Enrique "Quique" de Lucas Martínez (born 17 August 1978) is a Spanish retired
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 mainly as an
attacking 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. ...
.
He started his professional career with
Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...
, going on to amass
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 ...
totals of 168 games and 25 goals over eight seasons, also representing in the competition
Alavés,
Murcia
Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
and
Celta
CELTA is an initial teacher training qualification for teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL and EFL). It is provided by Cambridge Assessment English through authorised Cambridge English Teaching Qualification centres and can be ...
. He added 268 matches and 53 goals in
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 ...
, where he played for all the clubs except his first.
De Lucas had two spells abroad, including the
2002–03 campaign with
Chelsea.
Club career
Born in
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (; ), often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Barcelonès Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'', in Catalonia (Spain). It is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area, ...
,
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 ...
, de Lucas came through the academy of
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...
, making his first-team debut on 15 May 1998 away against
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the .
The club ...
(his sole appearance of
the season) and being promoted to the main squad immediately afterwards. Subsequently, he became an important attacking element for the ''Pericos'', appearing in 30
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 ...
matches and scoring four goals in
1999–2000 while helping the club to
that year's
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 ...
.
After his contract expired in 2002, and after an unassuming loan spell at
Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. With 52 major trophies ...
the previous year, de Lucas joined
Chelsea on a four-year deal,
being relatively used in
his first and only season. His sole goal for the English team was a well-executed chip 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 ...
against
Viking FK
Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian professional football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, ...
, in a
2–1 home win but 4–5 loss on aggregate.
De Lucas then returned to Spain, having a huge impact at
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 ...
, although most of his stint was spent in the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. He netted six times from 40 appearances as the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
side
returned to the top level after two years, being immediately relegated
the following campaign.
After another season in division two, de Lucas became
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...
's first signing after it
achieved a top-flight return in 2007, agreeing on a two-year contract. He featured heavily in
his first year, notably scoring in a 1–1 home draw against
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 ...
, but the club returned to the second tier.
In August 2009, de Lucas had a trial with
Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
's
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
after his Murcia link had expired, alongside
Will Haining and
Ishmel Demontagnac
Ishmel Abendigo Demontagnac (born 15 June 1988) is an English former footballer who played as a winger.
Demontagnac previously played for Walsall. He has played in all four divisions of professional football in England, in the Football League a ...
. A deal did not materialise, and he signed with
FC Cartagena
Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 sp ...
–
recently returned to the second division – shortly after; he scored the first goal of
the new campaign, a 1–0 victory at
Girona FC
Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...
.
In late June 2010, after nearly helping Cartagena to another promotion (fifth place, with chances of promotion until the last two rounds) while scoring a career-best 11 goals, de Lucas moved to
RC Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...
. He produced the same individual numbers in his first two years – 37 games, nine goals – helping 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 ...
promote to the top level in
2012
2012 was designated as:
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Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
as runners-up.
After
suffering relegation from the second tier, with
Hércules CF
Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...
, de Lucas retired from football at the age of 35. In February 2015, however, he returned to active, joining English amateurs
Biggleswade United.
International career
De Lucas made four appearances for the
Spain under-21 side, in a one-year span.
Honours
Espanyol
*
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 ...
:
1999–2000
References
External links
*
*
*
Unofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Quique De
1978 births
Living people
Footballers from L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Spanish men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Segunda División B players
RCD Espanyol B footballers
RCD Espanyol footballers
Deportivo Alavés players
Real Murcia CF players
FC Cartagena footballers
RC Celta de Vigo players
Hércules CF players
Ligue 1 players
Paris Saint-Germain FC players
Premier League players
Chelsea F.C. players
Biggleswade United F.C. players
Spain men's youth international footballers
Spain men's under-21 international footballers
Catalonia men's international footballers
Spanish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England