Andrés Palop

Club career Valencia Born in L'Alcúdia, Valencian Community, Palop was a youth product of local giants Valencia CF, and his first professional seasons were spent at neighbours Villarreal CF in a two-year loan spell. He was the undisputed starter in both the side's La Liga promotion in 1998 – a first ever – and relegation the following season, being subsequently recalled.

In his six-year stint, however, Palop was mostly backup to veteran Santiago Cañizares, his most games consisting of 15 in his first year. As the club was crowned league champion in 2002 and 2004, he could only make seven appearances (all in the former campaign), and eventually grew unsettled;

Sevilla Palop signed a four-year contract with Sevilla FC in June 2005 with a €30 million buyout clause, quickly becoming one of the Andalusians' cornerstones as they claimed five titles in only one year. On 15 March 2007, he made headlines when he scored an injury time-equalising goal in the UEFA Cup round-of-16 tie against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, forcing extra time as a result; his team, who had drawn 2–2 at home in the first leg, went on to win 3–2 and eventually the competition for the second consecutive time. In the final, he stopped three of four penalty kicks in the shootout, being named Player of the match to defeat fellow Spaniards RCD Espanyol.

In the following campaigns, veteran Palop continued to be first choice, never appearing in fewer than 31 league matches. In 2009–10 he helped to a fourth place in the league, with the subsequent qualification for the UEFA Champions League, and victory in the Copa del Rey.

Bayer Leverkusen On 3 June 2013, Palop joined Bayer 04 Leverkusen on a one-year deal, moving abroad for the first time at the age of nearly 40. He remained unused by the German Bundesliga club, and in April 2014 announced his retirement.

International career Palop was first called up for Spain in August 2007 for a friendly with Greece, after a last-minute injury to Iker Casillas. However, he did not leave the bench.

Uncapped, Palop lost a narrow competition with Pepe Reina of Liverpool for second choice at UEFA Euro 2008, but beat FC Barcelona's Víctor Valdés for the third spot on the squad. During the ceremony following Spain's victory in the tournament, he wore Luis Arconada's original Euro 1984 final shirt; he received the gold medal from Michel Platini (who had won the 1984 continental competition, opening the score from an Arconada blunder), later president of UEFA.

Coaching career On 18 February 2015, Palop was named manager at CD Alcoyano for the remainder of the season in the Segunda División B. In June, after achieving the sufficient qualifications, he took the post on a permanent basis, announcing his exit in May 2016.

Palop was appointed as the new head coach of UD Ibiza on 27 September 2018, with that club also competing in the third tier. He was dismissed the following 25 February having won ten of his 21 games, leaving the team eight points from a playoff place.

In April 2020, Palop was hospitalised for 12 days during the coronavirus pandemic. Two years later, he was UEFA's ambassador for the Europa League Final at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium in Seville.

Style of play Palop was mainly known for his shot-stopping abilities, and also earned a reputation as a penalty-saving specialist throughout his career.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNatFromToRecord Alcoyano18 February 201520 May 2016 Ibiza27 September 201825 February 2019 Total —

Honours Valencia La Liga: 2001–02 UEFA Cup: 2003–04 UEFA Super Cup: 2004 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2000–01

Sevilla Copa del Rey: 2006–07, 2009–10 Supercopa de España: 2007; runner-up: 2010 UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07 UEFA Super Cup: 2006; runner-up: 2007

Spain UEFA European Championship: 2008