Pedro León
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pedro León | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pedro León Sánchez Gil | |
| Date of birth | November 24, 1986 | |
| Place of birth | Mula, Spain | |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |
| Playing position | Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Valladolid | |
| Number | 12 | |
| Youth career | ||
| 2000–2002 2003–2004 2004 |
Muleño CF Nueva Vanguardia Real Murcia |
|
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2004–2005 2005–2007 2007–2008 2008– |
Murcia B Real Murcia Levante UD Valladolid |
18 (4) 68 (10) 24 (3) 33 (3) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2007–2009 | Spain U21 | 6 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Pedro León Sánchez Gil, known as León (born November 24, 1986 in Mula, Murcia), is a Spanish footballer currently playing for Real Valladolid as a right winger.
He possesses good passing range and powerful shot, and also has set pieces skills.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
León began his career playing for Muleño CF and Nueva Vanguardia youth teams, moving in early 2004 to the youth categories at Real Murcia, making 10 appearances. He subsequently joined Murcia B, receiving his first team debut on January 15, 2005, in the Segunda División 1-5 loss at UE Lleida. He went on to play a further six matches during the season, netting in a 3-1 win at local rivals Ciudad de Murcia.
The following two seasons, León became an integral player for Murcia, scoring seven goals in 2006-07, several from free kicks, as the side returned to La Liga after a three-year absence.
In January 2007, he was rumoured to be moving to Real Madrid or Chelsea, being speculated that the latter would buy him for £3.4 million.[1]Despite this rumours, he instead moved to modest Levante UD in the summer of 2007 for £2.5 million after rejecting an offer from to renew his contract for £1 million, in a move the club found quite offensive.[2]
During 2007-08, León often underachieved, starting only 11 times from 24, as Levante returned to the second level.[3]He also ended up training alone due to conflicts with teammates.[2]
On September 1, 2008, Real Valladolid bought León for €300,000 after a quick negotiation.[4]Soon becoming a first-choice, he provided his first assist for Fabián Canobbio on November 15, in a 1-0 home win against Real Madrid,[5]netting his first for the club a week later, in Valladolid's 3-0 away success over Villarreal CF.[6]
[edit] International career
León made his debut for the Spanish national under-21 football team on January 31, 2007. On 6 February, Iñaki Sáez played him again in a friendly against England, in which he was replaced by Juan Manuel Mata in a 2-2 away draw.[7]He also featured in the 2009 Under-21 Euro qualifier against Georgia, replacing Alejandro Alfaro in a 1-0 away win.[8]
Picked in the 23-man squad for the final stages in Sweden, León scored in the final game against Finland, but the national team did not progress from the group stage.[9]
[edit] Personal life
León's older brother, Luis León Sánchez, is a road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Caisse d'Epargne.[10]
León is not his surname, but both him and his two brothers all carry it as a second name in memory of their grandfather. He said that he has a lot of pride in this name and, as a result, celebrates his goals by pointing to the sky.[10]
[edit] Club statistics
All stats correct as of May 31, 2009
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Assists | Cup | Apps | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05[11] | Real Murcia |  Segunda División |
6 | 1 | ? | Copa del Rey |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005-06 | Real Murcia | Segunda División |
31 | 2 | ? | Copa del Rey |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006-07 | Real Murcia | Segunda División |
31 | 7 | ? | Copa del Rey |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007-08 | Levante | La Liga |
24 | 3 | 2 | Copa del Rey |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008-09 | Valladolid | La Liga |
33 | 3 | 12 | Copa del Rey |
2 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 115 | 16 | ? | Total | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
[edit] References
- ^ Chelsea move for Murcia starlet Pedro León
- ^ a b Musho Fútbol profile (Spanish)
- ^ Real edge closer to title after 3-0 win
- ^ Transfers - Spain 2008/2009, August 13, 2008
- ^ Valladolid vs Real Madrid - Spanish Primera División; ESPN Soccernet
- ^ Villarreal vs Valladolid - Spanish Primera División; ESPN Soccernet
- ^ England U21 2-2 Spain U21
- ^ UEFA European U-21 C'ship - Georgia 0-1 Spain
- ^ Spain beat Finland but fail to qualify; Goal.com, 22 June 2009
- ^ a b "Soccer is overrated, and cycling, through the dirt" (Spanish); El País, 5 January 2009
- ^ FootballDatabase entry
[edit] External links
- Real Valladolid profile (Spanish)
- Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
- BDFutbol profile
|
|||||
