Mario Gaspar
Mario Gaspar playing with Villarreal in 2018
Personal information
Full name Mario Gaspar Pérez Martínez[1]
Date of birth (1990-11-24) 24 November 1990[2]
Place of birth Novelda, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Elche
Number 2
Youth career
Albacete
2007 Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Villarreal C 15 (1)
2008–2011 Villarreal B 79 (0)
2009–2022 Villarreal 337 (10)
2022–2023 Watford 31 (0)
2023– Elche 14 (1)
International career
2008–2009 Spain U19 13 (2)
2009 Spain U20 1 (0)
2011 Spain U21 2 (0)
2015–2016 Spain 3 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:57, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Mario Gaspar Pérez Martínez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾjo ɣasˈpaɾ ˈpeɾeθ maɾˈtineθ];[lower-alpha 1] born 24 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Segunda División club Elche.

He spent 15 years of his career at Villarreal, making 424 official appearances and winning the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.[3][4] In July 2022, he signed with Watford.

Mario Gaspar played his first match with Spain in 2015, scoring on his debut.

Club career

Villarreal

Born in Novelda, Alicante, Valencian Community, Mario Gaspar finished his development at Villarreal CF after arriving from Albacete Balompié.[5] On 15 March 2009, aged just 18, he made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, in a game against Atlético Madrid: he replaced Giuseppe Rossi with roughly 25 minutes to play, with the score at 2–1, but the Yellow Submarine eventually lost 3–2 away.[6]

Mario Gaspar spent the entire 2009–10 season with the reserves. He started in all 31 games he appeared in, as they easily retained their newly-found Segunda División status.[7][8]

Midway through the following campaign, Mario Gaspar was definitely promoted to the main squad following Ángel López's severe knee injury, also making the starting XI.[9] On 16 January 2011, in his first start, he played the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 home win over CA Osasuna,[10] finishing with 22 appearances. He scored his first competitive goal on 1 May 2012, opening the 3–2 victory at Sporting de Gijón towards the end of a season which finished with relegation.[11] In May 2014, with a year remaining on his contract, it was extended for a further four.[12]

Mario Gaspar scored his first goal in European competition on 21 August 2014, concluding a 3–0 away defeat of FC Astana in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off (7–0 aggregate).[13] In January 2017, he signed a new deal to last until 2023.[14][15]

On 18 March 2018, Mario Gaspar played his 300th official match for Villarreal, in a 2–1 win at Atlético; only Cani, Marcos Senna and teammate Bruno Soriano had reached that figure before for the club.[16] He filled in as captain during the lengthy injuries of the last of those players,[17] and on 21 April 2021 with a 2–1 away loss to Deportivo Alavés he joined him at 400 matches.[18]

In 2021–22, still under manager Unai Emery, Mario Gaspar was kept out of the team by both Serge Aurier and Juan Foyth.[19]

Watford

On 29 July 2022, Mario Gaspar signed for EFL Championship club Watford.[20] He made his league debut on 8 August, a 77th-minute substitute for Hassane Kamara in the 1–1 draw at West Bromwich Albion.[21]

Mario Gaspar was released in July 2023, having reached an agreement to cancel his contract.[22]

Elche

On 31 July 2023, Mario Gaspar returned to Spain, joining second-tier Elche CF on a one-year contract with an option for a further year.[23]

International career

Gaspar with Spain in 2015

Mario Gaspar earned 16 caps for Spain at youth level, including two for the under-21s. He received his first call up to the senior side in October 2015,[24] making his debut on the 12th by scoring the game's only goal in Ukraine – the last round, the nation had already secured the first position in its group – for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.[25] He repeated the feat the following match, scoring an overhead kick to open a 2–0 friendly win against England in Alicante,[26] with the strike being nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 March 2023[28][29][30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 2] League cup[lower-alpha 3] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Villarreal B 2007–08 Segunda División B 90————90
2008–09 310———6[lower-alpha 4]0370
2009–10 Segunda División 310————310
2010–11 80————80
Total 790———60850
Villarreal 2008–09 La Liga 1000———10
2010–11 22050—11[lower-alpha 5]0—380
2011–12 23110—5[lower-alpha 6]0—291
2012–13 Segunda División 28000———280
2013–14 La Liga 36110———371
2014–15 34360—11[lower-alpha 5]1—514
2015–16 33210—10[lower-alpha 5]0—442
2016–17 36030—4[lower-alpha 7]0—430
2017–18 32210—5[lower-alpha 5]0—382
2018–19 31110—8[lower-alpha 5]0—401
2019–20 25030———280
2020–21 24010—4[lower-alpha 5]0—290
2021–22 12030—2[lower-alpha 6]01[lower-alpha 8]0180
Total 33710260—6011042411
Watford 2022–23 Championship 3101010——330
Career total 44710270106017054211
  1. ↑ In isolation, Gaspar is pronounced [ɡasˈpaɾ].
  2. ↑ Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  3. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  4. ↑ Appearances in Segunda División B promotion play-offs
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  7. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mario Gaspar goal.
List of international goals scored by Mario Gaspar
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
112 October 2015Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine Ukraine1–01–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying[25]
213 November 2015José Rico Pérez, Alicante, Spain England1–02–0Friendly[26]

Honours

Villarreal

References

  1. ↑ "Mario Gaspar" (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 Mario Gaspar at AS.com (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ "Bruno Soriano, Manu Trigueros y Mario Gaspar, emblemas del Villarreal con más de 400 partidos a sus espaldas" [Bruno Soriano, Manu Trigueros and Mario Gaspar, Villarreal emblems with more than 400 matches to their credit] (in Spanish). Castellón Información. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "El Villarreal se despide de Mario Gaspar tras 15 temporadas y ficha a Kiko Femenía" [Villarreal say goodbye to Mario Gaspar after 15 seasons and sign Kiko Femenía] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  5. ↑ Costarrosa, David (28 July 2022). "Mario Gaspar y el Villarreal separan sus caminos 15 años después" [Mario Gaspar and Villarreal part their ways 15 years later] (in Spanish). Castellón Plaza. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Anaut, Juan José (15 March 2009). "El fútbol fue justo con el Atlético" [Football was fair to Atlético]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Mata, Javier (28 May 2010). ""Los del B tienen mucha calidad para dar el salto"" ["The B guys have what it takes to make the transition"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Julián, Rafa (27 December 2010). "Números de récord en el filial amarillo" [Record numbers at yellow reserves]. Diario Siglo XXI (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Joao Pereira, en la agenda del Villarreal" [João Pereira, tracked by Villarreal]. Marca (in Spanish). 24 November 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Cani inspires Villarreal". ESPN Soccernet. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  11. ↑ Melero, Delfín (1 May 2012). "El Villarreal se declara inocente y condena al Sporting" [Villarreal plead not guilty and condemn Sporting]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Lizarraga, José Luis (19 May 2014). "El club amarillo blinda a Mario con un contrato hasta el 2019" [The yellow club tie down Mario with a contract until 2019]. El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Astana-Villarreal: Eliminatoria sentenciada (0–3)" [Astana-Villarreal: Tie decided (0–3)] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "El Villarreal renueva a Mario y Jaume Costa" [Villarreal renew Mario and Jaume Costa]. Marca (in Spanish). 11 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  15. ↑ Mata, Javier (11 January 2017). "Villarreal hand new deals to Mario Gaspar and Jaume Costa". Diario AS. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Mario es unix als 300 del Villarreal" [Mario joins Villarreal's 300 club]. Super Deporte (in Catalan). 22 March 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  17. ↑ "La fuerza moral de Bruno Soriano" [Bruno Soriano's moral strength]. Diario de Burgos (in Spanish). 24 June 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  18. ↑ "Mario Gaspar alcanza a Bruno Soriano en el Villarreal" [Mario Gaspar closes in on Bruno Soriano at Villarreal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 22 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  19. ↑ Mateu, Ismael (28 January 2022). "Los comodines de Emery frente a las adversidades" [Emery's jokers against adversities]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "Official: Mario Gaspar signs on". Watford F.C. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  21. ↑ Scott, Ged (8 August 2022). "West Bromwich Albion 1–1 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  22. ↑ French, Andrew (1 July 2023). "Quina leaves Watford for Udinese and Gaspar also departs". Watford Observer. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  23. ↑ Manteca, Óscar (31 July 2023). "Mario Gaspar, nuevo futbolista del Elche" [Mario Gaspar, new Elche footballer] (in Spanish). Alicante Plaza. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  24. ↑ Farrell, Dom (5 October 2015). "Del Bosque reinforces Spain after injury setbacks". Goal. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  25. 1 2 "Debutant Gaspar earns Spain victory in Ukraine". UEFA. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  26. 1 2 McNulty, Phil (14 November 2015). "Spain 2–0 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Saúl, Neymar, Mario Gaspar and Messi up for Puskás Award". Diario AS. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  28. ↑ Mario Gaspar at BDFutbol
  29. ↑ Mario Gaspar at Soccerway
  30. ↑ Mario Gaspar at FBref.com
  31. ↑ Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). "Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
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