José Enrique (footballer)

José Enrique Sánchez Díaz (born 23 January 1986), known as José Enrique, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

José Enrique
José Enrique with Liverpool in 2011
Personal information
Full name José Enrique Sánchez Díaz[1]
Date of birth (1986-01-23) 23 January 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back
Youth career
0000–2004 Levante
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Levante B 19 (1)
2005–2006 Valencia 0 (0)
2005–2006Celta (loan) 14 (0)
2006–2007 Villarreal 23 (0)
2007–2011 Newcastle United 119 (1)
2011–2016 Liverpool 76 (2)
2016–2017 Zaragoza 27 (1)
Total 278 (5)
International career
2001 Spain U16 2 (0)
2005 Spain U20 4 (0)
2006–2008 Spain U21 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Starting his career with Levante, José Enrique was signed by their rivals Valencia and made La Liga appearances for Celta Vigo and Villarreal. He then spent nine years in England with Newcastle United and Liverpool, totalling 161 Premier League appearances. With the latter club, he won the Football League Cup and lost the FA Cup final in 2012. He retired through injury in 2017, after a year back in Spain with Real Zaragoza.

Club career edit

Early life and career edit

José Enrique was born in Valencia.[3] He began his football career at hometown club Levante before being acquired by rivals Valencia, who sent him to Celta Vigo for a season-long loan. At the conclusion of this loan spell, he was signed by Villarreal in 2006.[citation needed]

Newcastle United edit

On 6 August 2007, José Enrique signed for English Premier League club Newcastle United for a fee believed to be £6.3 million. He signed a five-year contract with the club.[4] He made his Newcastle debut on 29 August against Barnsley in which he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 victory, and his Premier League debut as a substitute against West Ham United on 23 September.[citation needed]

José Enrique's performances were rewarded when he was made the official Newcastle United Player of the Season for 2009–10, voted for by the fans. He also achieved the accolade of being named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside Newcastle teammates Fabricio Coloccini, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll.[5] José Enrique scored his only goal for the club in a 2–0 league win over Nottingham Forest on 29 March 2010.[6] He made 36 Premier League appearances for Newcastle in the 2010–11 season.[citation needed]

Liverpool edit

 
José Enrique playing for Liverpool in 2011

On 12 August 2011, José Enrique signed for Liverpool for a reported fee of £6 million.[7] He made his debut two days later in Liverpool's first game of the 2011–12 Premier League season, starting in a 1–1 draw against Sunderland.[8] On 26 February 2012, he helped Liverpool win the 2012 Football League Cup Final against Cardiff City, their first honour since 2006.[9] On 1 April, he was forced to play as a goalkeeper for the remaining 13 minutes of the match against his old club Newcastle after Pepe Reina was sent off for headbutting James Perch. Although José Enrique kept a clean sheet, Liverpool, being down 2–0 at the time of Reina's red card, failed to level the score.[10] He also played in the 2012 FA Cup Final on 5 May, a 2–1 loss to Chelsea.[11]

On 17 November 2012, in a league match against Wigan Athletic, José Enrique scored his first goal for Liverpool in the 65th minute, having been increasingly reinvented as a left wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation under manager Brendan Rodgers.[12] On 1 October 2014, he made his UEFA Champions League debut for Liverpool against Basel in Switzerland, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat.[13]

In his final three seasons at Liverpool, José Enrique made only 21 total appearances, 12 of which were in the league. He was hampered by a persistent injury to his right knee, and the side-effects of medication to deal with it.[14] He captained the club in his final appearances, against Exeter City in the FA Cup in January 2016.[15] José Enrique was released by Liverpool at the end of the 2015–16 season.[16]

Real Zaragoza edit

On 7 September 2016, José Enrique signed for Segunda División club Real Zaragoza on a two-year contract.[17] He made his debut on 8 October, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 loss away to Sevilla Atlético, and scored his first goal on 5 November in a 2–2 draw away to RCD Mallorca.[18]

On 6 September 2017, José Enrique announced his retirement from football due to a persistent knee injury.[19]

