Joan Capdevila

Joan Capdevila Méndez (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈaŋ kədːəˈβiɫə]; born 3 February 1978) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left back for Andorran club FC Santa Coloma.
Over the course of 15 La Liga seasons he amassed totals of 410 games and 36 goals, mainly for Deportivo and Villarreal where, from his defensive position, he often contributed in the scoring department.
A Spanish international on 60 occasions, Capdevila represented the nation in one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament in each competition.

Early years / Deportivo

Born in Tàrrega, Lleida, Catalonia, and a product of RCD Espanyol's youth system, Capdevila made his debut for its first team during the 1998–99 season, in a 2–2 La Liga draw at Athletic Bilbao, and joined Atlético Madrid the following year.

After the Colchoneros' relegation, however, he signed with Galician side Deportivo de La Coruña in the summer of 2000, and would be a regular fixture in the team as left-back, first competing with Enrique Romero then as the undisputed first-choice. On 16 September 2006, he scored twice as Depor overcame Villarreal CF 2–0 at the Riazor Stadium.

Villarreal

Capdevila (right) attempting a tackle on Lionel Messi

For the 2007–08 campaign Capdevila moved to Villarreal on a three-year deal, and played in all the league games except two, for a side that finished runner-up, achieving direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League. He produced similar numbers in his second year, bettering his goal total in the process (five).

In the 2009–10 season, with no real competition for his position, Capdevila continued to figure prominently for Villarreal, only missing one league match – the defender added another five goals, but the club could not qualify for the UEFA Europa League this time, after finishing seventh. On 6 December 2009 he netted a brace in a 3–2 home win against Getafe CF, precisely the team that prevented the Valencian from reaching that achievement, even though the side was later reinstated at the expense of RCD Mallorca.

Midway through 2010–11 Capdevila faced stiff competition from José Catalá, even being relegated to the bench in some games. He did finish the campaign with more than 40 official appearances, including nine in Villarreal's Europa League semifinal run, where he scored in a 3–2 home win against eventual winners F.C. Porto (4–7 aggregate loss).

Benfica

On 21 July 2011, aged 33, Capdevila moved abroad for the first time, joining S.L. Benfica in Portugal on a two-year contract. On 20 August he made his official debut in a 3–1 league win against C.D. Feirense at Estádio da Luz, but was not included in the club's squad for the group stages of the Champions League, which prompted rumours that he would seek a transfer away from the club in the January transfer window. Manager Jorge Jesus confirmed that another newly-signed, Brazilian Emerson, would be first-choice left-back and that the Spaniard would find it difficult to be included in match day squads.

However, during the final stages of the season, Jesus gave Capdevila a long run as a starter, and he made his Champions League debut for the Lisbon outfit on 4 April 2012, playing the second leg of the quarterfinals against Chelsea, a 1–2 loss at Stamford Bridge (1–3 on aggregate). He was also the habitual first-choice during the domestic League Cup campaign, which Benfica won for the fourth time in a row, and finished the campaign with 12 official games.

Later years

On 27 July 2012, Capdevila agreed on a return to his first professional club Espanyol. He was released alongside Simão Sabrosa on 22 May 2014, after only ten overall appearances in his second season.

On 16 July 2014, Capdevila signed for NorthEast United FC, as their marquee player ahead of the inaugural Indian Super League season. He said: “India is a huge country and it should be a privilege for me to be a small part in popularising this global game here and working with the young talented footballers of North East India”. He started in the franchise's first match, a 1–0 win over the Kerala Blasters at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, being deployed by manager Ricki Herbert as a central defender. On 27 November, in a 3–0 home defeat of league leaders Chennaiyin FC, he was sent off after 72 minutes for a second yellow card, as his team went on to rank in last position.

On 21 January 2015, Capdevila changed clubs and countries again, joining Belgian Pro League side Lierse SK. In May, he suffered a knee injury in training, ruling him out for six months; he returned to the Iberian Peninsula on 1 June 2016, signing for FC Santa Coloma, champions of Andorra's Primera Divisió.

Capdevila played for Spain at the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal and converting his penalty shootout attempt as his team lost the final to Cameroon. He made his debut for the full side on 16 October 2002 in a 0–0 friendly draw to Paraguay, scoring his first goal in an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Sweden on 17 November 2007, a 3–0 win; previously, he made the country's final squad for Euro 2004 as an injury replacement for Míchel Salgado, but did not leave the bench.

On 6 February 2008, Capdevila netted the winner in Spain's 1–0 win over France in an international friendly in Málaga. He was subsequently called up to the squad for Euro 2008, where he featured in all the games save one for the eventual champions: during the tournament he established himself as first-choice, his clearance in the dying seconds against Sweden being a crucial part of David Villa's late winner to make the score 2–1; together with right-back Sergio Ramos and central defenders Carles Puyol and Carlos Marchena, he helped keep clean sheets during all three matches of the knock-out stages and only conceded two goals in four contests.

During the first game of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup on 14 June 2009, Capdevila set up Fernando Torres's third goal of his hat-trick, and also assisted for Cesc Fàbregas's second international goal as Spain thrashed New Zealand 5–0 – in fact, all five goals were created from the left wing, with him playing a crucial part in the Spanish attack. In the second game against Iraq, three days later, he assisted Villa's on his 55th-minute goal (the match's only) and eventually he, Puyol, Villa and Torres were named in the team of the tournament, as the national side finished third.

On 20 May 2010, after appearing in all the matches during the qualifying stages, contributing with one goal in Spain's 4–0 home win against Armenia, Capdevila was selected by manager Vicente del Bosque to the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he played all the games and minutes for the eventual champions, being the only member of the starting line-up for the final who was not a Real Madrid or FC Barcelona player, considering Villa had been signed by the latter days before the tournament.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 November 2007	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain	Sweden	1–0	3–0	Euro 2008 qualifying
2.	6 February 2008	La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain	France	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3.	31 May 2008	Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain	Peru	2–1	2–1	Friendly
4.	10 September 2008	Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain	Armenia	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification

Club

As of 15 March 2015

Capdevila holding the 2010 World Cup trophy

Club

Deportivo

• Copa del Rey: 2001–02
• Supercopa de España: 2000, 2002

Benfica

• Taça da Liga: 2011–12

International

Spain U23

• Summer Olympics: Silver medal 2000

Spain

• FIFA World Cup: 2010
• UEFA European Championship: 2008
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Third-place 2009