Adrián San Miguel del Castillo (born 3 January 1987), known as Adrián, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Betis.

Adrián
Adrián warming up for Liverpool in 2022
Personal information
Full name Adrián San Miguel del Castillo[1]
Date of birth (1987-01-03) 3 January 1987 (age 37)[1]
Place of birth Seville, Spain
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Betis
Number 13
Youth career
Altair
1998–2006 Betis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Betis C 23 (0)
2007–2012 Betis B 62 (0)
2008Alcalá (loan) 5 (0)
2009Utrera (loan) 13 (0)
2012–2013 Betis 32 (0)
2013–2019 West Ham United 125 (0)
2019–2024 Liverpool 14 (0)
2024– Betis 0 (0)
International career
2013 Andalusia[2] 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:55, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Adrián began his career playing with Spanish side Real Betis, initially with the club's youth sides, before making his debut with the first team in 2012; he also had spells on loan with Alcalá and Utrera during this period. In 2013, he moved to England, joining West Ham United. After his release from West Ham, he signed with Liverpool in 2019, winning a Premier League title in his first season.

Club career

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Betis

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Adrián training with Real Betis in 2013

Born in Seville, Andalusia, Adrián played as a striker and a winger for CD Altair until age ten, when the previous goalkeeper left and he changed position to that of goalkeeper.[3] He later signed for Real Betis, where he finished his formation.[4]

Adrián spent his first two seasons with the C-team and a further five with the reserves, with all five seasons with the reserves coming in the Segunda División B, successively backing up René and Brimah Razak.[5] He was also loaned to Alcalá in 2008 and Utrera in 2009.[6][7] He was promoted to the first team for 2011–12 as third-choice – still continuing to appear for the B's – but suffered a severe injury to his cruciate ligaments in November that kept him out of action for five-and-a-half months.[8][9]

Adrián made his La Liga debut on 29 September 2012 in a 0–4 away loss against Málaga. After Casto was sent off in the early minutes, he replaced out-field player Salvador Agra and went on to be named man of the match.[8][10] Still in the 2012–13 campaign, he became the starter, namely putting in a man of the match performance in a 1–0 home win against Real Madrid on 24 November.[11] Following his debut, he went on to start the next 31 matches, keeping 11 clean sheets as the club finished in seventh place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League.[12][13]

West Ham United

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Adrián warming up for West Ham United in 2014

Having been watched playing for Betis by West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce and goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson, Adrián was persuaded to join the club.[14] On 5 June 2013, it was announced he would sign a three-year contract on 1 July,[15] with the Premier League club having the option to extend this deal for a further two seasons.[12]

Adrián made his Hammers debut on 27 August 2013 in a 2–1 home win against Cheltenham Town for the season's League Cup. During the match, he fouled Jermaine McGlashan to concede a penalty, which Matt Richards converted.[16] His first league appearance came on 21 December, a 1–3 loss at Manchester United.[17]

On 11 January 2014, Adrián kept his first Premier League clean sheet, in the 2–0 away win over Cardiff City.[18] On 6 May, he attended the club's awards and won "Save of the Season" for a fingertip save from Oscar against Chelsea in January. He also won "Best Individual Performance" for the same match, in which he kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw, as well as "Signing of the Season". He was also named runner-up "Hammer of the Year" to Mark Noble.[19] By the end of the 2013–14 season, he had become West Ham's first-choice goalkeeper, replacing previous incumbent Jussi Jääskeläinen.[20]

In an FA Cup third-round replay penalty shoot-out against Everton on 13 January 2015, Adrián saved from Steven Naismith. The shootout went to sudden death, in which he scored the winner after his Everton counterpart, compatriot Joel Robles, struck the crossbar.[21] Despite having never taken a competitive penalty before, he was so confident he would score and win the match that he removed his goalkeeping gloves before taking it – his team won it 9–8.[22]

On 11 February 2015, Adrián was given a straight red card in a goalless draw at Southampton for handling the ball outside the penalty area while pressured by Sadio Mané.[23] His suspension for this dismissal was rescinded by the Football Association, although West Ham were charged with failing to control their players following the incident,[24] being fined £30,000.[25] He played all 38 league matches and all four FA Cup matches during the campaign.[26]

Adrián received a straight red card in added time at the end of West Ham's 1–2 home loss to Leicester City on 15 August 2015 for a high challenge on Jamie Vardy, after going up for a corner kick.[27] As the team had already made all of their substitutions, Carl Jenkinson became the goalkeeper for the remainder of the match.[27] In October 2015, he signed a new two-year contract with the option of a further two years, keeping him at the club until 2017.[28]

