Javier López Vallejo (born 22 September 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career Born in Pamplona, López Vallejo began his career at hometown's CA Osasuna, making his first appearance for the main squad not yet 19 in a 3–0 home win over Sporting de Gijón on 15 May 1994, although the Navarrese had already been relegated from La Liga.El Sadar se despide con fiesta (Party at the Sadar in goodbye); Mundo Deportivo, 16 May 1994 (in Spanish) He became an undisputed starter from the 1995–96 season onwards.López Vallejo, en la órbita del Mallorca (López Vallejo, tracked by Mallorca); Última Hora, 5 April 2007 (in Spanish)
López Vallejo signed for Villarreal CF in 1999 alongside teammate Jesús Unanua (also a goalkeeper), appearing in all the games during the 1999–2000 campaign as the club returned to the top flight after a one-year absence. He retained first-choice status the following two years.López Vallejo: jugó siete campañas en el Villarreal tras desechar un 'ofertón' del Milán con 17 años (López Vallejo: he played seven campaigns at Villarreal after rejecting 'mammoth offer' from Milan at age 17); Okdiario, 13 October 2021 (in Spanish)
With the signing of Pepe Reina in 2002 and the subsequent arrival of imports Sebastián Viera and Mariano Barbosa, however, López Vallejo was consecutively demoted to backup and third-choice.Vallejo, Arzo y Cazorla, a ser profetas en su tierra (Vallejo, Arzo y Cazorla, being prophets in their homeland they must); Diario AS, 10 September 2006 (in Spanish) In order to search more playing opportunities he joined Recreativo de Huelva in the same league on loan for the 2006–07 season, where he played the majority of the Andalusians' matches.
In 2007–08, López Vallejo signed for Real Zaragoza on a free transfer, where he backed up former Real Madrid player César (two games).El guardaespaldas (The bodyguard); El Periódico de Aragón, 2 August 2007 (in Spanish) As the latter moved to Tottenham Hotspur in August 2008 he became the starter, with the side now in the Segunda División, and was instrumental as they immediately returned to the top tier.López Vallejo, un año más (López Vallejo, another year); Heraldo de Aragón, 10 July 2009 (in Spanish)López Vallejo: el portero psicólogo que pudo jugar en el Milan (López Vallejo: the psychologist goalkeeper who could have played for Milan); Cadena COPE, 5 May 2016 (in Spanish)
López Vallejo started the 2009–10 season on the bench, then became first-choice over Juan Pablo Carrizo.Se abre la portería (Open goal); Heraldo de Aragón, 17 December 2009 (in Spanish) However, he lost his position in January 2010 with the arrival of new coach José Aurelio Gay and, later that month, was released by mutual consent;Gay: "Había que tomar decisiones aunque fueran impopulares" (Gay: "One had to make decisions even though people might not like it"); Heraldo de Aragón, 21 January 2010 (in Spanish) he immediately found a new team, joining Levadiakos F.C. in Greece alongside his compatriot Kike Sola, from former club Osasuna.López Vallejo y Kike Sola ya brillan en Grecia (López Vallejo and Kike Sola already shining in Greece); Marca, 1 February 2010 (in Spanish)
International career In 1991, López Vallejo helped the Spain under-17s to win the UEFA European Championship in Switzerland (then named under-16).Javier López Vallejo PORTERO DEL VILLARREAL C. F.: "Lo que peor se lleva es que te consideren un suplente" (Javier López Vallejo VILLARREAL C. F. GOALKEEPER: "The worst thing to handle is having people thinking of you as a backup"); El Periódico Mediterráneo, 13 January 2006 (in Spanish) Later that year, in the FIFA World Cup equivalent, he was the starter in a final runner-up position in Italy.¿Qué fue de los finalistas del Mundial sub17 de España? (What happened to the Spanish under17 World Cup finalists?); Sports Illustrated, 26 October 2017 (in Spanish)
López Vallejo also won caps for the unofficial NavarreNavarra, sin rival en su estreno como selección (Navarra, no opposition in their debut as national team); Diario AS, 28 December 2003 (in Spanish) and Basque Country regional sides.Euskadi se da un festín a costa de la Serbia de Clemente (Euskadi throw feast at the expense of Clemente's Serbia); 20 minutos, 27 December 2006 (in Spanish)
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsOsasuna B1992–93Segunda División B350———3501993–94Segunda División B120———1201994–95Segunda División B320———320Total790———790Osasuna1993–94La Liga1010——201994–95Segunda División2020——401995–96Segunda División33020——3501996–97Segunda División33050——3801997–98Segunda División40070——4701998–99Segunda División41000——410Total1500170——1670Villarreal1999–2000Segunda División42000——4202000–01La Liga36010——3802001–02La Liga38050——3802002–03La Liga401040—902003–04La Liga003040—702004–05La Liga001020—302005–06La Liga002000—20Total1200130100—1430Recreativo (loan)2006–07La Liga30000——300Zaragoza2007–08La Liga203010—602008–09Segunda División29010——3002009–10La Liga7010——80Total3805010—440Levadiakos2010–11Super League Greece10000——100Kavala2011–12Super League Greece3000——30Career total4300350110004760
Honours Villarreal UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003,El Villarreal jugará la UEFA por primera vez en su historia (Villarreal will play UEFA for the first time in their history); Diario Córdoba, 27 August 2003 (in Spanish) 2004Villarreal vuelve a la UEFA tras ganar la Intertoto (Villarreal return to UEFA after winning the Intertoto); El Mundo, 23 August 2004 (in Spanish)
Spain U16 UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1991European U-16 Championship 1991; at RSSSF
Spain U17 FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 1991
References
External links