Iago Aspas

Iago Aspas Juncal is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Celta Vigo in the La Liga and the Spain national football team. He was born on 1st August 1987 and hails from Moana, Galicia in Spain. He primarily plays as a striker but is also capable of playing on the right-hand side of the wing. He is a left-footed player with a decent weaker foot.

A sharp striker, he proves deadly anywhere inside the box and like all good strikers his positioning is very good. Not having the most commanding of physical presences, he is quick off the mark and tries to beat the defensive line. Also a good dribbler, dispossessing him is very hard. Aspas is fairly good on set-pieces too.

Background

He first played youth football for his hometown club, CD Moana. He started playing for Celta Vigo in 1995. Basically a Celta Vigo product, he spent a decade in Celta’s academy before making his debut in 2006.

Debut

Aspas made the bench for Spain’s World Cup Qualification draw against Macedonia on 12th November 2016 but failed to get any minutes. He made his debut three days later, in a friendly match against England. It proved to be dream debut as he led the fightback when Spain were down 2:0, scoring in the 89th minute. Spain went on to draw the match as Isco scored deep in extra time.

Aspas is third in contention to lead Spain’s attack in the World Cup in Russia.

Rise to Glory

He rose to glory in the 2011-12 season with Celta when he netted a career-best 23 goals, being only behind UD Almeria’s Leonardo Ulloa in most goals scored in the then Liga Adelante. His goals helped Celta gain promotion to the La Liga after five years.

His goalscoring exploits earned him a move to Liverpool, but he failed to find his feet in England. He regained his form again after returning to Celta. He was adjudged as the Player of the month for October 2016 when he scored five goals. He scored 19 goals in the 2016-17 season, winning the Zarra Trophy in the process.

He has scored 16 goals in 2017-2018 season so far.

Low Points

His move to Liverpool proved to be disastrous as he failed to score a single goal in a two year span, where he only managed 14 appearances. He was behind Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge, and Luis Suarez in contention for starting spots during his time in Liverpool. He also struggled with the English language, which often proved to be a hindrance.

Club Career

Aspas has played for Celta Vigo and Liverpool. He also went to Sevilla on a one-year loan deal from Liverpool.

Achievements

Iago Aspas has won the Zarra Trophy twice, once in Segunda Division and once in La Liga.