Carlos Marchena López (; born 31 July 1979) is a Spanish former 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 lea ...

. Mainly a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

with an aggressive approach, he also played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Most of his career (nine years) was spent at

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, where he helped the club to win five major titles, including 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 ...

championships. He amassed competition totals 330 matches and 11 goals over 13 seasons, also playing for

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, Villarreal and Deportivo. A Spain international for the better part of the 2000s, Marchena won 69

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 Java ...

and represented the national team in two World Cups and two European Championships, winning each tournament once.

Club career

Early years

Born in Las Cabezas de San Juan,

Province of Seville The Province of Seville () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Marchena started his professional career in hometown club

at the age of 18, when the club was 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 ...

. He made his

debut on 22 August 1999, playing the entire 2–2 home draw with

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. When Sevilla were relegated again at the end of the season, Marchena earned a transfer to Portugal's Benfica. During his spell in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

he scored in two narrow wins, at home against Belenenses (1–0) and at Salgueiros (2–1), but almost left the Estádio da Luz in late 2000 due to lack of payment.

Valencia

Marchena returned to his country in summer 2001 as he signed a four-year contract with

, with Zlatko Zahovič moving in the opposite direction. Having signed as a cover for ageing Miroslav Đukić, he took a while to impress in his first season (16 appearances), as Valencia clinched their first league title in 30 years, but gradually became first choice. In the 2003–04 campaign, with the side capturing an historic league and

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, Marchena played a pivotal role in defence, teaming up with Roberto Ayala; the former played 44 games in all competitions, the latter 45. 2004–05 was not a very successful season for Valencia, as under new coach

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Serie A club AS Roma, Roma but will leave on 30 June 2025, followin ...

the team struggled both domestically and in European tournaments. In a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

group-stage match against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

at the Weser-Stadion, Marchena was also given his marching orders in the early minutes of the second half (2–1 defeat) and his team was eventually eliminated from the elite competition; he remained a regular at both defensive positions. Luis Fabiano i Marchena

During the Champions League match against

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 ...

on 6 March 2007, Marchena was involved in the on-pitch melee sparked by his teammate David Navarro: the former appeared to kick Inter defender Nicolás Burdisso after an angry exchange of words and, after the latter punched the Argentine's nose, a scuffle took place with several of Burdisso's teammates chasing Navarro all the way into the dressing room. Consequently, Marchena, Navarro and several other Inter players involved were later charged with "gross unsporting conduct" by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

after the investigation. Both clubs were fined £106,000 while Marchena was banned for four games; after Euro 2008 he was selected by his teammates as the new

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 ...

, although he missed the first two months of the new season due to injury. In the 2009–10 campaign, veteran Marchena contributed 24 appearances as the ''Che'' finished third and returned to the Champions League. He scored in two 3–1 away victories, over

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

and Xerez, only being booked seven times.

Villarreal

On 1 August 2010, the 31-year-old Marchena joined Villarreal for three years. He made his competitive debut for the Valencians 18 days later, opening the 5–0 home win against Dnepr Mogilev in that campaign's Europa League. Regularly used in both defensive positions again, he scored his second goal for the ''Yellow Submarine'' on 7 April 2011, in a 5–1 home rout of Twente in the first leg of the competition's quarter-finals. Marchena left at the end of 2011–12 after being released from contract, and his team also suffered relegation.

Later career

In the 2012 off-season, Marchena initially moved to

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

on a one-year deal. The

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

were eventually relegated, but he chose to remain for a further season in spite of more lucrative offers. Following Deportivo's return to the top flight in 2014, Marchena left the club; he remained unemployed until 1 August 2015 when he signed for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

side Kerala Blasters as its marquee player. After missing the start of the season with injury, he made his debut on 18 October in a 0–1 home loss to Delhi Dynamos. On 4 November, he left for personal reasons. After a period of training with amateurs Gerena, Marchena announced his retirement in January 2016. On 7 June of the following year he returned to his first club Sevilla, being appointed assistant manager of the C team. Marchena then had assistant spells at

Sevilla Atlético Sevilla Atlético is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1950, it is the reserve team of Sevilla FC, Sevilla. It plays in and holds home games at the Ciu ...

and Valencia, respectively under his former teammates Paco Gallardo and Rubén Baraja.

International career

Marchena first appeared for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

as part of the under-20 team alongside Iker Casillas and

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

, finishing first at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was also on the roster for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, winning the silver medal. Marchena made his senior debut on 21 August 2002, in a testimonial match for Hungarian legend

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; né Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward and an attacking ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

just after the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Subsequently, he was part of the squad at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, where he was chosen at the last minute by coach Iñaki Sáez as a strategic move to bolster his side defensively; while Spain bowed out after the group phase, he did manage two appearances, but picked up two yellow cards in the process. Carlos Marchena 2010

On 8 June 2005, Marchena scored his first international goal, a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, played in

. He was picked for the finals, but only played the last group fixture against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Marchena was selected again by Luis Aragonés for Euro 2008, this time as undisputed starter, having also featured prominently in the qualifying stages. With Joan Capdevila, Carles Puyol and

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captain (association football), captains Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey, Monterrey. Regarded as one of the gr ...

, he formed a rock-solid defense and conceded only two goals in five games, his hard work and man-marking skills earning him a spot in the team of the tournament. Under new coach Vicente del Bosque, Marchena slowly lost his spot to Gerard Piqué, but was still included in the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

and the 2010 World Cup squads. As Spain downed Saudi Arabia on 29 May 2010 in preparation for the latter competition (where he played six minutes in the 1–0 quarter-final win over

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, adding two injury-time appearances for the champions), he played his 50th consecutive undefeated match with the national team, surpassing previous holder

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, righ ...

(49). In June 2018, Marchena was allowed by Sevilla to join newly appointed Fernando Hierro's coaching staff for the upcoming World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Valencia *

: 2001–02, 2003–04 *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2007–08 *

: 2003–04 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Spain U20 * FIFA World Youth Championship:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Spain U23 * Summer Olympic silver medal:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Spain *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

third place:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Individual *

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

: Team of the tournament

References

External links

*
CiberChe stats and bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchena, Carlos 1979 births Living people People from Bajo Guadalquivir Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Seville Men's association football central defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Sevilla FC players Sevilla Atlético players Valencia CF players Villarreal CF players Deportivo de La Coruña players Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers Indian Super League players Indian Super League marquee players Kerala Blasters FC players UEFA Europa League–winning players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's under-23 international footballers Spain men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2008 players FIFA World Cup–winning players UEFA European Championship–winning players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Olympic footballers for Spain Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Spain Olympic medalists in football Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Sevilla FC non-playing staff Valencia CF non-playing staff