Antoni Lima

Antoni "Toni" Lima Solà (born 22 September 1970) is a retired professional footballer who played as a central defender.

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

Toni Lima
Personal information
Full name Antoni Lima Solà
Date of birth (1970-09-22) 22 September 1970
Place of birth Gavà, Spain
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1986–1989 Barcelona
1989–1990 Damm
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Barcelona C 3 (0)
1990–1991 Real Madrid B 8 (0)
1991–1992 Hospitalet 34 (7)
1991 Español 2 (0)
1992–1995 Palamós 100 (9)
1995–1996 Poli Almería 30 (1)
1996–1997 Murcia 21 (1)
1997–1998 Poli Almería 34 (0)
1998–1999 União Madeira 7 (0)
1999–2000 Hospitalet 30 (1)
2000–2001 Gavà 24 (0)
2001 Ionikos 3 (0)
2002–2003 Gavà 54 (6)
2003–2004 Palamós B 31 (0)
2004–2006 Palamós 56 (4)
2006 Amurrio
2006–2008 Ibiza-Eivissa B
2007–2008 Ibiza-Eivissa
National team
1997–2009 Andorra 64 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Born in Gavà, Barcelona, Catalonia to an Andalusian father and a Catalan mother,[1] Lima's family moved to Andorra when he was 9 years old.[2]

Club career

Lima had a brief spell with Real Madrid Castilla, then signed with RCD Español, for which he played two La Liga games.[3][4] In 1992, he stayed in his native region and spent three seasons with Palamós CF in the second division, being relegated in the last.

After another season in the second level, with CP Almería, Lima played the remainder of his Spanish career in division three or lower. He also had two abroad experiences: in 1998 he joined C.F. União, appearing rarely as the Portuguese second tier team was also relegated. Three years later, also with no impact whatsoever, he represented Ionikos F.C. in the Superleague Greece.

Lima retired at SE Eivissa-Ibiza in 2008 at the age of 37, having acted as the club's director of football still as an active player.[5]

International career

Lima won 64 caps for Andorra, over a 12-year period.[6] On 10 June 2009, in his last international, a 0–6 loss against England for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Wembley Stadium, he wore the captain's armband.[7] Lima was subject of some controversy during a World Cup 2006 qualifier between the Netherlands and Andorra. When Ruud van Nistelrooy missed a penalty Lima celebrated directly in front of the Dutch player. Moments later van Nistelrooy scored from open play and ran straight over to Lima his arms raised.[8] Van Nistelrooy would receive a booking for his celebration and the Netherlands would go onto win 4-0.[9]

International goal
Scores and results list Andorra's goal tally first.
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 October 2002Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgaria1–21–2Euro 2004 qualifying[10]

Personal life

Lima's younger brother, Ildefons, is also a footballer and a defender. He too spent most of his career in the lower leagues of Spain, and the pair shared teams at Ionikos.[11][12]

References
  1. Doral, Alba (7 April 2019). "Ildefons Lima i el mapamundi" [Ildefons Lima and the world map]. Diari d'Andorra (in Catalan). Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  2. "Fiebre Maldini: Ildefons Lima, orgullo de Andorra | Movistar+" [Fiebre Maldini: Ildefons Lima, pride of Andorra | Movistar+] (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2019 – via YouTube.
  3. Canovas, M.C. (28 October 1991). "Otro aire, pero los mismos fallos" [Another allure, but the same mistakes]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. Astruells, Andrés (4 November 1991). "Sarrià se levanta en armas" [Sarrià is up in arms]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. Vidal, C.; Palomo, R. J. (29 January 2008). "El Murcia cede al Eivissa al ariete Pico" [Murcia loan forward Pico to Eivissa] (in Spanish). Info Balear. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  6. Mamrud, Roberto. "Antonio Lima Solá – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  7. Griffiths, Frank (10 June 2009). "Andorra loses 6–0 to England but prevents ridicule". USA Today. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  8. "The Seven Levels of Soccer Vengeance". pastemagazine.com. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. "Netherlands vs Andorra (4-0) Sep 7, 2005 Live Updates and Match Report". FootballCritic. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  10. "Italia e Inglaterra en apuros; Alemania rozó el ridículo" [Italy and England in trouble; Germany nearly ridiculed]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 17 October 2002. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  11. "Andorra – El milagro contra Macedonia" [Andorra – The miracle against Macedonia] (in Spanish). Pablo Aro Geraldes. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  12. Blanco, Jordi (13 November 2014). "Ildefons Lima, un andorrano en Wembley" [Ildefons Lima, an Andorran in Wembley] (in Spanish). AM 14. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
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