Antonio Núñez
Personal information
Full name Antonio Núñez Tena[1]
Date of birth (1979-01-15) 15 January 1979[1]
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 San Federico
1999–2001 Las Rozas
2001–2003 Real Madrid B 64 (12)
2003–2004 Real Madrid 11 (1)
2004–2005 Liverpool 18 (0)
2005–2008 Celta 96 (7)
2008–2009 Murcia 35 (1)
2009–2012 Apollon Limassol 60 (7)
2012–2013 Huesca 55 (6)
2013–2014 Deportivo La Coruña 22 (0)
2014–2018 Recreativo 136 (14)
Total 497 (48)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Antonio Núñez Tena (born 15 January 1979) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a right midfielder.

His early career included spells at Real Madrid and Liverpool, on the fringes of both teams. Much of the rest of his career was spent in the Segunda División, while he also played three years for Apollon Limassol in Cyprus.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Madrid, Núñez started his career with CD San Federico, before joining Tercera División team CD Las Rozas. In 2001 he moved to Real Madrid, his favourite club growing up.

Courtesy of manager Carlos Queiroz, Núñez was promoted to the main squad for the 2003–04 season. On 2 September 2003, in his La Liga debut, he came on as a substitute for Javier Portillo 15 minutes from time in an away game against Villarreal CF and scored the 1–1 equaliser after just seven minutes;[2] for the remainder of the campaign, however, in which the Merengues came up totally empty, he only made a further ten league appearances, all from the bench.

Liverpool

In August 2004, Núñez was transferred to Liverpool, becoming Rafael Benítez's second signing as manager – after compatriot Josemi – as part of an exchange deal that saw Michael Owen go in the opposite direction for £8 million.[3] He injured his knee in his first day of training for the Reds, and was out of action for three months.[4] He made his Premier League debut on 28 November, playing 21 minutes in a 2–1 win over Arsenal.[5]

Núñez scored his first and only goal for Liverpool in the 3–2 loss against Chelsea in the final of the Football League Cup,[6] therefore becoming the only player in the club's history to score his only goal for the team in a major cup final. In his only season, he also won a UEFA Champions League medal, as he was one of the substitutes in the final against A.C. Milan (although he did not play).[4]

Celta and later years

Following a disappointing season, Núñez transferred back to Spain and joined newly-promoted side RC Celta de Vigo on 26 July 2005. During his three-year spell with the Galicians, where he would be heavily played, he also lived one top-flight relegation, and joined Real Murcia in the summer of 2008.[7]

In August 2009, Núñez bought out the remainder of his Murcia contract and was released, shortly after joining Cyprus' Apollon Limassol FC. After three seasons, he returned to his country and its Segunda División, signing a one-and-a-half-year deal with SD Huesca.[8] After the team's relegation in 2013, he remained in the division by agreeing to a four-month contract at Deportivo de La Coruña on 12 September;[9] he was part of the squad that returned to the top tier after one year, but started only seven matches and did not score once.[10]

On 8 July 2014, Núñez signed a one-year deal at Recreativo de Huelva,[11] scoring five times in his first season as the team descended to Segunda División B. In April 2016, he spoke to Diario AS about the club's financial emergency that was threatening its existence.[12]

Career statistics

Club performance[13][14] League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2003–04Real MadridLa Liga111200000131
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2004–05LiverpoolPremier League180103150271
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2005–06CeltaLa Liga322100000332
2006–07240200071331
2007–08Segunda División405000000405
2008–09MurciaSegunda División351200000371
2008–09Apollon LimassolCypriot First Division171000000171
2009–10263100000273
2010–11173102000203
2011–12HuescaSegunda División164100000174
2012–13392100000402
2013–14DeportivoSegunda División220100000230
Total Spain 21915
England 180
Cyprus 607
Career total 29722

Honours

Liverpool

Apollon Limassol

References

  1. 1 2 3 Antonio Núñez at AS.com (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ Ramírez Orsikowsky, Jorge (3 September 2003). "La cantera le da al Madrid un punto ante el Villarreal" [Youth system gives Madrid one point against Villarreal]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Owen completes Madrid move". UEFA. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Kay, Dan (15 January 2022). "Rafa Benitez 'worst ever' signing went from £1.5m controversy to Champions League glory". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Liverpool 2–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 28 November 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Liverpool 2–3 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 27 February 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "El Murcia ficha a Lillo, Montoro, Núñez y Sikora" [Murcia sign Lillo, Montoro, Núñez and Sikora]. Marca (in Spanish). 17 June 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  8. ↑ "El Huesca ficha a Mario Rosas, Jorge Larena y Antonio Nuñez" [Huesca sign Mario Rosas, Jorge Larena and Antonio Nuñez]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 January 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Núñez: "Mi contrato no es normal, pero es de los que más me ilusiona"" [Núñez: "My contract is not normal, but it's one of the most exciting for me"]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 September 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Bruquetas, Antón (18 April 2014). "«Solo me falta un ascenso, y voy a vivirlo en el Deportivo»" ["I am only missing one promotion, and I am going to experience it with Deportivo"]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Antonio Núñez, nuevo jugador del Recreativo de Huelva" [Antonio Núñez, new player of Recreativo de Huelva]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). 8 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Hall, Andy (4 April 2016). ""It's worrying but we've never lost hope" – Antonio Nunez". Diario AS. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Antonio Núñez". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Antonio Núñez at FBref.com
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