Luis Alberto (footballer, born 1992)

Luis Alberto Romero Alconchel (Spanish pronunciation: [lwis alˈβeɾto roˈmeɾo];[α] born 28 September 1992), known as Luis Alberto, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail.

Luis Alberto
Luis Alberto playing for Lazio in 2018
Personal information
Full name Luis Alberto Romero Alconchel[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-28) 28 September 1992 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth San José del Valle, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Al-Duhail
Number 10
Youth career
Xerez
2004–2009 Sevilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Sevilla C 20 (7)
2009–2012 Sevilla B 77 (25)
2011–2013 Sevilla 7 (0)
2012–2013Barcelona B (loan) 38 (11)
2013–2016 Liverpool 9 (0)
2014–2015Málaga (loan) 15 (2)
2015–2016Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 29 (6)
2016–2024 Lazio 242 (47)
2024– Al-Duhail 11 (2)
International career
2010–2011 Spain U18 2 (0)
2011–2012 Spain U19 3 (1)
2013 Spain U21 1 (0)
2017 Spain 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:03, 12 December 2024 (UTC)

After coming through Sevilla's youth system, he signed with Liverpool in 2013 from Barcelona B, being loaned to Málaga and Deportivo during his contract. In August 2016 he joined Lazio for €4 million, going on to spend eight seasons in Serie A with the club while totalling 307 competitive appearances and 52 goals, winning two Supercoppa Italiana and the 2019 Coppa Italia.[3]

Luis Alberto made his senior debut for Spain in 2017.

Club career

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Sevilla

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A product of Sevilla FC, Luis Alberto was born in San José del Valle, Province of Cádiz,[4] and he spent his first three seasons as a senior with the reserves in the Segunda División B, scoring 15 goals in the second.[5][6] On 16 April 2011 he made his first-team – and La Liga – debut for the Andalusians, replacing another club youth graduate, Rodri, in the second half of a 1–0 away loss against Getafe CF.[7]

Barcelona B

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Luis Alberto playing for Barcelona B in 2012

In August 2012, Luis Alberto was loaned to FC Barcelona Atlètic in a one-year deal, with the Catalans having the option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.[8] He made his official debut on 2 September by playing two minutes in a 2–0 home win over CE Sabadell FC,[9] and finished the campaign as second top scorer in the squad, only behind Gerard Deulofeu.[10]

Liverpool

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On 20 June 2013, Sevilla received a £6.8 million offer from Liverpool for Luis Alberto, which was accepted. The signing was completed two days later subject to international clearance,[11][12] and he made his debut for the English club on 13 July in a 4–0 pre-season friendly win against Preston North End.[13]

Luis Alberto made his Premier League debut on 1 September 2013, playing the last seven minutes in a 1–0 home victory over Manchester United in place of Philippe Coutinho.[14] On 15 December, shortly after having scored a hat-trick in an under-21 match with the Reds, he provided an assist for Luis Suárez in the 5–0 away demolition of Tottenham Hotspur.[15]

On 26 June 2014, Luis Alberto was loaned to Málaga CF in a season-long move.[16] In the league opener, on 23 August, he scored the only goal in a home defeat of Athletic Bilbao.[17]

On 5 July 2015, Luis Alberto agreed a loan move to Deportivo de La Coruña subject to a medical the following day. There, he linked up with manager Víctor Sánchez, who was previously in Sevilla's coaching staff.[18]

Lazio

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On 31 August 2016, Luis Alberto signed for Italian club SS Lazio for a fee of €4 million.[19][20] He played only nine Serie A matches in his first season,[21] but became an undisputed starter for the Simone Inzaghi-led side from there onwards.

