Sergio Asenjo

Sergio Asenjo Andrés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo aˈseŋxo]; born 28 June 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Villarreal as a goalkeeper.

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

Sergio Asenjo
Personal information
Full name Sergio Asenjo Andrés
Date of birth (1989-06-28) 28 June 1989
Place of birth Palencia, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Villarreal
Number 1
Youth career
San Juanillo
2005–2006 Valladolid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Valladolid B 39 (0)
2006–2009 Valladolid 47 (0)
2009–2014 Atlético Madrid 18 (0)
2011 → Málaga (loan) 5 (0)
2013–2014 → Villarreal (loan) 35 (0)
2014– Villarreal 171 (0)
National team‡
2006 Spain U17 10 (0)
2007 Spain U19 8 (0)
2009 Spain U20 4 (0)
2008–2010 Spain U21 15 (0)
2016– Spain 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 May 2016

His footballing career began with Valladolid, where he made 49 senior appearances. He then moved to Atlético Madrid in 2009 and spent five seasons with the club, during which he was also loaned to Málaga and Villarreal before joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2014.

Asenjo is also a full Spanish international, having made his senior debut in 2016, and previously represented the nation at various youth levels.

Club career

Valladolid

Born in Palencia, Castile and León, Asenjo started his playing career in the academy of Real Valladolid and soon emerged as one of the most talented players in the club.[1] Succeeding first-team goalkeepers Alberto and Ludovic Butelle, he was promoted to the senior side during the 2007–08 season, and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over Villarreal on 2 December 2007 which marked his La Liga debut;[2][1] he conceded just once in his first five matches, which earned him a permanent starting berth and saw him rewarded with his first professional contract in January of the following year.[1]

Asenjo subsequently retained his position, but saw 2008–09 be interrupted by a knee injury which ruled him out for a number of matches midway through the campaign.[1] The injury, which sidelined him for a period of three months, was the first of a number of knee ailments which would later plague him during his career.[3][4]

Asenjo returned to the pitch following his recovery, and ultimately made just short of 50 appearances for the Estadio José Zorrilla-based team before earning a move to Atlético Madrid.[1]

Atlético Madrid

On 8 July 2009, Asenjo transferred to Atlético Madrid for a reported fee of €5 million and signed a four-year deal with the club.[5] He started the season as first-choice, but often alternated with compatriot David de Gea.[1]

In May 2010, Asenjo suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and was ruled out for a further six months.[6][4] Upon his return, he found his place in the squad uncertain and, in December of that year, he was loaned to Málaga until the end of the campaign, with teammate Ignacio Camacho also making the move in a permanent deal.[7][1]

On 6 February 2011, during a league match between Málaga and Sevilla, Asenjo suffered a second ACL injury to his right knee when he turned awkwardly on the pitch surface. He missed the remainder of the season, having only made five league appearances during his loan spell.[8][9]

Asenjo returned to Atlético for 2011–12 and 2012–13, but served featured primarily as back-up to Thibaut Courtois, who had arrived on loan from Chelsea as a replacement for the departed De Gea.[10][11]

Villarreal

With his game time limited in Madrid, Asenjo agreed to a one-year loan deal with Villarreal in July 2013 with the club retaining a buyout option at the end of the season.[12] He excelled during his first year, missing only three league matches and keeping nine clean sheets as the side qualified for the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League;[1] the ensuing summer, he signed a permanent five-year contract.[13]

Asenjo retained his starting spot throughout the 2014–15 campaign but, on 29 April 2015, in the dying minutes of a 1–0 loss to former side Atlético, he tore his ACL for a third time while attempting to make a save.[14][15][1] After an excruciating rehabilitation process, he made his return to the squad on 23 February 2016 when he was named on the bench by Marcelino García Toral for the Europa League fixture against Italy's Napoli.[16][17] The following month, and in the same competition, he played his first game in nearly 11 months and kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw (2–0 aggregate win) at Bayer Leverkusen.[18]

Asenjo reclaimed his starting position following his recovery but on 26 February 2017, during the first half of a league home match against Real Madrid, he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament for a fourth time, this time in his left knee[19][4]– prior to the misfortune, he had conceded the fewest goals in the league and had kept 11 clean sheets.[1] He spent nine months on the sidelines as a result of the injury, before making his return in November in a Copa del Rey encounter against Ponferradina.[20]

International career

In 2006, Asenjo was selected to the Spain under-17 side as they took home the bronze medal in the UEFA European Championship. He started in all of the matches, except the third-place play-off.[21]

Asenjo was again called up for the 2007 Under-19 European Championship: in the qualification rounds his role in the team was quite insignificant, but his status changed in the semi-final against France, replacing the injured starter and saving two penalties in the shootout as the country progressed to the final,[22] where he appeared against Greece with another excellent display for a 1–0 win.[23]

Asenjo made his under-21 debut in late August 2008,[24] and was first-choice at the 2009 European Championships.[25][26][27] He also played at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.[28]

In March 2015, Asenjo received his first ever callup to the senior national team, being named in Vicente del Bosque's squad for a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Ukraine and a friendly with the Netherlands.[29] He did not make his debut until 29 May the following year, in a 3–1 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the AFG Arena in St. Gallen, Switzerland; he was the first footballer from Palencia to win a cap since Jesús Landáburu 36 years prior.[30]

Career statistics

Club
As of 8 January 2021[31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League1 Cup2 UEFA3 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Valladolid 2007–08 La Liga 24000–240
2008–09 23000230
Total 4700000470
Atlético Madrid 2009–10 La Liga 1502090260
2011–12 20201050
2012–13 101080100
Total 18050180410
Málaga (loan) 2010–11 La Liga 5010–60
Villarreal (loan) 2013–14 35000350
Villarreal 2014–15 3406080480
2015–16 40003070
2016–17 2402050310
2017–18 2301020260
2018–19 3200000320
2019–20 34000–340
2020–21 1800000180
Total 2040901802310
Career total 27401503603250
1Including La Liga.
2Including Copa del Rey.
3Including UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

International
As of match played 29 May 2016[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 201610
Total10

Honours

Club

Atlético Madrid

International

Spain U17

Spain U19

References
  1. "Trials, tribulations, and triumph: The Sergio Asenjo story". Medium. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  2. "Real Valladolid 2–0 Villarreal". ESPN Soccernet. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  3. Macdonald, Paul (15 February 2009). "Sergio Asenjo returns to training for Valladolid". Goal. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  4. Garcia, Adriana (27 February 2017). "Villarreal keeper Asenjo suffers fourth ACL injury". Reuters. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. "Atletico sign Asenjo". FIFA. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  6. Aznar, Luis (9 May 2010). "Asenjo sufre una rotura del ligamento cruzado de la rodilla" [Asenjo suffers rupture to knee cruciate ligament]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  7. "Asenjo y Camacho se van al Málaga" [Asenjo and Camacho go to Málaga]. El País (in Spanish). 28 December 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  8. "Malaga goalkeeper Asenjo out for rest of season". CBC Sports. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  9. Mondal, Subhankar (7 February 2011). "Malaga's Sergio Asenjo ruled out for eight months with knee injury". Goal. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  10. "Sergio Asenjo renueva hasta 2016" [Sergio Asenjo renews until 2016]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 June 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  11. Maaijen, Derek (7 June 2012). "Atlético keep Asenjo and Courtois". Atlético Fans. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  12. "Villarreal loan Asenjo from Atletico". ESPN. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  13. "La Liga: Villarreal sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo". Sky Sports. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  14. "Asenjo se vuelve a romper" [Asenjo shatters himself again]. Marca (in Spanish). 30 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  15. Lara, M. Á.; Franch, V. (1 May 2015). "El tercer infierno de Asenjo" [The third hell of Asenjo]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  16. "Asenjo afronta recta final de su recuperación "motivado"" [Asenjo reaches final stretch of his recovery "motivated"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 7 October 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  17. "Sergio Asenjo vuelve a una convocatoria" [Sergio Asenjo returns to a list]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 February 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  18. "Villarreal keep Leverkusen at bay to advance". UEFA. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  19. Calderón, J. L. (26 February 2017). "Confirmada la cuarta lesión del ligamento cruzado de Sergio Asenjo" [Fourth cruciate ligament injury to Sergio Asenjo confirmed]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  20. Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel; Sherman, Justin (30 November 2017). "Sergio Asenjo returns to action nine months after serious knee injury". Marca. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  21. "España, sin Sergio Asenjo, conquista el tercer puesto en el Europeo sub 17" [Spain, without Sergio Asenjo, conquer third place at under 17 European Championships]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 15 May 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  22. "Sergio shines in shoot-out success". UEFA. 25 July 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  23. "España demuestra su dominio" [Spain show their dominance] (in Spanish). UEFA. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  24. "La España sub' 21 supera a Rusia y roza la clasificación para el Europeo" [Spain under' 21 overcome Russia and are all but qualified for the European Championships] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  25. Haslam, Andrew (15 June 2009). "Spain and Germany goalless in opener". UEFA. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  26. Haslam, Andrew (19 June 2009). "Second-half strikes see England through". UEFA. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  27. Atkin, John (23 June 2009). "Too little too late for Spain". UEFA. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  28. "Bojan y Asenjo, convocados para el Mundial sub'20" [Bojan and Asenjo, called to the under'20 World Cup]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 10 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  29. "Official: 24-man squad to face Ukraine and Netherlands". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  30. Calleja, Alberto (29 May 2016). "Sergio Asenjo debutó con España" [Sergio Asenjo made Spain debut] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  31. "Sergio Asenjo". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  32. "Sergio Asenjo". European Football. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
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