Ivan Cuellar

Iván Cuéllar Sacristán (Mérida, Badajoz, May 27, 1984), nicknamed Pichu, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for R. C. D. Mallorca of the Primera Division of Spain.

Career

Trained in his hometown club, C. P. Mérida, in 2002 he joined the youth ranks of Club Atlético de Madrid. After being League champion in the youth category and going through the red and white club's subsidiary, coach César Ferrando gave him the opportunity to debut with the first team on January 20, 2005, in a match played against Lorca Deportiva C. F. in the Copa del Rey. Subsequently, on May 29, it made its debut in the First Division in a match between Atlético and Getafe CF that ended in a draw.

The following season he made the definitive jump to the first team, as a substitute for Leo Franco, who did not give him the option to play. After a blank year, in the 2006-07 season he played seven games in the League. Among them, he experienced the biggest defeat conceded by Atlético de Madrid at home in its entire history: a match corresponding to the 35th matchday in which F. C. Barcelona beat the Madrid team 0-6.

In the 2007-08 season he was loaned to SD Eibar, of the Second Division, and, in 2008-09, he left Atlético de Madrid to sign for Real Sporting de Gijón. Curiously, Sporting He had achieved promotion to the First Division in the last game of the previous campaign, at El Molinón de Gijón by beating Éibar 2-0, which Cuéllar had requested not to play. His first two campaigns with the Asturians were marked by injuries: after making his debut on matchday 5 in a 0-1 defeat against Villarreal CF, on December 14, 2008 he suffered a collision with Carlos Gurpegui at the San Mamés stadium that caused him to break the fibula in his leg. right and, as a consequence, spend four months on the sidelines. In his second season at Sporting, a torn ligament during training caused him to end the campaign without having played a single minute in the League, although he did participate in two Copa del Rey matches.

In the 2010-11 season he began as a substitute for Juan Pablo Colinas—he was only a starter in the fourth game against FC Barcelona— until matchday 17. From that moment, he chained twelve consecutive games as a starter until a broken fibers on matchday 28 against Villarreal kept him out for three weeks. In the following season, 2011-12, he only played one league game as a starter and Sporting was relegated to the Second Division. During the next three years in the silver category he reached ninety-nine games played, and achieved promotion to the First Division in the 2014-15 campaign. In addition, he won the Zamora Trophy for the goalkeeper with the fewest goals scored and received the award from LaLiga to the best goalkeeper in the Second Division.

He played two more seasons in the First Division and, after a new relegation, on July 5, 2017 he agreed to terminate his contract with Sporting to sign for C. D. Leganés.

After four years playing for C. D. Leganés, in June 2021 his relationship with the Pepinero team ended. On August 29, his return to Sporting was confirmed, returning to Gijón after four years. In the first season after his Returning to the Asturian team, he was the substitute goalkeeper until in April the then team coach José Luis Martí made him debut again, curiously at the Butarque Stadium against Leganés, his former team, and from that moment on he became the starter again. usual.

On January 6, 2023, he became the oldest footballer to play an official match for Sporting. He did it at the age of 38 years and 224 days, surpassing Emilín in nineteen days, who held the previous record. Finally, after eleven seasons in the club and 246 games played, his departure was announced as his contract was not renewed. So, At the end of August, he continued his career at R. C. D. Mallorca, with whom he signed until June 2024.

National team

He was international with Spain in the under-21 category. He was also part of the under-22 team that won the gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games.

Clubs

Palmarés

Individual distinctions