Adrián was released by West Ham at the end of the 2018–19 season.[29] His last game came on 26 January 2019 in a 4–2 away defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup. He had played 150 in all competitions for West Ham but only five in his final season, all cup games, as his place in their Premier League team was taken by Łukasz Fabiański.[30] Adrián chose to leave the club despite a three-year contract offer because he "hadn't played a single game all season in the Premier League" and "didn't feel valued economically either".[31]

Liverpool

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Adrián lining up for Liverpool before the 2019 UEFA Super Cup

On 5 August 2019, it was announced that Adrián had signed for Liverpool on a free transfer.[32] He made his debut for the club on 9 August in a 4–1 win against Norwich City, coming on in the 39th minute, replacing the injured Alisson Becker.[33] On 14 August, Adrián started in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup; in extra-time, he conceded a penalty for a foul on Tammy Abraham, from which Jorginho was able to tie the match for Chelsea. Following a 2–2 draw, the match went to a penalty shoot-out, in which Adrián saved Abraham's final penalty, winning Liverpool their first trophy of the 2019–20 season with a 5–4 victory on penalties.[34][35] It was also Adrián's first trophy of his career.[31] Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp described his performance in the game as "incredible".[36]

Adrián made his Champions League debut against Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo on 17 September. Although he made a remarkable save from Belgian international Dries Mertens when the game was scoreless, Adrian fell to his first defeat as a Liverpool player on a 2–0 scoreline.[37] On 11 March 2020, Adrián stood in for Becker as holders Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League by Atlético Madrid. Already 1–0 down from the first leg in Spain, Liverpool lost 3–2 at Anfield with some of Adrián's goalkeeping decisions coming under scrutiny.[38]

On 14 June 2021, Liverpool announced they have extended his contract, but without exposing any details regarding the duration of the extension.[39] Due to the unavailability of first and second choice goalkeepers Alisson Becker and Caoimhín Kelleher, Adrián played in the 2022 FA Community Shield in July 2022 against Manchester City which Liverpool won 3–1.[40][41]

On 30 June 2023, Adrián extended his contract with Liverpool until the end of the 2023–24 season. On 7 July 2024 it was confirmed that he would leave Liverpool after 5 years.[42]

Return to Betis

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On 8 July 2024, Adrián returned to Real Betis on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.[43] Adrián's first game on his return to the club was a friendly against former club Liverpool on 26 July 2024 in Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, United States.[44]

International career

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On 26 August 2016, Adrián received his first call-up to the senior Spain squad by new manager Julen Lopetegui for matches against Belgium and Liechtenstein.[45]

Career statistics

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As of match played 28 November 2024[46][47]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Betis C 2006–07[7] Regional Preferente 13 0 13 0
2007–08[7] Regional Preferente 10 0 10 0
Total 23 0 23 0
Real Betis B 2007–08 Segunda División B 3 0 3 0
2008–09 Segunda División B 14 0 14 0
2009–10 Segunda División B 12 0 12 0
2010–11 Segunda División B 22 0 2[a] 0 24 0
2011–12 Segunda División B 11 0 11 0
Total 62 0 2 0 64 0
Alcalá (loan) 2007–08[7] Tercera División 5 0 0 0 5 0
Utrera (loan) 2008–09[7] Primera Andaluza 13 0 0 0 13 0
Real Betis 2012–13 La Liga 32 0 0 0 32 0
West Ham United 2013–14[48] Premier League 20 0 1 0 5 0 26 0
2014–15[26] Premier League 38 0 4 0 0 0 42 0
2015–16[49] Premier League 32 0 0 0 1 0 3[b] 0 36 0
2016–17[50] Premier League 16 0 1 0 1 0 1[b] 0 19 0
2017–18[51] Premier League 19 0 0 0 3 0 22 0
2018–19[52] Premier League 0 0 2 0 3 0 5 0
Total 125 0 8 0 13 0 4 0 150 0
Liverpool 2019–20[53] Premier League 11 0 3 0 0 0 3[c] 0 1[d] 0 18 0
2020–21[54] Premier League 3 0 0 0 2 0 1[c] 0 0 0 6 0
2021–22[55] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2022–23[56] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[e] 0 1 0
2023–24[57] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 14 0 3 0 3 0 4 0 2 0 26 0
Real Betis 2024–25 La Liga 0 0 0 0 4[f] 0 4 0
Career total 274 0 11 0 16 0 12 0 4 0 317 0
  1. ^ Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  5. ^ Appearance in FA Community Shield
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

