César Martín

César

Personal information
Full name	César Martín Villar
Date of birth	April 3, 1977 (1977-04-03) (age 34)
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Youth career
	Oviedo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1994	Oviedo B
1994–1999	Oviedo	101	(6)
1999–2006	Deportivo La Coruña	96	(1)
2006–2007	Levante	3	(0)
2007	Bolton Wanderers	1	(0)
2007–2009	Hércules	39	(5)
2009–2010	Castellón	20	(0)
National team
1994–1995	Spain U18	19	(1)
1995	Spain U19	1	(0)
1995	Spain U20	5	(0)
1996–2000	Spain U21	8	(2)
1999–2004	Spain	12	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

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

César Martín Villar, simply César (born 3 April 1977), is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a central defender.

Over the course of 13 seasons, he appeared in 200 La Liga games, namely in representation of Oviedo and Deportivo, after which he had a six-month spell in England with Bolton.

A Spanish international during five years, César appeared in Euro 2004.

Club career

Born in Oviedo, Asturias, César started his professional career in 1994 playing for local Real Oviedo. In his debut season, he helped with 17 La Liga matches, as the Asturias side, which also featured Croatian Nikola Jerkan in the defensive sector, finished ninth.

After being instrumental in Oviedo's 1998–99 league campaign (31 matches, four goals), César moved to Deportivo de La Coruña for approximately €7.4 million. With the Galicians, he won one league, one cup and two Supercups, but appeared sparingly during his seven-year stay (maximum 20 contests in 2002–03), mainly due to injuries.^[1]

César fell out of favour when Joaquín Caparrós took over as manager of Deportivo, and eventually moved to Levante UD on 18 July 2006. Things did not improve at Levante where he only appeared three times, getting sent off in a 0–3 home loss to Atlético de Madrid.^[2] On 31 January 2007, he cancelled his contract by mutual consent.^[3]

César joined Bolton Wanderers on a short-term contract until the end of the season in February 2007.^[4] He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on 28 April, against Chelsea.

On 18 May 2007, it was revealed that César would leave Bolton after the manager decided not to extend his contract.^[5] He subsequently joined Hércules CF, in the Spanish second level.

For 2009–10, veteran César continued in level two, signing a 2+1 contract with CD Castellón. However, after the Valencian Community side's relegation, the 33-year old was one of the many players released from contract, retiring shortly afterwards.

International career

For Spain, César made his first appearance on 18 August 1999, playing the entire 2–1 friendly win over Poland, in Warsaw. In his first two matches, he scored twice, both in UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers, through his main asset, headers.

César was included in the Euro 2004 squad, but did not play. Despite showing early promise, his international career never fully took off, mostly because of injury troubles and the emergence of players like Carles Puyol and Pablo Ibañez. He also scored in his last cap, a 4–0 friendly triumph with Andorra, in the week prior to the continental competition.

Honours

Deportivo

• Spanish League: 1999–2000
• Spanish Cup: 2001–02
• Spanish Supercup: 2000, 2002

Spain U18

• UEFA U-18 Championship: 1995

References

1. ^ César sits out Basel test; UEFA.com, 14 February 2003
2. ^ Barcelona make merry at Mallorca; UEFA.com, 19 November 2006
3. ^ Pancrate to boost Betis bid; UEFA.com, 1 February 2007
4. ^ "Bolton complete deal for Martin". BBC Sport. 20 February 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/6378727.stm. Retrieved 21 February 2007. 
5. ^ "Bolton boss Lee lets quartet go". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/6669811.stm. Retrieved 18 May 2007. 

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• César Martín career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	César Martín
Alternative names	César
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	3 April 1977
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain
Date of death
Place of death