Marc Valiente Hernández (born 29 March 1987) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He was formed at

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 later joined

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 ...

, but was mainly a reserve at both clubs. In 2010 he signed with

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, where he appeared in 157 official games over a five-year span. He went on to play top-flight football in Israel, Belgium, Serbia and India. Valiente was a Spanish youth international, and played one unofficial match for

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 ...

in 2013.

Club career

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 ...

, Valiente started his career 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 ...

aged 10, being

club captain The captain of a football/soccer team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influ ...

for most of its youth sides and playing alongside

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of club Como. Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's you ...

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

and Víctor Vázquez. He made his debut for the first team against

CF Badalona Club de Fútbol Badalona () is a Spanish football team based in Badalona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903 it plays in , temporarily holding home games at Estadi Municipal de Badalona, with a capacity of 4,170 seats. Ba ...

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 ...

second-leg

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Juliano Belletti Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976) is a Brazilian association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former player who mostly played as a right-back. He is currently the head coach at FC Barcelona Atlètic, Barcelona Atlètic. Belle ...

at half time of the 4–0 home win. In July 2008, after some turbulence regarding his future, Valiente moved to

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 ...

after being released by the ''Blaugrana''. He spent his first professional season with 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' reserves, starting most of the year in a relegation from the

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 ...

. On 21 November 2009, injuries to the first squad, mostly

Federico Fazio Federico Julián Fazio (born 17 March 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Fazio began his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, signing for Sevilla in 2007. He made 204 official appearances for the latt ...

, granted Valiente his first

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 ...

opportunity, as he started in the 2–1 away win against

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

. He appeared in two more games during the campaign – replacing injured Adriano before the 30-minute mark of the 1–0 win at

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

, and playing the first half away to eventual champions Barcelona (0–0 at halftime, 4–0 defeat)– being released by Sevilla in June 2010 and signing for three years 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 ...

, recently relegated to the second division. Valiente scored his first goal as a professional on 19 September 2010, but in a 2–1 away loss to

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. He contributed 33 games, nearly 3,000 minutes of action and one goal in his

second year The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

, as the

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

side returned to the top flight after a two-year absence. On 2 July 2015, Valiente moved abroad for the first time, signing a three-year deal with Israel's

Maccabi Haifa F.C. Maccabi Haifa Football Club () is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Haifa, Israel, a section of Maccabi Haifa sports club. The club plays in the Israeli Premier League. Maccabi Haifa home games are played at Sammy Ofe ...

for an annual wage of €350,000. Valladolid received €250,000 from his sale. He was one of a contingent of Spanish players in the relatively obscure

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

, receiving media attention back home. After two seasons in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, Valiente moved countries again, joining

K.A.S. Eupen K.A.S. Eupen (short for Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, English: ''Royal General Sports Association Eupen'', simply referred to as Eupen) is a Belgian professional association football club located in Eupen, Liège (province), Prov ...

in July 2017. He scored his first goal for his new club on 4 November, an added-time equaliser in a 4–4

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 ...

draw at Sint-Truidense VV. Valiente moved to the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

on 26 June 2018, after agreeing to a two-year deal at

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

. He joined the squad the next day, being given the number 6 jersey and in the process becoming the first Spaniard in their history. On 25 July 2019, Valiente returned to Spain by signing a two-year contract with

of the second tier. Days after its expiration, it was renewed for another year. In June 2022, aged 35, Valiente moved to the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

with

FC Goa Futebol Clube de Goa is an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Fatorda, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of Football in India, Indian football. The club was established on 2 ...

, managed by his compatriot

Carlos Peña Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman and current broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tamp ...

. He ended his professional career in May 2023, joining Kings League team El Barrio shortly after.

International career

Valiente was a Spanish international at under-19 and under-20 levels. On 30 December 2013 he earned his first and only

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 the Catalonia regional team, starting in the 4–1 defeat of

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

held at the

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium formerly known as the Estadi de Montjuïc and Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and also known in English language, English as the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built ...

Career statistics

Honours

Sevilla *

: 2009–10 Maccabi Haifa *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

: 2015–16 Partizan *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2018–19 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 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valiente, Marc 1987 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Granollers Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players FC Barcelona C players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Sevilla Atlético players Sevilla FC players Real Valladolid players Sporting de Gijón players Israeli Premier League players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Belgian Pro League players K.A.S. Eupen players Serbian SuperLiga players FK Partizan players Indian Super League players FC Goa players Kings League players Spain men's youth international footballers Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Israel Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India