Antoni "Toni" Lima Solà (born 22 September 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Early life

Born in Gavà,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

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

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

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, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

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

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

or lower. He also had two abroad experiences: in 1998 he joined

C.F. União Clube de Futebol União, commonly known as União da Madeira, was a Portuguese association football, football club based in Funchal, Madeira, notable for its six season in the Portuguese top-flight Primeira Liga, between the 1989–90 Primeira D ...

, appearing rarely as the Portuguese second-tier team was also

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

. Three years later, also with no impact whatsoever, he represented Ionikos F.C. in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

. 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 senior management, 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 typ ...

still as an active player. He later worked with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

sides

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

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 mostly ...

as well as

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

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, sect ...

, and

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

as director of international football.

International career

Lima won 64 caps for

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifiers at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, he wore the

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

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

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. When Ruud van Nistelrooy 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

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lima, Antoni 1970 births Living people People from Gavà Andorran people of Catalan descent Spanish emigrants to Andorra Naturalised citizens of Andorra Sportspeople of Spanish descent Andorran men's footballers Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Barcelona Men's association football central 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 CF players CF Gavà players Amurrio Club footballers SE Eivissa-Ibiza B players Liga Portugal 2 players C.F. União players Super League Greece players Ionikos F.C. players Andorra men's international footballers Catalonia men's international footballers Andorran expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Andorran expatriate sportspeople in Spain Inter Milan non-playing staff Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff