Diego León

For the drug lord, see Diego León Montoya Sánchez.

Diego León

Personal information
Full name	Diego León Ayarza
Date of birth	16 January 1984 (1984-01-16) (age 27)
Place of birth	Palencia, Spain
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Nea Salamina
Number	13
Youth career
2001–2004	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004	Real Madrid B	8	(0)
2004–2006	Real Madrid	0	(0)
2005–2006	→ Arminia Bielefeld II (loan)	18	(7)
2005	→ Arminia Bielefeld (loan)	14	(1)
2007	Grasshoppers II	8	(8)
2006–2007	Grasshoppers	30	(3)
2008–2009	Barnsley	37	(2)
2009–2010	Las Palmas	22	(1)
2010–2011	Wacker Burghausen	11	(0)
2011-	Nea Salamina	3	(0)
National team
2000–2001	Spain U16	16	(6)
2001	Spain U17	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 August 2010. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is León and the second or maternal family name is Ayarza.

Diego León Ayarza (born 16 January 1984 in Palencia, Castile and León) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Nea Salamina in Cyprus, as a midfielder.

Football career

A youth product of Real Madrid, León could never appear for more than its B side. He was initially given a squad number with the first team for the 2005–06 season, but moved to Arminia Bielefeld in Germany (first on loan) in January 2005, before he could make his debut for the Spanish giants. He stayed at Arminia until the end of the season, impressing enough to earn a move to Grasshopper-Club Zürich in Switzerland.

On 21 December 2007, it was announced that León had signed a pre-contract agreement with Barnsley, with the transfer due to go through at the opening of the transfer window. The Yorkshire club had hoped to make the move official in time for him to play in the FA Cup third-round tie against Blackpool on 5 January 2008, but had to wait until the 9th.^[1] León made his first appearance in a Barnsley shirt that evening, playing in a reserve team match against Sheffield United.

León put in a great performance to earn himself his first matchball as a Barnsley player, with a Man of the match award against Colchester United on 29 January 2008. He also played a key role in the Reds massive 3–0 win at Watford on 9 April at Vicarage Road, playing a part in all three goals, including a sumptuous flick for Jon Macken to square to Kayode Odejayi to score; his corner allowed Stephen Foster to bullet a header home and his throughball enabled Odejayi to bag his second.

In the following game against Preston North End, León scored a key goal in Barnsley's Championship survival in the 2007–08 season: a 35-yard free kick for the 2–1 triumph.^[2] On 7 May 2009, however, he was told, along with Dennis Souza, Kyle Letheren and Marciano Van Homoet he would be leaving the club in the coming summer; shortly after he returned to his country, agreeing a deal with second level side UD Las Palmas.

On 13 December 2010, León moved teams - and countries - again, signing with lowly SV Wacker Burghausen in Germany.^[3]

In June 2011 he transferred to Hajduk Split for a few months before moving to Cyprus.

Honours

Spain U16

• UEFA U-16 Championship: 2001

References

1. ^ "Diego free to play!!!". Barnsley FC. 9 January 2008. http://www.barnsleyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10309~1210881,00.html. Retrieved 10 January 2008. 
2. ^ "Preston 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 12 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7332092.stm. Retrieved 9 March 2010. 
3. ^ "Wacker Burghausen verstärkt Offensive [Wacker Burghausen strenghtens offense]" (in German). Fussball 24. 13 December 2010. http://www.fussball24.de/fussball/286/287/289/102397-wacker-burghausen-verstaerkt-offensive. Retrieved 9 February 2011. 

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• Stats at Fussballdaten (German)
• Barnsley FC profile
• Diego León career stats at Soccerbase
• Diego León – FIFA competition record
• Official website (Spanish)

Persondata
Name	León, Diego
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 January 1984
Place of birth	Palencia, Spain
Date of death
Place of death