Toni Velamazán
Spanish footballer
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Antonio "Toni" Velamazán Tejedor (born 22 January 1977) is a Spanish former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antonio Velamazán Tejedor | ||
| Date of birth | 22 January 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1993 | Damm | ||
| 1993–1994 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1996 | Barcelona B | 38 | (8) |
| 1995–1996 | Barcelona | 11 | (3) |
| 1996–1997 | Oviedo | 34 | (2) |
| 1997–1998 | Albacete | 34 | (1) |
| 1998–1999 | Extremadura | 33 | (6) |
| 1999–2006 | Espanyol | 120 | (16) |
| 2006–2007 | Almería | 13 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Hospitalet | 136 | (11) |
| Total | 419 | (47) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Spain U16 | 16 | (2) |
| 1993–1995 | Spain U18 | 6 | (3) |
| 1995 | Spain U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 1996–2000 | Spain U21 | 17 | (0) |
| 2000 | Spain U23 | 6 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Spain | ||
| Men's Football | ||
 | 2000 Sydney | Team Competition |
He spent most of his professional career with Espanyol, appearing in 141 official games over the course of seven La Liga seasons. He started out at Barcelona.
Club career
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Velamazán was a youth graduate of FC Barcelona. He appeared 11 times for the first team during the 1995–96 season, under Johan Cruyff, but could never establish in the main squad,[1][2] going on to have one-year spells with Real Oviedo, Albacete Balompié and CF Extremadura.[3]
Incidentally, Velamazán would settle at Barça neighbours RCD Espanyol, where he spent six and a half years, although he started regularly in only two. His best season would be 1999–2000, as the player scored six goals in 34 La Liga matches and the club also won the Copa del Rey[4]– only ranking 14th in the league however; after suffering a knee injury on 6 January 2002 against Málaga CF, he never fully recovered and left the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in January 2006.[5][6]
Shortly after, Velamazán returned to Segunda División by signing a one-year contract with UD Almería, following which he returned to his region, joining lowly CE L'Hospitalet and remaining there until his retirement at the end of the 2010–11 campaign, aged 34.[7][8]
International career
Velamazán started all six matches (although only one complete) at the 2000 Summer Olympics, scoring once as the Spanish team finished second.[9][10]