Diego León (footballer, born 1984)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is León and the second or maternal family name is Ayarza.

Diego León
León with Nea Salamina in 2013
Personal information
Full name Diego León Ayarza
Date of birth (1984-01-16) 16 January 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Palencia, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2001–2003 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Real Madrid B 10 (0)
2004–2006 Real Madrid 0 (0)
2005–2006 → Arminia Bielefeld II (loan) 18 (7)
2005 → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 14 (1)
2006–2007 Grasshoppers 30 (3)
2007 Grasshoppers II 8 (8)
2008–2009 Barnsley 37 (2)
2009–2010 Las Palmas 22 (1)
2010–2011 Wacker Burghausen 11 (0)
2011–2012 Nea Salamina 17 (1)
2012–2013 Kerkyra 26 (0)
2013–2015 Nea Salamina 57 (12)
2015 Olympiacos Volou 5 (1)
2015–2016 Doxa 15 (1)
2016–2017 Al-Mesaimeer
International career
2000–2001 Spain U16 16 (6)
2001 Spain U17 4 (0)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-16 Championship
Winner 2001 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Diego León Ayarza (born 16 January 1984) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder .

Club career

Real Madrid / Grasshoppers

León was born in Palencia, Castile and León. A youth product of Real Madrid, León could never appear for more than its B-team. He was initially given a number with the main squad for the 2004–05 season, but moved to Arminia Bielefeld in Germany (first on loan) in January 2005 before he could make his official debut for the Spanish giants.

León stayed at Arminia until the end of the 2005–06 campaign, after which he joined Grasshopper Club Zürich in the Swiss Super League.

Barnsley

On 21 December 2007, it was announced that León had signed a pre-contract agreement with Barnsley, with the transfer due to go through at the opening of the transfer window. The Yorkshire club had hoped to make the move official in time for him to play in the FA Cup third-round tie against Blackpool on 5 January 2008, but had to wait until the 9th:[1] he made his first appearance that evening, playing in a reserve team match against Sheffield United.

León put in a great performance to earn himself his first match ball as a Barnsley player, with a Man of the match award against Colchester United on 29 January 2008. He went on to play in the memorable away victory over Premier League's Liverpool in the FA Cup,[2] and also played a key role in the Reds 3–0 win at Watford on 9 April, being involved in all three goals, including a sumptuous flick for Jon Macken to square to Kayode Odejayi to score: his corner allowed Stephen Foster to head home and his throughball enabled Odejayi to score his second.

In the following game against Preston North End, León netted a key goal in Barnsley's Championship survival in the 2007–08 campaign, scoring from a 35-yard free kick for the 2–1 triumph.[3] His second and final goal for the Tykes came in a 3–2 win over Burnley on 24 November 2008[4] and, on 7 May of the following year, he was told, along with Dennis Souza, Kyle Letheren and Marciano van Homoet he was free to look for a new club in the summer; shortly after he returned to his country, agreeing a deal with Segunda División side UD Las Palmas.[5]

Later years

On 13 December 2010, León moved teams – and countries – again, signing with lowly SV Wacker Burghausen in Germany.[6] In June of the following year, after a failed move to HNK Hajduk Split, he joined Nea Salamis Famagusta FC in Cyprus.

Club statistics

As of 17 May 2015[7][8]
Club Season League Cup[9] Continental[10] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Madrid B 2002–03 Segunda División B 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2003–04 Segunda División B 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Real Madrid 2004–05 La Liga 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arminia Bielefeld 2004–05 Bundesliga 10 0 2 0 0 0 12 0
2005–06 Bundesliga 4 1 1 0 0 0 5 1
Total 14 1 3 0 0 0 17 1
Grasshoppers 2006–07 Swiss Super League 26 3 3 2 8 1 37 6
2007–08 Swiss Super League 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total 30 3 3 2 8 1 41 6
Barnsley 2007–08 Championship 18 1 2 0 0 0 20 1
2008–09 Championship 19 1 2 0 0 0 21 1
Total 37 2 4 0 0 0 41 2
Las Palmas 2009–10 Segunda División 22 1 0 0 0 0 22 1
Total 22 1 0 0 0 0 22 1
Wacker Burghausen 2010–11 3. Liga 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Total 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Nea Salamina 2011–12 Cypriot First Division 17 1 0 0 0 0 17 1
Total 17 1 0 0 0 0 17 1
Kerkyra 2012–13 Superleague Greece 26 0 2 0 0 0 28 0
Total 26 0 2 0 0 0 28 0
Nea Salamina 2013–14 Cypriot First Division 31 8 1 0 0 0 32 8
2014–15 Cypriot First Division 26 4 2 0 0 0 28 4
Total 57 12 3 0 0 0 60 12
Career total 217 19 15 2 8 1 240 22

Honours

Spain U16

References

  1. ^ "Diego free to play!!!". Barnsley F.C. 9 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  2. ^ "Liverpool 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Preston 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  4. ^ "Barnsley 3–2 Burnley". BBC Sport. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Diego León rescinde contrato y Francis Suárez, cedido a la Ponferradina" [Diego León has contract terminated and Francis Suárez, loaned to Ponferradina]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 24 August 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Wacker Burghausen verstärkt Offensive" [Wacker Burghausen strengthen offense] (in German). Fussball 24. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Diego León: Diego León Ayarza". BDFutbol. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Diego León". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  9. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, Swiss Super Cup, FA Cup, Football League Cup and Greek Football Cup
  10. ^ Includes UEFA Europa League and UEFA Intertoto Cup