Gerard López Segú (; born 12 March 1979), usually known as just Gerard, 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 ...

, currently

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of the Catalonia national team. An all-around

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he was known for precision passes and ball control skills. During his career, he played for several clubs, including

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 ...

and

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 ...

, helping the latter to reach the 2000 Champions League final. Over nine seasons, Gerard amassed

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 183 matches and 16 goals. He participated with

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 ...

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

Club career

Barcelona and Valencia

Born in

Granollers Granollers (; ) is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental. Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from ...

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 ...

, Gerard began his career in the

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 ...

youth system and, in the 1996–97 season, made his professional debut with its B team. As a 17-year-old he was signed by

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 ...

, making his

debut on 31 August 1997 in a 2–1 away loss against

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, ...

(90 minutes played); for the 1998–99 campaign he was loaned to

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 ...

, which had returned to the top flight after a four-decade absence. After a breakout season with 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, scoring a squad-best seven goals, Gerard returned to Valencia, helping them to reach the final of 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 ...

. During this time with the ''Che'', he came to be regarded as one of the top players in Spain and, after receiving interest from several top clubs in Europe, including

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 ...

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, he decided to join his former club Barcelona in July 2000, in a deal worth

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24 million; when he netted three times for Valencia against

SS Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club'') is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its Football club (association football), football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spent most of their hist ...

on 5 April 2000, he became the youngest player ever to achieve this feat in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Gerard would go on to appear regularly for the team during his five-year second spell, although never an undisputed starter. Injuries also began to curtail his career.

Monaco and retirement

After leaving ''Barça'' with the 2005 national championship, Gerard moved abroad, spending two unassuming seasons with France's

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional association football, football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco, Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the Frenc ...

, also being severely injured. He returned to Spain for 2007–08, with top-division

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

. After rejecting a move to

PAOK FC PAOK FC (, ), short for "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athletic Club of Constantinople, Constantinopolitans" (), and commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional Association football, football cl ...

, Gerard trained for a few months with lowly

EC Granollers Esport Club Granollers is a football team based in Granollers in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1913, it plays in the . Its stadium is Municipal Carrer Girona with a capacity of 2,500. Season to season ---- * 1 season in Se ...

, in '' Preferent Territorial de Catalunya''. In mid-February 2009 he moved back to Catalonia, joining

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 ...

until the end of the campaign; shortly after arriving he was injured again, but managed to score four goals in only six

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 ...

games.

International career

After a spectacular 1999–00 season with Valencia, on both fronts, Gerard earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

on 3 June 2000, in a 1–1 friendly with

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. He went on to play a further five matches, being selected for

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

Coaching career

In October 2013, Gerard replaced

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

as manager of

. On 22 July 2015, he was appointed at Barcelona B after their

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Gerard coached his team back to the second tier. Subsequently, he renewed his contract for another year. On 25 April 2018, with the side placed inside the relegation zone, Gerard was relieved of his duties.

Personal life

Gerard's older brothers,

Sergi Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honour of Saint Sergius, or in Kyivan Rus', of Sergius of the Holy Caves ...

and Julià López Segú (commonly known as Juli, born 1969), were also footballers, and

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

. The former, who also represented Barcelona, died by suicide at 39. The latter played almost exclusively for ''Barça'' B whilst they were in division two, also having a brief top-flight spell (13 matches) with

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 ...

, in 1993–94.

Career statistics

International goals

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

Managerial statistics

Honours

Valencia *

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 ...

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 ...

runner-up: 1999–2000 Barcelona *

: 2004–05

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard Lopez 1979 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Granollers Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Valencia CF players Deportivo Alavés players Recreativo de Huelva players Girona FC players Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers FC Barcelona Atlètic managers