Victor Sanchez

Victor Sanchez Mata (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiktoɾ ˈsantʃeθ]; born 8 September 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Girona. A versatile player, he can act as central or defensive midfielder, and is also adaptable to all the defensive positions.

He made 302 La Liga appearances and scored 13 goals, starting his career with Barcelona and having loans at Xerez and Getafe. He spent 81⁄2 years at Espanyol, for whom he played 270 games in all competitions.

Club Career

Barcelona

Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia, and raised in neighbouring Rubi, Sanchez began playing football with local UE Rubi, followed by spells with UFB Jabac Terrassa and CE Europa before joining FC Barcelona's youth ranks in 2005. In the 2006–07 season, while still with the C side, he played 36 games and scored seven goals. The following campaign he was promoted to the reserves under Pep Guardiola, helping them return to Segunda Division B by contributing 31 matches and two goals, although he missed most of the play-offs because of an injury.

Sanchez made his debut for the first team on 2 January 2008, appearing as a right-back in the 2–2 home draw against CD Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey, at the age of 20. His maiden appearance in La Liga took place on 18 March, at UD Almeria (2–2 draw, one minute on the field).

With Guardiola in charge of Barca's main squad, Sanchez took part in their 2008 pre-season. He made a further seven league appearances for the treble champions, but was mainly associated to the B's.

On 12 August 2009, Sanchez was sent to newly promoted Xerez CD on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal for the team on 28 March 2010, in a 3–0 home victory over Real Valladolid. For 2010–11 he was loaned again, joining Madrid's Getafe CF in a season-long move; again, he was put to use in several defensive positions, as the latter narrowly avoided top-flight relegation.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Виктор Санчес (russian)