José Manuel Tàrraga i Valero

José Manuel Tárraga Valero (born 15 April 1971) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a defender. He began his career with Valencia, and made a total of 43 La Liga appearances for that club and Celta Vigo during the 1990s.

Career

Tárraga was born in Valencia, the capital of the autonomous community of the same name, and began his career with local club Valencia CF. He spent the remainder of that season and the majority of the following one playing for the reserve side, Valencia Mestalla, in Segunda División B.

He made his La Liga debut for Valencia on 20 November 1993, in a 1–0 away win over Sevilla at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, and made a total of five appearances for the first team that season alongside his Mestalla commitments. However, seeking regular top flight football, he left Valencia at the end of the season to join Celta Vigo. 1995–96 was his best season in the top division, as he made 26 appearances for Los Celestes, but he was out of favour again the following year, playing 11 times. He left the club in 1997 after three unspectacular seasons, with a total of 48 appearances. He was a regular starter that season, playing 32 matches in all competitions, but he dropped another tier in 1998–99, signing for Real Murcia. Murcia ended up fourth in their group, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, three losses in their six play-off games left them third in their group, missing out on promotion to Getafe.

The following season, Tárraga joined Murcia's Segunda División B group rivals Yeclano.

After leaving Yeclano in the summer of 2000, Tárraga saw out his career with one season each at Cartagonova and Pego. He retired in 2002 at the age of 31.

Career statistics

1. Appearances in the 1999 Segunda División B play-offs