Rafa Navarro (footballer, born 1994)

Rafael "Rafa" Jesús Navarro Mazuecos (born 24 February 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right back for Croatian club NK Istra 1961, on loan from Deportivo Alavés.

For other people named Rafael Navarro, see Rafael Navarro (disambiguation).
Rafa Navarro
Navarro in September 2018
Personal information
Full name Rafael Jesús Navarro Mazuecos
Date of birth (1994-02-24) 24 February 1994
Place of birth Salteras, Spain
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Right back
Club information
Current team
 Istra 1961
(on loan from Alavés)
Youth career
2004–2010 Sevilla
2010–2012 Coria
2012–2013 Betis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Betis B 1 (0)
2013–2014 Gerena 32 (2)
2014–2016 Betis B 69 (2)
2016–2018 Betis 21 (2)
2018– Alavés 0 (0)
2018–2019 → Sochaux (loan) 23 (1)
2020– → Istra 1961 (loan) 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 May 2019
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Navarro and the second or maternal family name is Mazuecos.

Club career

Born in Salteras, Seville, Andalusia, Navarro represented Sevilla FC, Coria CF and Real Betis as a youth.[1] He made his senior debut with the latter's B-team on 2 December 2012, starting in a 2–3 home loss against CD San Roque de Lepe for the Segunda División B championship.

On 2 August 2013, Navarro signed for CD Gerena in Tercera División, after leaving the Verdiblancos.[2] He was an undisputed starter for the club during the campaign, and subsequently returned to Betis and its reserve team on 4 July 2014.[3]

Navarro featured regularly for Betis B in the following seasons, and renewed his contract with the club until 2020 on 13 June 2016.[4] On 24 August, he was definitely promoted to the main squad and was assigned the no. 2 shirt.[5]

Navarro made his professional – and La Liga – debut on 23 September 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against Málaga CF.[6] His first goal in the category came on the following 18 March, netting the last in a 2–0 home success over CA Osasuna.

On 2 July 2018, Navarro signed a three-year contract with fellow top tier club Deportivo Alavés, being immediately loaned to Ligue 2 side FC Sochaux-Montbéliard for one year.[7] Upon returning, he spent the entire 2019–20 campaign unregistered before joining affiliate side NK Istra 1961 on loan on 5 October 2020.[8]

References
  1. "Rafa Navarro, la pieza intocable del Betis B de Juan Merino" [Rafa Navarro, the untouchable piece of Juan Merino's Betis B] (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. "La Lebrijana ficha a Iván Ares y el Gerena a Rafa Navarro" [Lebrijana sign Iván Ares and Gerena Rafa Navarro] (in Spanish). El Correo de Andalucía. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  3. "Rafa Navarro ficha por el Betis B para las próximas dos temporadas" [Rafa Navarro signs for Betis B for the following two seasons] (in Spanish). Andalucía Información. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  4. "Rafa Navarro renueva con el Real Betis hasta 2020" [Rafa Navarro renews with Real Betis until 2020] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  5. "Rafa Navarro becomes a first team member". Real Betis. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  6. "Sangre, sudor y tres puntos" [Blood, sweat and three points] (in Spanish). Marca. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  7. "El Deportivo Alavés se hace con los servicios de Rafa Navarro" [Deportivo Alavés get the services of Rafa Navarro] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  8. "Rafa Navarro, cedido al NK Istra" [Rafa Navarro, loaned to NK Istra] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
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