Iván Balliu

Iván Balliu Campeny (born 1 January 1992) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a right back for UD Almería.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Balliu and the second or maternal family name is Campeny.
Iván Balliu
Balliu playing for Barcelona B in 2012
Personal information
Full name Iván Balliu Campeny[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992[2]
Place of birth Caldes de Malavella, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Right back
Club information
Current team
 Almería
Number 20
Youth career
2000–2004 Girona
2004–2011 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Barcelona B 53 (0)
2013–2015 Arouca 58 (0)
2015–2019 Metz 104 (1)
2019– Almería 33 (1)
National team‡
2008 Spain U16 3 (1)
2008 Spain U17 3 (0)
2017– Albania 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 October 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 March 2019

After starting out at Barcelona B, he went on to compete professionally in Spain, Portugal and France.

Balliu represented his native Spain at youth level before declaring for Albania, for which he qualified via his father. He was first included in an Albanian senior squad in 2017, making his debut in October of that year.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Caldes de Malavella, Girona, Catalonia, to an Albanian father and a Spanish mother,[3] Balliu joined FC Barcelona's youth system in 2004, aged 12. He made his senior debut in the 2010–11 season, playing in two Segunda División games with the B-team and starting against Girona FC for a 2–0 away win;[4] in that year, he was also captain of the treble-winning Juvenil A team.[5]

Arouca

On 30 May 2013, Balliu's contract expired and he was told by the Blaugrana that he would be released.[6] One month later, he signed with F.C. Arouca in Portugal for two seasons,[7] making his Primeira Liga debut on 1 September in a 1–0 home win against Rio Ave FC (90 minutes played).[8]

Metz

On 17 July 2015, Balliu joined French club FC Metz on a two-year deal.[9] He scored his first goal as a professional on 16 October, helping the hosts come from behind in a 2–2 home draw to Clermont Foot.[10]

After contributing with 24 appearances during his first season to help his team return to Ligue 1 after a one-year absence, Balliu's first match in the competition occurred on 13 August 2016, in a 3–2 home victory over Lille OSC.[11]

Almería

On 12 August 2019, Balliu agreed to a two-year contract with UD Almería of the Spanish second level.[12] He scored his first goal in his country of birth on 7 March 2020, helping the hosts defeat Deportivo de La Coruña 4–0.[13]

International career

Of Albanian descent on his father's side, Balliu was eligible to represent Albania, speaking of his interest in an interview on 24 October 2016.[14][15] On 22 August 2017 he received Albanian citizenship, thus becoming eligible to play for the national team.[16] He was handed his first call shortly after when newly appointed coach Christian Panucci selected him for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Macedonia on 2 and 5 September,[17] and earned his first cap also during that stage, playing the first half of the 0–3 loss against Spain in Alicante on 6 October.[18]

Personal life

On 17 June 2017, Balliu married Marta Soler.[3]

Career statistics

Club
As of 17 May 2019[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2010–11 Segunda División 20————20
2011–12 210————210
2012–13 310————310
Total 540————540
Arouca 2013–14 Primeira Liga 2603020——310
2014–15 3201030——360
Total 5804050——670
Metz 2015–16 Ligue 2 2411020——271
2016–17 Ligue 1 270—30——300
2017–18 25030———280
2018–19 Ligue 2 2803120——331
Total 10417170——1182
Career total 2161111120——2392
  1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

International
As of 22 March 2019[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Albania 201710
201910
Total20

References
  1. "I. Balliu" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  2. "Iván Balliu" (in French). FC Metz. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. "Sergi Roberto, representante culé en la boda de Balliu" [Sergi Roberto, culé representative at Balliu's wedding]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 18 June 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  4. Van Eeckhout, Robert (21 May 2011). "Girona – Barcelona B: El Barça B se lleva un derbi insulso (0–2)" [Girona – Barcelona B: Barça B take dull derby (0–2)]. Diario Siglo XXI (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  5. Jurado, Carlos D. (30 April 2017). "Ivan Balliu, un capitán de la Masía en la Ligue 1" [Ivan Balliu, a Masía captain in Ligue 1]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  6. "El club ha comunicat la baixa a Gus Ledes, Balliu, Lobato i Luis Alberto per a la temporada vinent" [Club announce that Gus Ledes, Balliu, Lobato and Luis Alberto will not stay for next season] (in Catalan). FC Barcelona. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  7. Gonçalves, André (21 July 2013). "Iván Balliu assina por duas épocas" [Iván Balliu signs for two seasons]. Record (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  8. "Ivan Balliu debuta i l'Arouca guanya el seu primer partit" [Ivan Balliu makes debut and Arouca win first match]. Diari de Girona (in Catalan). 3 September 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  9. "Ivan Balliu, du Barça au FC Metz!" [Ivan Balliu, from Barça to FC Metz!] (in French). FC Metz. 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  10. Jougleux, Christian (20 October 2015). "FC Metz: Ivan Balliu et son terrible but" [FC Metz: Ivan Balliu and his cracker of a goal]. Le Républicain Lorrain (in French). Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  11. "Le LOSC s'écroule à Metz" [LOSC collapse at Metz] (in French). France 3. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  12. "Iván Balliu es el primer fichaje de la nueva etapa de la UD Almería" [Iván Balliu is the first signing of the new era of UD Almería] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  13. Laynez, Pablo (7 March 2020). "Marzo devuelve la sonrisa al Almería (4–0)" [March returns smile to Almería (4–0)]. Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  14. "Ivan Balliu "katalanasi" që ëndërron Kombëtaren e Shqipërisë" [Catalan Ivan Balliu dreams of Albania national team] (in Albanian). Mapo. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  15. "Spain-born former Barcelona defender could join Albania". Tirana Times. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  16. "Dekret për dhënie të shtetësisë shqiptare nr. 10596" [Decree on granting Albanian citizenship no. 10596] (in Albanian). President of Albania. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  17. "Trajneri Panucci shpall listën e lojtarëve për ndeshjet zyrtare eleminatore kundër Lihtenshteinit dhe Maqedonisë" [Coach Panucci announces list of players for official qualifying matches against Liechtenstein and Macedonia] (in Albanian). Albanian Football Association. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. McGee, Nicholas (6 October 2017). "Spain 3 Albania 0: World Cup place wrapped up as Pique gets mixed reception". Goal. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  19. Iván Balliu at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  20. "Iván Balliu". European Football. 6 October 2017.
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