Manuel Lucena

Spanish footballer

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is  Lucena and the second or maternal family name is  Medina.

Manolo LucenaPersonal information

Full name|  Manuel Lucena Medina
Date of birth|  (1982-11-18) 18 November 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth|  Granada, Spain
Height|  1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)|  Centre-back
Youth career
2000–2001|  Imperio Albolote
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
2001–2002|  Arenas|  |
2002–2005|  Granada|  64|  (4)
2004–2005|  → Marino (loan)|  32|  (6)
2005|  Sporting Gijón|  3|  (0)
2006–2013|  Granada|  181|  (15)
2013–2014|  Mirandés|  11|  (0)
Total|  |  291|  (25)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel 'Manolo' Lucena Medina (born 18 November 1982) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

His professional career was mainly associated with Granada, with which he competed in all four major levels of Spanish football.[1]

## Club career

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Lucena was born in Granada, Andalusia. In 2002 he signed for his hometown's Granada CF, at the time in the Tercera División. After two years as a starter he was loaned to Marino de Luanco of Segunda División B, being first-choice in his only season as the Asturias club narrowly avoided relegation.[2]

In the summer of 2005, Lucena joined Sporting de Gijón in the Segunda División. In January 2006, with only three league appearances to his credit – seven minutes in total – he returned to Granada, scoring five goals as the team promoted from the fourth division.[2]

Lucena remained a key player in the following three third-tier campaigns, never appearing in less than 32 league games and occasionally pitching in at defensive midfielder.[3] In 2009–10, already as team captain, he contributed 26 matches and one goal en route to a return to division two after 22 years.[1]

In late June 2011, after a second consecutive promotion for Granada, with him as the club's only player from the region of Granada, Lucena renewed his contract for a further two seasons.[4][5] He made his La Liga debut on 27 August in a 0–1 home loss against Real Betis (90 minutes played),[6][1] but totalled only nine official games over two seasons, being released subsequently.

Lucena retired at the end of the 2013–14 campaign at the age of 31, following a spell with CD Mirandés in the second tier.[7] In February 2015, he returned to Granada as match delegate.[8]

## References

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1. ^ a b c Manolo Lucena: un héroe en Tercera, Segunda B, Segunda y Primera (Manolo Lucena: hero in Tercera, Segunda B, Segunda and Primera); Diario AS, 4 October 2019 (in Spanish)
2. ^ a b Lucena hace historia (Lucena makes history); Granada Hoy, 9 February 2011 (in Spanish)
3. ^ Manolo Lucena, el 'controller' rojiblanco (Manolo Lucena, red-and-black controller); Tablón Deportivo, 29 September 2010 (in Spanish)
4. ^ El Granada se da un baño de masas por su ascenso a Primera (Granada drown in the masses for promotion to Primera); Marca, 19 June 2011 (in Spanish)
5. ^ El capitán Manolo Lucena renueva su contrato con el Granada CF (Captain Manolo Lucena renews his contract with Granada CF); Ideal, 26 June 2011 (in Spanish)
6. ^ Rubén Castro hace justicia (Rubén Castro does justice); El País, 27 August 2011 (in Spanish)
7. ^ El Mirandés confirma el fichaje del defensa Lucena (Mirandés confirm signing of defender Lucena); Marca, 30 July 2013 (in Spanish)
8. ^ El Granada ficha de nuevo a Lucena (Granada sign Lucena again); Ideal, 10 February 2015 (in Spanish)

## External links

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* Manuel Lucena at BDFutbol
* Manuel Lucena at Soccerway

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals