Carlos Cuéllar

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Carlos Cuéllar
Personal information
Full name Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jimenez
Date of birth August 23, 1981 (1981-08-23) (age 26)
Place of birth    Madrid, Spain
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Centre-back
Club information
Current club Rangers
Number 24
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2000–2001
2001–2003
2003–2007
2007–		 Calahorra
Numancia
Osasuna
Rangers
62 (4)
70 (2)
36 (4)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of June 9, 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jimenez (born 23 August 1981 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Scottish Premier League side Rangers in defence, as a centre back.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early career

Cuellar began his career at Spanish Tercera División side Calahorra before moving on to Segunda side Numancia. He spent two seasons in Numancia, making over sixty appearances, and then got his big move to La Liga side Osasuna. He became an important part of the Javier Aguirre side that finished fourth in the league in season 2004-05 and reached the final of the Copa del Rey. A few seasons later they reached the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2007, knocking Rangers out en route.

During that same UEFA Cup 2006-07 campaign Cuéllar scored a first minute goal in the quarter finals at the BayArena against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in April, that was the fastest goal of the tournament that season.

[edit] Rangers

Scottish club Rangers had a £1 million bid for the player rejected on the June 12, 2007. On 15 June 2007, Rangers issued Osasuna with a £1.7 million take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum which was rejected by Osasuna and seemed to have scuppered the deal.

On 1 July 2007 it was reported that the move to Rangers could be back on.[1] His transfer to Rangers was completed on July 5, 2007 for a fee of £2.37 million.[2] He signed a four-year contract, worth a reported £15,000 per week.

He made his competitive Rangers debut against FK Zeta on the 31 July 2007, in a 2-0 victory.[3] After impressing early in the season, Cuéllar was awarded the Clydesdale Bank Premier League Player of the Month award for August 2007. He then scored his first Rangers goal the next day , 1 September, during a 4-0 defeat of Gretna.[4]

On 14 April 2008, Cuéllar won the Clydesdale Bank SPL Player of the Year award[5] and on 3 May, he won the Scottish Football Writers Associations Footballer of the Year award.[6]

[edit] Honours

With Rangers:

Personal:

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Cuellar move could be back on", BBC Sport website, 1 July, 2007. 
  2. ^ "Rangers clinch signing of Cuellar", BBC Sport website, July 6, 2007. 
  3. ^ "Rangers 2-0 FK Zeta", BBC Sport website, 31 July, 2007. 
  4. ^ "Rangers 4-0 Gretna", BBC Sport website, 1 September, 2007. 
  5. ^ "SPL Player of the Year: Carlos Cuellar", The Herald, 14 April 2008. 
  6. ^ "Cuellar picks up writers' award" BBC Sport website, 5 May, 2008

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Japan Shunsuke Nakamura		 Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
2008		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
Rangers F.C. – current squad

1 McGregor • 3 Weir • 4 Buffel • 5 Papac • 6 Ferguson • 7 Hemdani • 8 Thomson • 9 Boyd • 10 Novo • 11 Adam • 15 Gow • 16 G. Smith • 17 Burke • 18 Naismith • 19 Darcheville • 20 Beasley • 21 Broadfoot • 22 Webster • 23 Dailly • 24 Cuéllar • 25 Alexander • 26 S. Smith • 27 McCulloch • 28 Whittaker • 29 Cousin •  Miller • Manager: W. Smith