Luis Alberto scored 12 goals in all competitions in the 2017–18 campaign, and added 18 assists.[22] In October 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.[23]

In April 2024, during an interview for DAZN, Luis Alberto revealed that he wanted to leave Lazio at the end of the season.[24][25]

Al-Duhail

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On 11 June 2024, it was announced that Luis Alberto would join Al-Duhail SC of the Qatar Stars League on a three-year deal from 1 July;[26] the transfer reportedly commanded a €12 million fee, plus add-ons and a 25% sell-on clause in favour of Liverpool.[27]

International career

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Luis Alberto earned his only cap for the Spain under-21 team on 5 February 2013, coming on for Valencia CF's Paco Alcácer midway through the second half of a 1–1 friendly draw in Belgium.[28] He first appeared with the full side on 11 November 2017, playing the last 16 minutes in a 5–0 friendly win against Costa Rica.[29]

Style of play

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A talented and versatile playmaker, Luis Alberto usually plays either in a central role as an attacking midfielder or as a left winger, a position which allows him to cut inside and shoot on goal with his stronger right foot.[30][31] He is also capable of playing in several other attacking positions including second striker,[31][32] or even in a deeper role as an offensive minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala in Italian football jargon.[33] Although he lacks physicality, he is known for his awareness, technical qualities, ball control and dribbling skills,[30][31] as well as his passing, crossing and vision, which allow him to create chances and provide assists for teammates.[30][32][33][34]

Moreover, he is an accurate set piece taker who possesses an eye for goal, and has a penchant for shooting from distance.[33] Beyond his offensive qualities, he is also known for his defensive work-rate.[35]

Personal life

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Luis Alberto married his longtime girlfriend Patricia Venegas in 2014, fathering daughter Martina (born 2016) and son Lucas (2018).[36][37]

On 19 January 2021, Luis Alberto underwent a successful emergency surgery in Rome to treat appendicitis.[38]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 19 May 2024[39]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sevilla B 2009–10 Segunda División B 15 3 15 3
2010–11 31 15 3 1 34 16
2011–12 31 7 31 7
Total 77 25 3 1 80 26
Sevilla 2010–11 La Liga 2 0 1 0 3 0
2011–12 5 0 1 0 6 0
Total 7 0 2 0 9 0
Barcelona B (loan) 2012–13 Segunda División 38 11 38 11
Liverpool 2013–14 Premier League 9 0 2 0 1 0 12 0
Málaga (loan) 2014–15 La Liga 15 2 5 0 20 2
Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 2015–16 La Liga 29 6 2 0 31 6
Lazio 2016–17 Serie A 9 1 1 0 10 1
2017–18 34 11 3 0 9[c] 1 1[d] 0 47 12
2018–19 27 4 5 1 5[c] 1 37 6
2019–20 36 6 0 0 4[c] 0 1[d] 1 41 7
2020–21 34 9 0 0 6[e] 0 40 9
2021–22 34 5 2 0 8[c] 0 44 5
2022–23 35 6 2 0 7[f] 1 44 7
2023–24 33 5 2 0 8[e] 0 1[d] 0 44 5
Total 242 47 15 1 47 3 3 1 307 52
Career total 417 91 26 1 1 0 47 3 6 2 497 97
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup, Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Includes Football League Cup
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b c Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
  5. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[40]
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2017 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

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Lazio

Individual

Notes

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  1. ^ In isolation, Luis and Alberto are pronounced [lwis] and [alˈβeɾto] respectively.

