Óscar Vales Varela (born 13 September 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a utility defender, and sometimes as a defensive midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Óscar Vales Varela | ||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1994 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991 | Basconia | 1 | (0) |
| 1994 | Bilbao Athletic | 14 | (0) |
| 1994–2005 | Athletic Bilbao | 178 | (1) |
| 1997–1999 | → Celta (loan) | 58 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Gatika | ||
| Total | 251 | (1) | |
| International career | |||
| 1993 | Spain U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 1993 | Spain U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Spain U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Basque Country | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career edit
Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Vales appeared in one Segunda División B game for CD Basconia as the Basque club still not acted as Athletic Bilbao's farm team, which only took place in 1997. Aged 17, he was purchased by the latter and finished his football development there.
After a handful of matches for the reserves, Vales made his first-team debut on 6 April 1994, playing as a defensive midfielder in a 0–3 away loss against Real Oviedo.[1] In the following decade he would almost never be an automatic first-choice for Athletic, but managed to appear regularly in various defensive positions; on 6 December 1994 he scored a rare goal, at Parma F.C. for the campaign's UEFA Cup, but his side lost 2–4 and 3–4 on aggregate.[2]
Vales was loaned for two years to fellow La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, playing UEFA Cup in his second season. In the summer of 1999 he returned to the San Mamés Stadium, managing to be regularly used during his second spell; however, after only two appearances combined from 2003 to 2005, he decided to retire from the game at the age of 30.
In 2008–09, after three years out of football, Vales joined longtime Athletic Bilbao teammate Aitor Larrazábal at regional side Gatika, the latter acting as manager. After one season he retired for good, having appeared in 236 matches in Spain's top division.[3]
References edit
- ^ "Sin Guerrero, muy poco Athletic en Oviedo" [Without Guerrero, very little Athletic in Oviedo]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 7 April 1994. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "El Athletic no pierde en Italia desde 1994" [Athletic do not lose in Italy since 1994] (in Spanish). EITB. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Oskar Vales: "Finiquité con el Athletic sobre un capó, fue vergonzoso"" [Oskar Vales: "I signed my release from Athletic on top of a car hood, it was a disgrace"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
External links edit
- Óscar Vales at BDFutbol
- Óscar Vales at Athletic Bilbao
- Celta de Vigo biography (in Spanish)