. On 19 April, in a 4–1 away success against UEFA Cup and domestic cup holders Sevilla FC, he added two, after having missed a penalty kick.

Negredo finished the season as Almería's topscorer with 13 goals, as the side from Andalusia finished 8th. In 2008–09, he netted five in the side's first six matches, including a 95' minute scored against neighbours Recreativo de Huelva (1–0), on 28 September 2008. In February of the following year, he scored a brace against Valencia CF, which took his league tally to ten, albeit in a 2–3 away loss, and finished the campaign at 19, with the club producing a slightly less successful season.

Real Madrid return / Sevilla

Real Madrid exercised their buyback option of a reported €5 million on Negredo during the summer of 2009, and the player returned to first team training with the club, on 10 July. In the pre-season, he scored the fourth goal against LDU Quito, in a 4–2 Peace Cup win.

Negredo had been tipped to join Real Zaragoza or Hull City, but finally decided to sign a reported five-year deal with Sevilla for €15 million, with Real Madrid having an option to rebuy the player in the first two years.

Negredo made his debut for Sevilla on 31 August 2009, against Valencia CF, coming as a substitute in the 37th minute on a 0–2 away loss. Two weeks later, on his second appearance, he scored his first goal for Sevilla, against CA Osasuna, in a 2–0 away success.

A starter throughout most of 2009–10, with Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté fighting for the other striker berth, Negredo's first season was highly irregular. He suffered a scoring drought that lasted (in the league alone) 12 games, only ending on May 2, 2010, in a 3–1 home win against Atlético Madrid, his two goals coming from penalties (he had already lost his starting position at the time, but the Malian was suspended for that game); he added another brace the following match, a 5–1 away routing of Racing de Santander, for a total of 11 in the league (another in the UEFA Champions League). He was also sent off three times in the season, the last of which almost prevented his participation in the domestic cup final against Atlético de Madrid, after insulting the assistant referee in Sevilla's 3–2 win at former club Almería (the ban was later lifted and he was allowed to play – Fabiano was unavailable for the match through injury – in the 2–0 final win).

Negredo was an undisputed first-choice for Sevilla in the 2010–11 season - Fabiano also returned to São Paulo FC in March 2011 - scoring 27 official goals, 20 in the league. Highlights included braces against Villarreal CF (3–3 away draw in the cup, with his team eventually reaching the semifinals), Deportivo (3–3 away draw), Real Madrid (2–6 home loss,) Osasuna (2–3 loss, away) and RCD Espanyol (3–2 away win).

International career

On 6 October 2009, Negredo received his first call to the Spanish senior team by manager Vicente del Bosque, for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Armenia (on the 10th), following the injuries of David Villa and Daniel Güiza. He made his debut replacing Fernando Torres early in the second half, in an eventual 2–1 away win.

Four days later, Negredo started and scored twice (also providing two assists) in another away fixture, against Bosnia and Herzegovina (5–2 triumph), as Spain eventually won all ten group matches. He was, however, overlooked for the final stages in South Africa, with the national team winning the tournament. Despite having a poor season, scoring less goals than Soldado, Adrián, Rubén Castro and Michu, he was still able to make Spain's 23 man EURO 2012 squad over each one of the aforementioned.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	2009-10-14	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0–3	2–5	2010 World Cup qualification
2	2009-10-14	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0–4	2–5	2010 World Cup qualification
3	2011-06-04	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States	United States	0–2	0–4	Friendly
4	2011-09-06	Estadio Las Gaunas, Logroño, Spain	Liechtenstein	1–0	6–0	Euro 2012 qualification
5	2011-09-06	Estadio Las Gaunas, Logroño, Spain	Liechtenstein	2–0	6–0	Euro 2012 qualification Honours Club Sevilla Copa del Rey: 2009–10 Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2010 Club statistics As of 12 April 2012 Club Season League Cup1 Continental Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Rayo Vallecano 2004–05 12 1 — — 12 1 Total 12 1 — — 12 1 Real Madrid B 2005–06 25 4 — — 25 4 2006–07 40 18 — — 40 18 Total 65 22 — — 65 22 Almería 2007–08 36 13 2 0 — 38 13 2008–09 34 19 1 0 — 35 19 Total 70 32 3 0 — 73 32 Sevilla 2009–10 35 11 5 2 7 1 47 14 2010–11 38 20 9 5 8 1 55 26 2011–12 30 14 4 0 2 0 36 14 Total 103 45 18 7 17 2 131 54 Career totals 251 100 21 7 17 2 289 109 1Includes Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. Personal life Negredo's older brothers, César and Rubén, are also footballers, the former a defender, the latter a forward. Both played their entire careers in Segunda División B or lower. References External links Sevilla official profile BDFutbol profile Futbolme profile Template:Es icon National team data Template:Es icon Álvaro Negredo at National-Football-Teams.com Álvaro Negredo – FIFA competition record (archived) Transfermarkt profile Template:Persondata