Antonio Núñez
Encyclopedia
Antonio Núñez Tena is a Spanish
footballer who plays for Apollon Limassol
, mainly as a right midfielder
.
side CD Las Rozas
. In 2001, he joined Real Madrid
, his favourite club growing up.
Courtesy of then manager Carlos Queiroz
, Núñez was promoted to the first team for 2003–04. On September 2, 2003, his topflight
debut, he replaced Javier Portillo
15 minutes from time in a match at Villarreal CF
, and scored the 1–1 equalizer after just seven minutes. During the remainder of the campaign, however, in which the merengues came up totally empty, he only amassed a further ten league appearances, all from the bench.
In August 2004, Núñez was transferred to Liverpool
, becoming Rafael Benítez
's second signing as club manager (after compatriot Josemi
), as part of an exchange deal that saw Michael Owen
go in the opposite direction for £
8 million.
Núñez injured his knee
in his first day of training for his new club, and was out of action for three months. He made his Liverpool debut as a starter in a league match against Portsmouth FC
, a 1–1 home draw, on December 14.
Núñez scored his first - and only - goal for Liverpool against Chelsea
, in the 3–2 League Cup loss, in the final, therefore becoming the only player in the history of Liverpool to score his only goal for the club in a major cup final. In his only season, Núñez also won a UEFA Champions League medal
, as he was one of the substitutes in the final
(although he did not play), having appeared previously in five matches, four as a reserve.
Following a disappointing season, Núñez transferred back to Spain, joining newly-promoted Celta de Vigo
on July 26, 2005. During his three-year spell, where he would be heavily played, he also lived one relegation, and joined Real Murcia
in the summer of 2008.
In August 2009, Núñez bought out the remainder of his Murcia contract and was released, joining Cyprus
' Apollon Limassol
shortly after.
|2003–04||Real Madrid
||Spanish League
||11||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2004–05||Liverpool
||Premier League||18||0||||||||1||||||||
|-
|2005–06
||rowspan="3"|Celta
||rowspan="2"|Spanish League
||32||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|2006–07||24||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08||Second Division
||40||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|2008–09||Murcia
||Second Division
||35||1||||||||||||||||
142||9||||||||||||||||
18||0||||||||||||||||
160||9||||||||||||||||
Liverpool
Apollon
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
footballer who plays for Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol is a Greek Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon F.C...
, mainly as a right midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
.
Club career
Núñez started his career with CD San Federico, before joining fourth levelTercera División
Tercera División is the fourth level of the Spanish football league system. The top three are the Primera División, often referred to as "La Liga" in English, the Segunda División, and Segunda División B.-Current Format:...
side CD Las Rozas
CD Las Rozas
Las Rozas Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Las Rozas de Madrid, in the autonomous Community of Madrid. Founded in 1966, it plays in Preferente, holding home games at Estadio Navalcarbón, which has a capacity of 3,000 spectators....
. In 2001, he joined Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, his favourite club growing up.
Courtesy of then manager Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
, Núñez was promoted to the first team for 2003–04. On September 2, 2003, his topflight
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
debut, he replaced Javier Portillo
Javier Portillo
Javier García Portillo is a Spanish footballer who plays for UD Las Palmas as a forward.-Club career:...
15 minutes from time in a match at Villarreal CF
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...
, and scored the 1–1 equalizer after just seven minutes. During the remainder of the campaign, however, in which the merengues came up totally empty, he only amassed a further ten league appearances, all from the bench.
In August 2004, Núñez was transferred to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, becoming Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
's second signing as club manager (after compatriot Josemi
Josemi
José Miguel González Rey, aka Josemi , is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Cartagena in Segunda División. Predominantly a right back, he also can play as a central defender.-Early career:...
), as part of an exchange deal that saw Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
go in the opposite direction for £
Pound sign
The pound sign is the symbol for the pound sterling—the currency of the United Kingdom . The same symbol is used for similarly named currencies in some other countries and territories, such as the Irish pound, Gibraltar pound, Australian pound and the Italian lira...
8 million.
Núñez injured his knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
in his first day of training for his new club, and was out of action for three months. He made his Liverpool debut as a starter in a league match against Portsmouth FC
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, a 1–1 home draw, on December 14.
Núñez scored his first - and only - goal for Liverpool against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, in the 3–2 League Cup loss, in the final, therefore becoming the only player in the history of Liverpool to score his only goal for the club in a major cup final. In his only season, Núñez also won a UEFA Champions League medal
UEFA Champions League 2004-05
The 2004–05 UEFA Champions League was the 50th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the 13th since it was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992. The competition was won by Liverpool, who beat Milan on penalties in the final, having come back from 3–0 down...
, as he was one of the substitutes in the final
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...
(although he did not play), having appeared previously in five matches, four as a reserve.
Following a disappointing season, Núñez transferred back to Spain, joining newly-promoted Celta de Vigo
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...
on July 26, 2005. During his three-year spell, where he would be heavily played, he also lived one relegation, and joined Real Murcia
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the region of Murcia. Founded in 1908, it currently plays in the second division, playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condomina, which can hold 33,045 spectators....
in the summer of 2008.
In August 2009, Núñez bought out the remainder of his Murcia contract and was released, joining Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
' Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol is a Greek Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon F.C...
shortly after.
Club statistics
|-|2003–04||Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
||Spanish League
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||11||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2004–05||Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
||Premier League||18||0||||||||1||||||||
|-
|2005–06
2005–06 La Liga
* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Betis* Cádiz CF* Celta de Vigo* Deportivo Alaves* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Málaga CF* RCD Mallorca* CA Osasuna* Racing de Santander* Real Madrid* Real Sociedad* Sevilla FC...
||rowspan="3"|Celta
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...
||rowspan="2"|Spanish League
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||32||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|2006–07||24||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08||Second Division
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
||40||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|2008–09||Murcia
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the region of Murcia. Founded in 1908, it currently plays in the second division, playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condomina, which can hold 33,045 spectators....
||Second Division
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
||35||1||||||||||||||||
142||9||||||||||||||||
18||0||||||||||||||||
160||9||||||||||||||||
Honours
Real Madrid- Spanish SupercupSupercopa de EspañaThe Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
: 2003
Liverpool
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 2004–05 - Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
: Runner-up 2004–05
Apollon
- Cypriot Cup: 2009–102009–10 Cypriot CupThe 2009–10 Cypriot Cup started on September 23, 2009. Only teams from the first and second division will participate . Teams from the lower divisions will compete in a separate cup competition. The Cypriot cup will be completed in 5 rounds...