Two decades and one dream

Juan Carlos Valerón began last week with one reason to celebrate and ended it with another. First the 'magician from Arguineguín' turned 40 years of age and just a few days later it was time for yet another party, this time to mark the return of UD Las Palmas and their supporters to the promised land of the Liga BBVA for the first time in 13 years.           

This is not the first promotion win of Valerón's career, but it is still undoubtedly a very special one. The Yellows’ return to life in the Liga BBVA represents a triumph over adversity and the exorcism of last season’s painful memories, when the team were denied a place in the topflight after conceding a Córdoba CF goal in injury time.

On 20 September 1995 a lanky 20-year-old fulfilled a life-long ambition by making his debut for the UD Las Palmas first team when he came on for the last 12 minutes of a Copa del Rey clash against CD Mensajero. Bit-by-bit the fresh-faced youngster started to carve out a place for himself in Pacuco Rosales’ starting line-ups and managed to close out that first season with 27 appearances and three goals under his belt. During his first year with Las Palmas, Valerón got to play with his older brother, Miguel Ángel, and was part of a squad that gave the fans plenty to celebrate when they clinched Liga Adelante promotion.

He departed the Canary Islands to sign for RCD Mallorca ahead of the 1997-98 season and made his inaugural Liga BBVA run-out on 31 August in a 2-1 win over Valencia CF. His impressive performances earned him a move to Atlético Madrid, a club he would play with for two seasons.

In the summer of 2000 he signed for RC Deportivo, the club he spent the majority of his professional career with. Valerón is the embodiment of the Galician outfit’s golden era, as he was part of the Riazor set-up during the club’s two Spanish Super Cup title wins as well as the Copa del Rey triumph. During his 13-year spell with Depor he was relegated twice and promoted once to the Liga BBVA.

16 years on and Valerón – a player who is not only admired for his outstanding ability, but also because of his sportsmanship, having only been sent off once during his entire career – made his way back to Las Palmas, where he was given his now-famous number 21 jersey. And following the agonising manner with which things finished last season, the Spanish topflight will once again be enriched even further during the upcoming campaign with the inclusion of Juan Carlos Valerón.