Antoni "Toni" Lima Solà (born 22 September 1970) is a retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Lima currently works as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English F ...

club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

Early life

Born in Gavà,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

to an Andalusian father and a Catalan mother, Lima's family moved to Andorra when he was nine years old.

Club career

Lima had a brief spell with

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a ca ...

, then signed with RCD Español, for which he played two

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

games. In 1992, he stayed in his native region and spent three seasons with Palamós CF in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...

, being relegated in the last. After another season in the second division, with CP Almería, Lima played the remainder of his Spanish career in

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foo ...

or lower. He also had two abroad experiences: in 1998 he joined C.F. União, appearing rarely as the Portuguese second tier team was also relegated. Three years later, also with no impact whatsoever, he represented Ionikos F.C. in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. Lima retired at SE Eivissa-Ibiza in 2008 at the age of 37, having acted as the club's

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

still as an active player.

International career

Lima won 64

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Jav ...

for

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

, over a 12-year period. On 10 June 2009, in his last international, a 6–0 loss to England for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifiers at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, he wore the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

's armband. In September 2005, Lima was subject of some controversy during a World Cup qualification match against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

. When

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often con ...

missed a penalty, the defender celebrated directly in front of the Dutch player. Moments later, the striker scored from open play and ran straight over to Lima with his arms raised, being booked for his action in an eventual 4–0 win.

International goal

:''Scores and results list Andorra's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lima goal''.

Personal life

Lima's younger brother, Ildefons, is also a footballer and a defender. He too spent most of his career in the lower leagues of Spain, and the pair shared teams at Ionikos.

References

External links

* * * *
Andorra stats at Eu-Football
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lima, Antoni 1970 births Living people People from Gavà Sportspeople from the Province of Barcelona Andorran people of Spanish descent Andorran people of Catalan descent Spanish emigrants to Andorra Naturalised citizens of Andorra Andorran footballers Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CF Damm players FC Barcelona C players Real Madrid Castilla footballers CE L'Hospitalet players RCD Espanyol footballers Palamós CF footballers CP Almería players Real Murcia players CF Gavà players SE Eivissa-Ibiza B players Liga Portugal 2 players C.F. União players Super League Greece players Ionikos F.C. players Andorra international footballers Catalonia international footballers Andorran expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Greece Andorran expatriate sportspeople in Spain Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff