Juan Elía

Juan 'Juantxo' Elía Vallejo (born 24 January 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Juantxo Elía
Personal information
Full name	Juan Elía Vallejo
Date of birth	(1979-01-24) 24 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Pamplona, Spain
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1993–1997	Osasuna
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2002	Osasuna B	109	(0)
2002–2008	Osasuna	40	(0)
2002–2003	→ Ourense (loan)	36	(0)
2008–2010	Murcia	61	(0)
Total		246	(0)
International career
1997	Spain U17	4	(0)
1996–1998	Spain U18	10	(0)
1998	Spain U20	2	(0)
2004–2005	Navarre	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Elía spent the bulk of his professional career with his hometown side CA Osasuna, save for a loan at modest CD Ourense. In the 2004–05 campaign he played a personal-best in La Liga 22 games, but served mostly as a backup during his spell with his main club, 15 years including his formative ones;^[1]^[2] he was also in goal in the 2005 Copa del Rey final, lost 2–1 against Real Betis at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.^[3]

In August 2008, Elía joined Real Murcia CF, recently relegated to the Segunda División.^[4] He was first choice in his debut season but the team only finished in mid-table, being relegated in the following with him appearing in 24 matches.^[5]

Elía announced his retirement in September 2010 at the age of 31, due to persistent back problems.^[6] Subsequently, he took up golf.^[7]

Elía represented Navarre in two matches.^[8]^[9]

^ Elía renueva por Osasuna (Elía renews with Osasuna); UEFA, 13 December 2005 (in Spanish)
^ Osasuna: 16 años sin un portero titular de la cantera (Osasuna: 16 years without a starting goalkeeper from the youth system); Noticias de Navarra, 19 March 2021 (in Spanish)
^ El Betis se adjudica la Copa del Rey tras ganar a Osasuna (2–1) (Betis take King's Cup after beating Osasuna (2–1)); Cadena SER, 11 June 2005 (in Spanish)
^ Elia y Campos, "ilusionados" por el proyecto deportivo del Real Murcia (Elia and Campos, "heartened" by Real Murcia's sporting project); Marca, 8 July 2008 (in Spanish)
^ Elía, el primer sacrificado (Elía, first one out); La Verdad, 10 November 2009 (in Spanish)
^ Elía dice adiós desde aquí (Elía says goodbye from here); Noticias de Navarra, 1 October 2010 (in Spanish)
^ El golf, la “enfermedad” de Juantxo Elía (Golf, Juantxo Elía's "sickness"); Diario de Navarra, 7 April 2022 (in Spanish)
^ Euskadi y Navarra ganan (Euskadi and Navarre win); Mundo Deportivo, 30 December 2004 (in Spanish)
^ Orbaiz y Gurpegi participan en la victoria de Navarra ante China (Orbaiz and Gurpegi take part in Navarre win against China); Mundo Deportivo, 27 December 2005 (in Spanish)