César Martín

César Martín Villar (born 3 April 1977) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

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

César Martín
Personal information
Full name César Martín Villar
Date of birth (1977-04-03) 3 April 1977
Place of birth Oviedo, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
Oviedo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Oviedo B 32 (3)
1995–1999 Oviedo 101 (6)
1999–2006 Deportivo La Coruña 96 (1)
2006–2007 Levante 3 (0)
2007 Bolton Wanderers 1 (0)
2007–2009 Hércules 39 (5)
2009–2010 Castellón 20 (0)
Total 292 (15)
National team
1994–1995 Spain U18 19 (1)
1995 Spain U19 1 (0)
1995 Spain U20 5 (0)
1996–2000 Spain U21 8 (2)
1999–2004 Spain 12 (3)
Teams managed
2012–2013 Covadonga
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Over the course of 13 seasons he appeared in 200 La Liga games, mostly in representation of Oviedo and Deportivo, after which he had a six-month spell in England with Bolton.

A Spanish international during five years, César appeared in Euro 2004.

Club career

Born in Oviedo, César started his professional career in 1994 playing for local Real Oviedo. In his debut season he helped with 17 La Liga matches as the Asturias side, which also featured Croatian Nikola Jerkan in the defensive sector, finished ninth.

After being instrumental in Oviedo's 1998–99 league campaign by playing 31 games and scoring four goals, César moved to Deportivo de La Coruña for approximately €7 million.[1][2] With the Galicians he won one league, one Copa del Rey and two Supercopa de España trophies, but appeared sparingly during his seven-year stay (maximum 20 matches in 2002–03) mainly due to injuries.[3]

César fell out of favour when Joaquín Caparrós took over as manager of Deportivo, and eventually moved to Levante UD on 18 July 2006. Things did not improve at his new team where he only played five times all competitions comprised, also getting sent off in a 0–3 league home loss to Atlético Madrid;[4] on 31 January 2007, he cancelled his contract by mutual consent.[5]

César joined Bolton Wanderers on a short-term contract until the end of the season, in February 2007.[6] He made his Premier League debut as an injury-time substitute for Nicolas Anelka on 28 April, in a 2–2 draw against Chelsea;[7] on 18 May, after failing to feature in any more matches, it was revealed that he would leave the club after the new manager Sammy Lee decided not to extend his contract,[8] and he subsequently returned to his homeland, signing with Hércules CF in Segunda División.

For the 2009–10 campaign, veteran César continued in the second level, agreeing to a 2+1 contract with CD Castellón.[9] However, after the Valencian Community team's relegation, the 33-year-old was one of the many players released from contract, retiring shortly afterwards.

César returned to Oviedo in summer 2015, in directorial capacities.[2]

International career

César made his first appearance for Spain on 18 August 1999, playing the entire 2–1 friendly win over Poland in Warsaw.[10] He scored twice in his first two caps, both in UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers and both through headers.[11][12]

César was included in the Euro 2004 squad,[13] but did not play. Despite showing early promise, his international career never fully took off, mostly because of injury troubles and the emergence of players like Carles Puyol and Pablo Ibáñez; he also found the net in his last match, a 4–0 friendly victory with Andorra in the week prior to the continental competition.[14]

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.8 September 1999Vivero, Badajoz, Spain Cyprus7–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying[11]
2.10 October 1999Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain Israel2–03–0Euro 2000 qualifying[12]
3.5 June 2004Alfonso Pérez, Getafe, Spain Andorra3–04–0Friendly[14]

Honours

Club
Deportivo

International
Spain U18

References
  1. "El Málaga ficha a Contreras y Edgar" [Málaga sign Contreras and Edgar]. El País (in Spanish). 18 July 1999. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. "César Martín vuelve al Real Oviedo" [César Martín returns to Real Oviedo] (in Spanish). Vavel. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. César sits out Basel test; UEFA, 14 February 2003
  4. Barcelona make merry at Mallorca; UEFA, 19 November 2006
  5. Pancrate to boost Betis bid; UEFA, 1 February 2007
  6. "Bolton complete deal for Martin". BBC Sport. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  7. "Chelsea 2–2 Bolton". BBC Sport. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  8. "Bolton boss Lee lets quartet go". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  9. "El Castellón presenta a Jonathan Valle y César Martín" [Castellón present Jonathan Valle and César Martín]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 July 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  10. "Morientes vuelve a marcar en la victoria de España ante Polonia" [Morientes scores again in Spain win against Poland]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 18 August 1999. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  11. "España golea 8–0 a Chipre y pasa a la fase final de la Eurocopa" [Spain rout Cyprus 8–0 and qualifies to Eurocup finals]. El País (in Spanish). 9 September 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  12. "España cierra la fase de clasificación ganando a Israel y con 40 goles en ocho partidos" [Spain close qualifying stage defeating Israel and with 40 goals in eight matches]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 10 October 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  13. "Sáez selects Spain squad". UEFA. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  14. "España se impone a Andorra por 4–0" [Spain overcome Andorra 4–0]. El País (in Spanish). 6 June 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
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