Realmadrid News

José Antonio Reyes: A machete on the left wing

José Antonio Reyes has become Real Madrid's fifth reinforcement for the 2006/07 season at just 22 years of age. The Sevillian player leaves Arsenal to join Real Madrid in order to supply the Whites with his vertical game on the left wing. Reyes made his Spanish League debut when he was just 16 years old, and arrives at Real Madrid as a mature player who has triumphed both in Sevilla -the Club that saw him grow as a football player- and Arsenal. He's a luxury reinforcement on Fabio Capello's squad.

José Antonio Reyes was born in Utrera, Seville, on September 1 1983. He is the son of Francisco and Mari Reyes and has a brother named Jesús. José Antonio, the youngest member of the family, started to dwell in the football world at an early age. He joined Sevilla FC in 1994, for which he played in the children categories and Seville B prior to joining the first team. His spectacular progression allowed him to skip the junior categories.

Reyes made his debut in the First Division against Zaragoza in La Romareda when he was only 16 years old. That same year, he was drafted by the Spanish Under-16s. While playing on Sevilla's first team, Reyes carried on playing for Sevilla B, forming an attacking partnership with Antoñito, and helping them get promoted to the Second Division B.


Professional record
Seville made him a professional player in no time. On August 2001, he signed a contract to end in 2008 with the Club that formed him as a footballer. The cancellation clause on his contract was worth 36 millon euros. Soon after, on August 26, he made his debut as a starter in the First Division in a match against Barcelona thanks to Sevilla coach Joaquín Caparrós, a man with strong confidence in the Club's youth system. Reyes scored his first goal on September 16 in a match against Español in Montjuic. During the 2001/02 season he played 29 games and netted eight goals.




While at Sevilla, Reyes was being promoted within the Spanish national team system. During that season, he played with both the Under-19 and Under-21 national teams, winning the European Championship in the summer of 2002 with the former. This was his first important title. During the tournament, he formed a deadly attacking partnership with Fernando Torres, his future teammate on the main Spanish national team. He was eventually called up to join Spain on August 19 2003. On his birthday, September 1, he made his debut with the national team in a friendly against Portugal. His first official match was against Ukraine on September 10 2003. One month later, he scored his first two Spanish goals in a 4-0 match against Armenia.


Destination: England
His progress had no limits, and made him the object of desire of the most important European clubs. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger -a man who relies considerably on young football talent- sought out Reyes and managed to get the Spanish player to sign a contract with the Gunners at the start of the 2003/04 season. Reyes won the Premiership -his first important club title- in his first year in England. He also won the Community Shield while playing for Arsenal -surpassing Manchester United-, prior to playing his first World Cup with Spain in Germany 2006.

Real Madrid now have a football player who has gradually been moving his position further back, abandoning his initial position as a forward in order to become one of the world's most promising left midfielders. He is also capable of scoring many goals, as was evidenced during his years at Sevilla and Arsenal. He is a luxury reinforcement on Real Madrid's squad this season.
Welcome, José Antonio.


CAREER
# 1994/01: Sevilla FC (youth system categories)
# 2001/03: Sevilla FC
# 2003/06: Arsenal

TRACK RECORD
# 1 Premier League: Arsenal (2003/04)
# 1 Community Shield: Arsenal (2003/04)
# 1 Under-19 European Championship: Spain (2002)

Report by Santiago Siguero
Photography: Realmadrid.com
Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 5:34 AM