Diego Ángel Capel Trinidad (; born 16 February 1988) 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 ...

who played as a

left winger 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. ...

. He made his senior debut with

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 ...

at 16, going on to appear in 173 competitive matches for the club over seven

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 ...

seasons (12 goals) and win four major trophies, including two UEFA Cups. In 2011, he signed for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, totalling 142 games and winning the

2014–15 Taça de Portugal The 2014–15 Taça de Portugal was the 75th season of the Taça de Portugal, the premier Portuguese football knockout cup competition organised by the Portuguese Football Federation. The competition was contested by a total of 135 clubs, comprisi ...

; subsequently, he had a nomadic career. Capel earned 60

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 ...

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 ...

across all age groups, representing the under-21s in two

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. He made his full debut in 2008.

Club career

Sevilla

Groomed in

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

's youth system (after a brief spell at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

), Capel was born in Albox,

Province of Almería Almería (, also ; ) is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It was named after the Arab ruler of Taifa, Banu Al-Miri. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the homony ...

, and he made his first professional appearance aged only 16, playing three minutes in a 2–1 home win against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

on 24 October 2004. In the following seasons he would alternate between the A and B teams, playing four further games in 2005–06 with the main squad; on 1 December 2005 he appeared 18 minutes 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 ...

ns' 3–1 victory over

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

also at the

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium (; ) is a association football, football stadium in Seville, Spain. It is the home stadium of Sevilla Fútbol Club, Sevilla, and is named after the club's former president, Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (1900–195 ...

, in an eventual victorious campaign in the

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 ...

Capel became first-choice in the 2007–08 season due to the death of another left-footed winger,

Antonio Puerta Antonio José Puerta Pérez (; 26 November 1984 – 28 August 2007) was a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who played solely for Sevilla FC, Sevilla. Mainly a Midfielder#Wide midfielder, left midfielder who could also oper ...

, in late August. He scored his first goal in

on 9 February 2008, in a 1–1 home draw with Barcelona. The previous month, he had netted in a

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 ...

tie against the same opponent ( also 1–1 and in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

). In June 2008,

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 ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

were linked with a £12.5 million bid for Capel. He admitted he would consider leaving Sevilla to "grow as a footballer", if the clubs could agree on a signing fee, but nothing came of it. Also at the end of the league campaign, Barcelona-based daily ''

Sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

'' further speculated that

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

were considering Capel as a potential replacement for the recently departed

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

, but no move ever materialised. In the 2009–10 campaign, Capel lost his position to Argentine

Diego Perotti Diego Perotti Almeira (born 26 July 1988) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. Mainly a Midfielder#Winger, winger who could play with both feet, he also appeared as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking ...

, but still managed to feature in 29 matches – one goal in a 5–1 win at

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

– as Sevilla edged

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

for the fourth position, with the subsequent

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

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 ...

. Additionally, on 19 May 2010, he opened the score at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

in a 2–0 defeat of Atlético in the final of the domestic cup. Capel appeared again regularly in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, playing 27 league games and starting in 17 as the team finished in fifth position.

Sporting CP

On 18 July 2011, Capel's uncle Carioca acknowledged negotiations between Sevilla and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

for the transfer of the player for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

6 million and a five-year contract, although the fee agreed was eventually €3.5 million with a €30 million

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

. He made his debut for his new club on the 30th, playing the second half of a 3–0 friendly home loss to

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

. Capel scored his first goal for Sporting on 2 October 2011, in a 1–0

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

away win over

. On the 24th, in the same competition, he netted twice in a 6–1 home rout of Gil Vicente F.C. in what was the ''Lions ninth straight official win. On 19 April 2012, Capel scored his seventh competitive goal of the season, helping the hosts come from behind to win 2–1 against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

in the Europa League semi-finals first leg. He was part of the squad that won the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, but his input consisted of the 5–0 victory at S.C. Espinho in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

Genoa and Anderlecht

On 18 August 2015, as his minutes at Sporting were dwindling dramatically, Capel signed for

Genoa CFC Genoa Cricket and Football Club () is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in Genoa, Liguria. The team competes in the Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...

in Italy for a reported fee of €1.3 million, as the former retained 50% of his rights regarding any future transfer fee the latter received. The following 4 August 2016 he switched countries again, signing a two-year deal with the option for a third at

R.S.C. Anderlecht Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Division A and is the mos ...

in the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

; in the winter transfer window the former were looking to transfer him, and he was eventually released in August 2017 having made 25 competitive appearances and scored two goals. In March 2018, Capel turned down an approach from

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

club

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

Later career

On 4 August 2018, after more than a year without a club, Capel moved to

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 ...

side

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la ...

on a two-year contract. He was joined there by his former Sevilla teammate

José Antonio Reyes José Antonio Reyes Calderón (; 1 September 1983 – 1 June 2019) was a Spanish professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger and also as a forward. He made his debut for Sevilla aged 16 and signed for English club Arsenal in J ...

, who died in a car crash in June 2019; the following month, he left the team from

Almendralejo Almendralejo () is a town in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 45 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. It was the site of a battle a ...

having played just 382 minutes. Capel moved abroad again in January 2020, to

Birkirkara F.C. Birkirkara Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Birkirkara, on the island of Malta. The club was formed in 1950, following the amalgamation of Birkirkara United and Birkirkara Celtic. Birkirkara currently play in t ...

of the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

. He signed until the end of the season with the option of one more, but left in March as the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

erupted. In February 2022, after nearly two years of inactivity, the 34-year-old Capel joined

Super League Greece 2 The Super League Greece 2 () is the second division of professional Association football, football in Greece, serving as a feeder league to the top level Super League Greece, Super League 1. Made up of 20 teams in two groups, it is usually played ...

club

Irodotos FC Irodotos Football Club, short for ''Podosferikós Athlitikós Sýllogos Alikarnassoú Iródotos'' (, meaning ''Irodotos Football Sports Club of Halicarnassus'') and also simply known as Irodotos, is a Greek football club based in Nea Alikarnassos ...

. On 24 October 2023, exactly 19 years after his professional debut, he announced his retirement.

International career

After having helped

win the

2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Poland between 18 July and 29 July 2006. The top three teams in each group qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Players born after 1 January 1987 were allowed to par ...

, Capel played in the 2007 FIFA World Cup with the under-20 team, scoring in injury time in the first game against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

for the final 2–2. He helped the country progress to the quarter-finals where they were knocked out by the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and subsequently moved to the under-21s. Capel made his debut for the senior side on 20 August 2008, playing the second half of a friendly with

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and setting up two goals in the 3–0 away win.

Career statistics

Honours

Sevilla *

: 2009–10 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

; runner-up

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 ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

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 ...

runner-up:

Sporting CP *

: 2014–15; runner-up: 2011–12 Anderlecht *

: 2016–17 Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Individual *

SJPF Player of the Month The SJPF Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Primeira Liga, Portuguese League player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicate of ...

: October 2011

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capel, Diego 1988 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Almería Men's association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Sevilla Atlético players Sevilla FC players Extremadura UD footballers Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers Serie A players Genoa CFC players Belgian Pro League players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Maltese Premier League players Birkirkara F.C. players Super League Greece 2 players Irodotos 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 Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Malta Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece