Salvador "Salva" Sevilla López (born 18 March 1984) is a Spanish 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 plays as a

central 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 ...

Club career

Born in

Berja Berja () is a municipality, former bishopric and Latin titular see in Almería (province), Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located on the south-eastern slope of the Sierra de Gádor, 16 km ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Sevilla finished his development with local club

Polideportivo Ejido Poli Ejido 2012 Sociedad Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in El Ejido, Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1969 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo'' ...

. He made his professional debut on 12 October 2003, starting in a 2–2 away draw against

Ciudad de Murcia Club de Fútbol Ciudad de Murcia, usually abbreviated to Ciudad de Murcia, was a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the namesake autonomous community. They played at the 16,000-seater ''Estadio de La Condomina''. Ciudad Murcia was reloc ...

in 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 ...

. Sevilla was loaned to

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 ...

in summer 2004, but only appeared for its B and C sides. The following year he joined another

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

Sevilla Atlético Sevilla Atlético is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1950, it is the reserve team of Sevilla FC, Sevilla. It plays in and holds home games at the Ciu ...

also of the second division. On 10 July 2008, Sevilla moved to

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and black ...

in the same league. He scored a career-best 11 goals in his second season, and joined

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 ...

shortly after. In his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

with the ''Verdiblancos'', Sevilla contributed three goals in 33 matches to help his team to return to

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 ...

after a two-year absence. He made his top-flight debut on 27 August 2011, featuring 86 minutes of the 1–0 win at

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

. Sevilla scored his first goal in the Spanish top tier on 18 September 2011, through a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 3–2 away victory over

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 ...

. His second came in the same fashion against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

(4–3 win, home), and he finished the campaign with 19 starts and 1,446 minutes of action as Betis retained their league status. On 13 March 2014, in only his seventh career game in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, Sevilla came on as a second-half substitute for

Rubén Castro Rubén Castro Martín (; born 27 June 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He represented mainly Las Palmas and Betis during his career, appearing in 282 matches in La Liga and 435 in Segunda Divis ...

in the round-of-16 tie against former club

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 ...

, and netted the last goal in the 2–0 away win. He signed a three-year contract with

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 ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the summer, scoring the first goal of 2015–16 which was the game's only one at home against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

. On 28 August 2017, 33-year-old Sevilla joined

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, ...

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 ...

on a free transfer. He was an undisputed starter for a side that achieved two consecutive promotions under

Vicente Moreno Vicente Moreno Peris (born 26 October 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and is currently the manager of La Liga club Osasuna. He spent most of his career with Xerez, appearing in 412 offici ...

, culminating with the 3–0 defeat of

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

on 23 June 2019 in the play-offs to overcome a 2–0 deficit from the first leg, with him scoring in the 62nd minute. On 28 May 2022, Sevilla agreed to a one-year deal 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 ...

, recently relegated to division two. He totalled 42 games, four goals and three assists, winning promotion. Sevilla signed a contract of the same duration at Deportivo on 30 August 2023. Having attained his seventh career promotion,

the first The First or The 1st may refer to: Arts and entertainment Albums * The 1st (album), ''The 1st'' (album), by Willow, 2017 * The First (Shinee album), ''The First'' (Shinee album), 2011 * The First (single album), by NCT Dream, 2017 Television * T ...

from the

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

, the 40-year-old left after not being retained.

Personal life

Sevilla's older brother

José Antonio José Antonio is a common pairing of personal names in Spanish and Portuguese, and may refer to: Arts * Antonio Banderas, full name José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 1960), Spanish actor * José Antonio Abreu (1939–2018), Venezuelan m ...

was also a footballer. A

central defender 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 ...

, his most notable club was Poli Ejido.

Career statistics

Honours

Betis *

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 ...

Mallorca *

: 2017–18 Deportivo La Coruña *

: 2023–24 Individual *

Segunda División Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Segunda División player for each month of the season. Winners Multiple winners The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at leas ...

: April 2019

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevilla, Salva 1984 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Almería Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Primera Federación players Polideportivo Ejido footballers Atlético Madrid C players Atlético Madrid B players Sevilla Atlético players UD Salamanca players Real Betis players RCD Espanyol footballers RCD Mallorca players Deportivo Alavés players Deportivo de La Coruña players