Efraín Velarde Calvillo (born 18 April 1986), also known as Chispa, is a Mexican 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-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Club career

Emerged from the Pumas quarry where he entered at the age of 13. He debuted in the First Division with the UNAM team on 15 May 2004 in the UNAM-3

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

-2 match, (wearing number 75 on his shirt) scoring a goal with his head in the last minutes, giving him the victory. to the Pumas, with

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific goalscorer known for ...

as coach. With the feline team he won four league titles and became a benchmark behind UNAM. Velarde was transferred from Pumas to Rayados de Monterrey in definitive purchase, in the annual Draft of the Bancomer MX League, where he would play the Apertura 2014 and Clausura 2015 tournaments. On 11 June 2015, Velarde is transferred on loan to

Club León Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...

, lasting only three tournaments in the Leon team. It was the third shirt that the former university player defended. On 14 December 2016, it is announced that he will be a new player for Deportivo Toluca. On 26 December 2017, his arrival at the club is confirmed, to be a reinforcement for the Clausura Tournament 2018 (Mexico), El "Chispa" returns to the institution since his last time in 2015. On 9 June 2021, Chispa' Velarde was once again made official as a Pumas player from Mazatlán F.C. this time (wearing number 18 on his shirt)

International career

On 4 September 2011, Velarde was called up to the senior national team by coach José Manuel de la Torre for a friendly in

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 ...

Spain against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

making it his first international appearance.

Personal life

In August 2011, Velarde married his girlfriend of 6 years, Jessica Gómez Espinosa, in a mansion in Mexico City. The couple has two children, Sofía, born in Mexico City on 20 August 2010, and Santino, born on 12 November 2012 in the capital.

Career statistics

International Cups

International

Honours

UNAM *

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

: Clausura 2004, Apertura 2004, Clausura 2009, Clausura 2011 *

Campeón de Campeones Campeón de Campeones () is an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Liga MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. It was initially a super cup match between the league and cup cha ...

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 ...

Individual *

Best Full-back: Clausura 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velarde, Efrain 1986 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Men's association football defenders Liga MX players Club Universidad Nacional footballers C.F. Monterrey players Club León footballers Deportivo Toluca F.C. players Mexico men's international footballers 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2015 Copa América players Mexican men's footballers 21st-century Mexican sportsmen