Carlos Marchena

Club career Early years Born in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Province of Seville, Andalusia, Marchena started his professional career in hometown club Sevilla at the age of 18, when the club was in the Segunda División. He made his La Liga debut on 22 August 1999, playing the entire 2–2 home draw with Real Sociedad.

When Sevilla were relegated again at the end of the season, Marchena earned a transfer to Portugal's Benfica. During his spell in Lisbon he scored in two narrow wins, at home against Belenenses (1–0) and at Salgueiros (2–1), but almost left the Estádio da Luz in late 2000 due to lack of payment.

Valencia Marchena returned to his country in summer 2001 as he signed a four-year contract with Valencia, with Zlatko Zahovič moving in the opposite direction. Having signed as a cover for ageing Miroslav Đukić, he took a while to impress in his first season (16 appearances), as Valencia clinched their first league title in 30 years, but gradually became first choice.

In the 2003–04 campaign, with the side capturing an historic league and UEFA Cup double, Marchena played a pivotal role in defence, teaming up with Roberto Ayala; the former played 44 games in all competitions, the latter 45.

2004–05 was not a very successful season for Valencia, as under new coach Claudio Ranieri the team struggled both domestically and in European tournaments. In a UEFA Champions League group-stage match against Werder Bremen at the Weser-Stadion, Marchena was also given his marching orders in the early minutes of the second half (2–1 defeat) and his team was eventually eliminated from the elite competition; he remained a regular at both defensive positions.

During the Champions League match against Inter Milan on 6 March 2007, Marchena was involved in the on-pitch melee sparked by his teammate David Navarro: the former appeared to kick Inter defender Nicolás Burdisso after an angry exchange of words and, after the latter punched the Argentine's nose, a scuffle took place with several of Burdisso's teammates chasing Navarro all the way into the dressing room.

Consequently, Marchena, Navarro and several other Inter players involved were later charged with "gross unsporting conduct" by UEFA after the investigation. Both clubs were fined £106,000 while Marchena was banned for four games; after Euro 2008 he was selected by his teammates as the new captain, although he missed the first two months of the new season due to injury.

In the 2009–10 campaign, veteran Marchena contributed 24 appearances as the Che finished third and returned to the Champions League. He scored in two 3–1 away victories, over Osasuna and Xerez, only being booked seven times.

Villarreal

On 1 August 2010, the 31-year-old Marchena joined Villarreal for three years. He made his competitive debut for the Valencians 18 days later, opening the 5–0 home win against Dnepr Mogilev in that campaign's Europa League. Regularly used in both defensive positions again, he scored his second goal for the Yellow Submarine on 7 April 2011, in a 5–1 home rout of Twente in the first leg of the competition's quarter-finals.

Marchena left at the end of 2011–12 after being released from contract, and his team also suffered relegation.

Later career In the 2012 off-season, Marchena initially moved to Deportivo de La Coruña on a one-year deal. The Galicians were eventually relegated, but he chose to remain for a further season in spite of more lucrative offers.

Following Deportivo's return to the top flight in 2014, Marchena left the club; he remained unemployed until 1 August 2015 when he signed for Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters as its marquee player. After missing the start of the season with injury, he made his debut on 18 October in a 0–1 home loss to Delhi Dynamos. On 4 November, he left for personal reasons.

After a period of training with amateurs Gerena, Marchena announced his retirement in January 2016. On 7 June of the following year he returned to his first club Sevilla, being appointed assistant manager of the C team.

Marchena then had assistant spells at Sevilla Atlético and Valencia, respectively under his former teammates Paco Gallardo and Rubén Baraja.

International career Marchena first appeared for Spain as part of the under-20 team alongside Iker Casillas and Xavi, finishing first at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was also on the roster for the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal. Subsequently, he was part of the squad at UEFA Euro 2004, where he was chosen at the last minute by coach Iñaki Sáez as a strategic move to bolster his side defensively; while Spain bowed out after the group phase, he did manage two appearances, but picked up two yellow cards in the process.

On 8 June 2005, Marchena scored his first international goal, a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, played in Valencia. He was picked for the finals, but only played the last group fixture against Saudi Arabia.

Marchena was selected again by Luis Aragonés for Euro 2008, this time as undisputed starter, having also featured prominently in the qualifying stages. With Joan Capdevila, Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos, he formed a rock-solid defense and conceded only two goals in five games, his hard work and man-marking skills earning him a spot in the team of the tournament.

Under new coach Vicente del Bosque, Marchena slowly lost his spot to Gerard Piqué, but was still included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup squads. As Spain downed Saudi Arabia on 29 May 2010 in preparation for the latter competition (where he featured six minutes in the 1–0 quarter-final win over Paraguay, adding two injury-time appearances for the champions), he played his 50th consecutive undefeated match with the national team, surpassing previous holder Garrincha (49).

In June 2018, Marchena was allowed by Sevilla to join newly appointed Fernando Hierro's coaching staff for the upcoming World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Marchena goal. + List of international goals scored by Carlos Marchena

Individual UEFA Euro 2008: Team of the tournament