Cristian Castells Ortega (born 19 October 1984) is a Spanish

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 ...

who plays 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 ...

Club career

Castells was born in

Sueca, Valencia Sueca () is a city in eastern Spain in the Valencian Community. It is situated on the left bank of the river Xúquer. The town of Sueca is separated from the Mediterranean Sea to the east by the Serra de Cullera, though the municipality posses ...

. An unsuccessful youth graduate of

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

, he spent most of his career in the

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 Fo ...

, also having Segunda División spells with

Polideportivo Ejido Poli Ejido 2012 Sociedad Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in El Ejido, Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1969 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo'', ...

and

Alicante CF Alicante Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1918, it played its home matches at ''Estadio Alicante CF'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. History ''Alicante Club de Fútbol'', under th ...

, both ended in relegation. Midway through the 2012–13 season, at already 28, Castells had his first top-flight experience, when he signed for

Platanias F.C. Platanias Football Club ( el, Π.Α.Ε. Πλατανιάς Χανίων) was a Greek professional football club based in Platanias, Chania, Greece. The club hosted its home games at the Perivolia Municipal Stadium. Platanias was the first, and ...

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 ...

. In January 2014, however, after only six competitive matches, he returned to his country and his native region, joining amateurs CF Cullera.Marc Castells: “El Sueca es un club histórico y espero que vuelva pronto a Tercera” (Marc Castells: "Sueca is an historical club and I hope they return to ''Tercera'' soon")
El Seis Doble, 21 April 2014 (in Spanish) Castells rarely settled in the following years, representing Spanish amateur clubs and professional teams in Romania (

Liga II The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

) and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. Early into the 2018–19 campaign, he served as manager of

CF Torre Levante Club de Fútbol Torre Levante Orriols is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Valencia, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1976, it plays in Divisiones_Regionales_de_Fútbol_in_the_Valencian_Community#Primera_Region ...

in the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

.ENTREVISTA Cristian Castells: "Me retiro para continuar el proyecto del Torre Levante" (INTERVIEW Cristian Castells: "I retire in order to give continuity to Torre Levante's project")
Golsmedia, 13 June 2018 (in Spanish)

Personal life

Castells' younger brother,

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, was also a footballer. A

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he also represented Poli Ejido, but spent the vast majority of his career in the lower leagues.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castells, Cristian 1984 births Living people People from Ribera Baixa Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Valencia Men's association football central defenders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers CD Eldense footballers Villajoyosa CF footballers Polideportivo Ejido footballers Alicante CF footballers Deportivo Alavés players UD Melilla footballers Pontevedra CF footballers Burgos CF footballers CF Torre Levante players Super League Greece players Platanias F.C. players Liga II players CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț players League of Ireland players Derry City F.C. players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Romania Spanish football managers Tercera División managers