Juan Valera Espín
Valera playing with Getafe in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Valera Espín | ||
| Date of birth | 21 December 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Murcia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back / Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Bullense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2004 | Murcia B | ||
| 2003–2005 | Murcia | 48 | (3) |
| 2005–2011 | Atlético Madrid | 71 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 25 | (2) |
| 2011–2015 | Getafe | 94 | (3) |
| Total | 238 | (11) | |
| National team | |||
| 2006 | Spain U21 | 1 | (1) |
| 2005 | Spain U23 | 5 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Juan Valera Espín (born 21 December 1984) is a Spanish retired professional footballer. He operated as a defender or midfielder, on the right side of the pitch.
He amassed La Liga totals of 200 games and eight goals over the course of 11 seasons, representing in the competition Murcia, Atlético Madrid, Racing de Santander and Getafe.
Born in Murcia, Valera made his professional debut at hometown's Real Murcia, and first played in La Liga in 2003–04, appearing in ten games during the season. In 2005–06 he moved to Atlético Madrid, where his progression was marred by injuries; on 25 February 2006 he scored twice as a substitute, in a 5–0 home win against Málaga CF.
On 1 September 2008, Valera agreed to a one-year loan at Racing de Santander. On 5 October he netted his first goal for the Cantabrians, in a 1–0 last-minute success at CA Osasuna; in December he also scored, but in an insufficient 3–1 UEFA Cup group stage triumph over Manchester City.
Recalled for 2009–10, Valera also suffered initially with physical problems. However, he would manage to appear regularly for Atlético over the course of the campaign – more than 30 official matches – mainly as a right back, competing with internationals Luis Perea and Tomáš Ujfaluši for the position. He contributed with seven games in the Colchoneros' Europa League victorious run, although only three complete, including the 1–2 away defeat against Liverpool in the semi-finals (2–2 aggregate win); he also featured one minute in the final.
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