Esteban Granero

Infobox Football biography
playername = Esteban Granero


fullname = Esteban Granero Molina
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1987|7|2
cityofbirth = Madrid
countryofbirth = Spain
height = height|m=1.80
position = Midfielder
currentclub = Getafe CF
clubnumber = 25
youthyears = 1995–2004
youthclubs = Real Madrid
years = 2004–2006
2006–2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = Real Madrid C
Real Madrid Castilla
→Getafe CF (loan)
Getafe CF
caps(goals) = 48 (9)
36 (4)
27 (3)
0 (0)
nationalyears = 2006–2007
2007–
nationalteam = Spain U-19
Spain U-21
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = July 1, 2008
ntupdate =

Esteban Granero Molina, Granero (born 2 July 1987 in Madrid), is a Spanish football midfielder, currently with Getafe CF. He is affectionately known as "El pirata" (The pirate).

Club career

Granero joined the youth ranks of Real Madrid when he was just eight years old and has displayed his footballing talent since he was a child. In one season he scored 83 goals in the Under-10 division, and in 1999 he captained the Under-12 B team that won the International Football-7 tournament held in the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona by defeating "Barça" 1-0 with his overtime goal. He was also named the best player of the competition.

Granero joined Real Madrid C at the age of 17, where he stood out for his talent and passing skills. That same season, he debuted with Real Madrid Castilla in a match against Albacete, during which he had a goal assist. Granero made the jump to Castilla in 2006-07, and slowly earned the confidence of coach Míchel until finally becoming an unquestionable starter.

He would eventually fail to make the definitive transition into the first team, deemed surplus to requirements, as were fellow "cantera" players Rubén de la Red, Javi García and Adrián González and, on August 31, the last day of the transfer window, Granero moved to Getafe CF (also in Madrid) on a 1-year loan. De la Red also joined Getafe, albeit in a different deal. After the season's end, in which himself and De la Red were instrumental in the team's season, which included a quarter finals run in the UEFA Cup, Granero returned to Real Madrid.

On July 13, 2008, Granero permanently joined Getafe, for a fee of around €24million. [cite news|url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3814810,00.html|title=Getafe sign Granero|author=|publisher=Sky Sports|date=2008-07-13|accessdate=2008-07-23]

Honours

*2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship

tatistics

All-time club performance

References

External links

* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=7862 Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional] es icon
* [http://spanishfootball.typepad.com/la_liga_review/2008/02/esteban-granero.html/ La Liga review]