Carlos Marchena

Carlos Marchena López, popularly known as Marchena born 31 July 1979 in Seville is a Spain Football (soccer) who currently plays centre back for Valencia CF and the Spain national football team. He is a regular first-team choice for both squads. He has been capped 27 times for his country as of 2006.

He started his professional career in Sevilla FC by the age of 18 when at that time, the club was still playing in the Spanish Second Division. At the age of 20, he capped his top-flight debut for his club against Real Sociedad in the 1999/2000 season.

When Sevilla FC was relegated again at the end of the 2000 season, Marchena sought a quick 12-month loan transfer to SL Benfica where he did sufficiently well to catch the attentions of top club Valencia CF who were in need to provide cover for their aging centre-back Miroslav Djukic. Valencia CF signed him in a four-year deal which involved a swap-deal with Zlatko Zahovic for Benfica. While Marchena took a while in his first season to impress as his new club clinched their first title in 30 years in the 2001/2002 season, with the eventual departure of Miroslav Djukić, he was chosen as the natural replacement.

In the 2003/2004 season, with Valencia CF capturing a historic league and UEFA Cup double, he played a pivotal role in defense, teaming up well with fellow centre-back Roberto Ayala. This polished performance led to his selection for the Spanish national team for the Euro 2004 tournament. He was, in fact, chosen at the last minute by then coach Inaki Saez as a strategic move to bolster his squad with more centre-backs as Saez's reasoning was that any team needs more defenders than any other playing positions as good containing defenders are hard to come by. While Spain did not do well in the tournament and bowed out in the early stages, he did manage 2 appearances although he did also picked up 2 yellow cards while doing so.

The 2004/2005 season was not a very successful season for Valencia, as under new coach Claudio Ranieri, the team struggled both domestically and in European tournaments. In a UEFA Champions League first-round match against Werder Bremen at the Mestalla stadium, he was also given his marching orders in the final minutes of the match and Valencia CF was eliminated from the elite competition. Nonetheless, despite the setbacks in the previous season, he is still a mainstay in the team and would continue to feature in the club's future ambitions.

Marchena was part of the 2006 World Cup squad. However, he was not a regular starter and only featured in the last first-round game against Saudi Arabia.

Honors and awards

- FIFA World Youth Championship winner: 1999
- Spanish La Liga: 2002, 2004
- UEFA Cup: 2004
- European Super Cup: 2004