Honours

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Liverpool

References

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  1. ^ a b c "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Liverpool FC" (PDF). FIFA. 21 December 2019. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. ^ Un doblete de Barral amarga a Madrid la fiesta de su centenario; Diario AS, 7 June 2013 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Wilson, Jeremy (14 January 2015). "West Ham United cult-hero Adrian in frame for Spain following FA Cup heroics against Everton at Upton Park". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  4. ^ "La historia de Adrián, el portero que empezó de delantero (vídeo)" [The story of Adrián, the goalkeeper who started as a forward (video)] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  5. ^ Con Adrián, el Betis está en buenas manos (With Adrián, Betis is in good hands) Archived 29 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Estadio Deportivo, 24 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ "Adrian". West Ham United F.C. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Adrián se aleja del Betis" [Adrián moves away from Betis] (in Spanish). Merca Fichajes. 6 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Adrian: Allardyce is a great manager — but he only speaks 'holiday Spanish'!". FourFourTwo. 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  9. ^ El portero Adrián estará de baja medio año por una lesión de rodilla (Goalkeeper Adrián will miss half a year due to knee injury) Archived 16 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Diario de Sevilla, 10 November 2011 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Malaga crush 10-man Betis; ESPN Soccernet, 29 September 2012
  11. ^ Betis stun Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 24 November 2012
  12. ^ a b "Hammers catch keeper Adrian". West Ham United F.C. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Diego López se lo ha ganado" [Diego López has done very well for himself]. El País (in Spanish). 19 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  14. ^ Wright, Nick (22 February 2014). "Allardyce reveals how Spain trip convinced Adrian to join West Ham". London 24. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  15. ^ "West Ham secure the signing of Spanish keeper Adrian". Sky Sports. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  16. ^ "West Ham 2–1 Cheltenham: Match report". Sport.co. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  17. ^ "United revival gathering pace". ESPN FC. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  18. ^ Websell, Paul (15 January 2014). "Jussi or Adrian: Who should be West Ham's number one?". FTB Pro. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  19. ^ "Noble is Hammer of the Year". West Ham United F.C. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Jussi Jaaskelainen: West Ham goalkeeper signs new contract". BBC Sport. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  21. ^ Emons, Michael (13 January 2015). "West Ham 2–2 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  22. ^ "Adrian: West Ham keeper knew he would score FA Cup penalty". BBC Sport. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  23. ^ Reddy, Luke (11 February 2015). "Southampton 0–0 West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  24. ^ "Adrian: West Ham keeper's red card overturned, but club charged". BBC Sport. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  25. ^ "West Ham fined by the FA for failing to control players". BBC Sport. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Games played by Adrián in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  27. ^ a b Bevan, Chris (15 August 2015). "West Ham 1–2 Leicester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  28. ^ "Adrian signs new contract". West Ham United F.C. 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  29. ^ "Andy Carroll, Adrian and Samir Nasri to leave West Ham in summer". BBC Sport. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  30. ^ "Adrian del Castillo". westhamstats.info.
  31. ^ a b Carlos Urbano (11 February 2020). "Liverpool's Adrian on Jurgen Klopp, the Anfield dressing room, & landing on your feet". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  32. ^ "Liverpool FC complete signing of goalkeeper Adrian". Liverpool F.C. 5 August 2019.
  33. ^ Johnston, Neil (9 August 2019). "Liverpool 4–1 Norwich City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Adrian the hero as Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to win Super Cup". BBC Sport. 14 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Super Cup: Liverpool's Adrian on 'crazy week' & Jurgen Klopp turns Rocky". BBC Sport. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  36. ^ Taylor, Daniel (14 August 2019). "Jürgen Klopp praises Liverpool hero Adrián after Super Cup penalty heroics". The Guardian.
  37. ^ "Champions League: Napoli 2 Liverpool 0". BBC Sport. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  38. ^ "Liverpool fans turn on Adrian after Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid". Metro. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  39. ^ "Adrian signs Liverpool FC contract extension". Liverpool F.C. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  40. ^ "Alisson ruled out of Community Shield with Adrian set to start". 90min.com. 28 July 2022.
  41. ^ a b Hafez, Shamoon (30 July 2022). "Liverpool 3–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  42. ^ Carroll, James (30 June 2023). "Liverpool FC — Adrian signs Liverpool contract extension". www.liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  43. ^ "Adrián San Miguel, nuevo refuerzo del Real Betis Balompié" [Adrián San Miguel, new addition of Real Betis Balompié] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 8 July 2024.
  44. ^ "Liverpool v Real Betis | 26 July 2024 | Goal.com". www.goal.com. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  45. ^ "Iker Casillas and Cesc Fabregas left out of Spain squad". BBC Sport. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  46. ^ Adrián at Soccerbase
  47. ^ "Adrián". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  48. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  49. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  50. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  51. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  52. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  53. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  54. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  55. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  56. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  57. ^ "Games played by Adrián in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  58. ^ "Adrián: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  59. ^ McNulty, Phil (25 February 2024). "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  60. ^ Rose, Gary (14 August 2019). "Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  61. ^ Poole, Harry (21 December 2019). "Liverpool 1–0 Flamengo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
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  NODES
Association 1
COMMUNITY 4
INTERN 4
Note 1