Personal life edit

José Enrique was diagnosed with chordoma, a rare brain tumour, in May 2018.[20] On 23 June 2018, he announced that he was recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumour. He stated, "I am now in recovery and so thankful. Life is too precious."[21] In April 2019, he received the all-clear.[22]

Career statistics edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Levante 2004–05[23] Segunda División B 19 1 19 1
Celta Vigo 2005–06[24] La Liga 14 0 3 0 17 0
Villarreal 2006–07[25] La Liga 23 0 2 0 0 0 25 0
Newcastle United 2007–08[26] Premier League 23 0 3 0 2 0 28 0
2008–09[27] Premier League 26 0 1 0 1 0 28 0
2009–10[28] Championship 34 1 2 0 1 0 37 1
2010–11[29] Premier League 36 0 0 0 0 0 36 0
Total 119 1 6 0 4 0 129 1
Liverpool 2011–12[30] Premier League 35 0 4 0 4 0 43 0
2012–13[31] Premier League 29 2 0 0 0 0 6[c] 0 35 2
2013–14[32] Premier League 8 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
2014–15[33] Premier League 4 0 2 0 1 0 2[d] 0 9 0
2015–16[34] Premier League 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 76 2 9 0 6 0 8 0 99 2
Real Zaragoza 2016–17[35] Segunda División 27 1 0 0 27 1
Career total 278 5 20 0 10 0 8 0 316 5

Honours edit

Newcastle United

Liverpool

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Retained and released lists submitted by Premier League clubs". Premier League. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "José Enrique: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  3. ^ "José Enrique: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Big Sam's Spanish delight". Sky Sports. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  5. ^ "Championship Team of Year". Sky Sports. 26 April 2010.
  6. ^ Etoe, Catherine (29 March 2010). "Newcastle 2–0 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  7. ^ "Jose Enrique joins Liverpool from Newcastle". BBC Sport. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Liverpool 1 Sunderland 1". The Daily Telegraph. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Carling Cup Final 2012". Wembley Stadium. 26 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  10. ^ Taylor, Louise (1 April 2012). "Papiss Cissé's double for Newcastle makes more trouble for Liverpool". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  11. ^ McNulty, Phil (5 May 2012). "Chelsea 2–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  12. ^ Liverpool 3–0 Wigan The Guardian 17 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Basel 1–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  14. ^ Picó, Diego (6 September 2017). "José Enrique: "No quiero ser un inválido"" [José Enrique: "I don't want to be disabled"]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  15. ^ Magee, Will (20 January 2016). "Jose Enrique captains Liverpool for FA Cup clash with Exeter and is brutally trolled throughout". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  16. ^ "View The Retained And Released Lists Submitted By Premier League Clubs". Premier League. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Ex-Liverpool defender Enrique finds new club". Liverpool Echo.
  18. ^ "El antológico gol de Juan Muñoz desde su campo sólo vale un punto" [Juan Muñoz' historic goal from his own half is only worth a point]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  19. ^ "Jose Enrique: Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle defender retires with persistent knee injury". BBC Sport. 6 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Jose Enrique: Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle defender tells BBC about brain tumour diagnosis". BBC Sport. 10 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Jose Enrique brain tumour: Ex-Liverpool & Newcastle defender recovering from surgery". BBC Sport. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Jose Enrique: Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle defender given all clear by surgeons". BBC Sport. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  23. ^ "José Enrique: Matches: 2004–05". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  24. ^ "José Enrique: Matches: 2005–06". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  25. ^ "José Enrique: Matches: 2006–07". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  27. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  30. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  32. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  33. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Games played by Jose Enrique in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  35. ^ "José Enrique: Matches: 2016–17". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  36. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2010). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 36, 268–269. ISBN 978-0-7553-6107-6.
  37. ^ McNulty, Phil (5 May 2012). "Chelsea 2–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013.
  38. ^ Bevan, Chris (26 February 2012). "Cardiff 2–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013.
  39. ^ "Rooney is PFA player of the year". BBC Sport. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  40. ^ Rory Mitchinson (16 May 2022). "Joelinton scoops Newcastle United Player of the Year award". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

External links edit