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Manuel Lucena

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Manolo Lucena
Personal information
Full name Manuel Lucena Medina
Date of birth (1982-11-18) 18 November 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth Granada, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
2000–2001 Imperio Albolote
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Arenas
2002–2005 Granada 64 (4)
2004–2005Marino (loan) 32 (6)
2005 Sporting Gijón 3 (0)
2006–2013 Granada 181 (15)
2013–2014 Mirandés 11 (0)
Total 291 (25)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel 'Manolo' Lucena Medina (born 18 November 1982) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

His professional career was mainly associated with Granada, with which he competed in all four major levels of Spanish football.[1]

Club career

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Lucena was born in Granada, Andalusia. In 2002 he signed for his hometown's Granada CF, at the time in the Tercera División. After two years as a starter he was loaned to Marino de Luanco of Segunda División B, being first-choice in his only season as the Asturias club narrowly avoided relegation.[2]

In the summer of 2005, Lucena joined Sporting de Gijón in the Segunda División. In January 2006, with only three league appearances to his credit – seven minutes in total – he returned to Granada, scoring five goals as the team promoted from the fourth division.[2]

Lucena remained a key player in the following three third-tier campaigns, never appearing in less than 32 league games and occasionally pitching in at defensive midfielder.[3] In 2009–10, already as team captain, he contributed 26 matches and one goal en route to a return to division two after 22 years.[1]

In late June 2011, after a second consecutive promotion for Granada, with him as the club's only player from the region of Granada, Lucena renewed his contract for a further two seasons.[4][5] He made his La Liga debut on 27 August in a 0–1 home loss against Real Betis (90 minutes played),[6][1] but totalled only nine official games over two seasons, being released subsequently.

Lucena retired at the end of the 2013–14 campaign at the age of 31, following a spell with CD Mirandés in the second tier.[7] In February 2015, he returned to Granada as match delegate.[8]

References

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