References

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  1. ^ "Barclays Premier League squad numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Luis Alberto". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. ^ ""La pelota siempre al diez": Luis Alberto e la sua avventura a Roma sulle montagne russe" ["La pelota siempre al diez": Luis Alberto and his adventure in Rome on a rollercoaster] (in Italian). Radio Sei. June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Luis Alberto: "El Sevilla es de los mejores, pero nosotros tenemos hambre"" [Luis Alberto: "Sevilla are one of the best, but we are hungry"] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. ^ Pinto, Juan (14 September 2010). "La maduración de Luis Alberto" [The coming of age of Luis Alberto]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Obra de arte de Luis Alberto ante el San Roque" [Luis Alberto masterpiece against San Roque]. Marca (in Spanish). 28 February 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Setback for Sevilla". ESPN Soccernet. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Luis Alberto y Sergi Juste, nuevos jugadores del Barça B" [Luis Alberto and Sergi Juste, new Barça B players]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 6 August 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  9. ^ Expósito, Pablo (2 September 2012). "Femenía y Rafinha estrenan el casillero de La Masia" [Femenía and Rafinha get first points for La Masia]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  10. ^ Déniz, Noelia (18 January 2014). "El Barça B de Eusebio Sacristán" [Eusebio Sacristán's Barça B] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  11. ^ McNulty, Phil (22 June 2013). "Luis Alberto: Liverpool sign Sevilla's Spain Under-21 forward". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Reds complete Luis Alberto deal". Liverpool F.C. 22 June 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Reds hit Preston for four – report". Liverpool F.C. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  14. ^ McNulty, Phil (1 September 2013). "Liverpool 1–0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  15. ^ Magowan, Alistair (15 December 2013). "Tottenham 0–5 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Luis Alberto seals Malaga loan switch". Liverpool F.C. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  17. ^ García-Mochales, Antonio (23 August 2014). "Mateu corta las alas a Iraizoz" [Mateu clips Iraizoz's wings]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  18. ^ "Luis Alberto llega esta noche a A Coruña para pasar mañana lunes reconocimiento médico" [Luis Alberto arrives tonight in A Coruña for a medical on Monday] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Comunicato 31.08.2016" [Press release 31.08.2016] (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Relazione finanziaria semestrale consolidata al 31 Dicembre 2016" [Six-monthly consolidated financial report at 31 December 2016] (PDF) (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  21. ^ Tombolini, Matteo (12 December 2017). "Lazio, Luis Alberto nel mirino del Barcellona: La situazione" [Lazio, Barcelona tracking Luis Alberto: How it stands] (in Italian). Agenti Anonimi. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  22. ^ Abbate, Alberto (22 November 2019). "Lazio, Luis Alberto mira al trono di re degli assist" [Lazio, Luis Alberto eyeing assist-king throne]. Il Messaggero (in Italian). Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Luis Alberto negativo al tampone: ci sarà con la Juve" [Luis Alberto with the negative swab: he will face Juve]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  24. ^ Di Chiaro, Michael (12 April 2024). "Luis Alberto annuncia l'addio alla Lazio: "Il prossimo anno non farò parte del progetto"" [Luis Alberto announces farewell to Lazio: "I will not be a part of the project next year"] (in Italian). Goal. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  25. ^ Calemme, Mirko (12 April 2024). "Luis Alberto: "No quiero ni un euro más de la Lazio"" [Luis Alberto: "I do not want as much as one euro from Lazio"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Luis Alberto ceduto a titolo definitivo all'Al-Duhail" [Luis Alberto transferred to Al-Duhail on a permanent basis] (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  27. ^ Berardino, Nicola (9 June 2024). "Luis Alberto, addio alla Lazio: va in Qatar a 8 milioni l'anno" [Luis Alberto, goodbye to Lazio: he goes to Qatar on 8 million per year] (in Italian). DAZN. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  28. ^ Villalobos, Fran (5 February 2013). "España invierte en su futuro" [Spain invest in their future]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  29. ^ "Silva nets brace, Spain thrash Costa Rica in friendly". Chicago Tribune. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  30. ^ a b c Matchett, Karl (11 June 2013). "Liverpool: Why Luis Alberto will suit Brendan Rodgers' Anfield team". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  31. ^ a b c Stevens, Jack (14 January 2018). "Luis Alberto flourishing at Lazio". Football Italia. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Luis Alberto signs new five-year deal with Lazio". Diario AS. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  33. ^ a b c Morrone, Daniele V. (6 October 2017). "Luis Alberto ha sorpreso tutti" [Luis Alberto has everyone surprised] (in Italian). Ultimo Uomo. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  34. ^ Campanale, Susy (16 April 2020). "Luis Alberto: 'Immobile owes me!'". Football Italia. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  35. ^ Cieri, Stefano (11 January 2020). "Luis Alberto anima biancoceleste. Ospina, che sciagura" [Luis Alberto biancoceleste soul. Ospina, what a disaster]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  36. ^ Monti, Mattia (23 March 2021). "Luis Alberto, siparietto con la moglie: "Non distrarmi mentre gioco…"" [Luis Alberto, having a wife break: "Don't distract me while I'm playing…"] (in Italian). Lazio News 24. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Lazio, Luis Alberto nella nuova casa: relax in famiglia" [Lazio, Luis Alberto in his new home: relaxing in family]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 30 July 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  38. ^ Campanale, Susy (19 January 2021). "Lazio confirm Luis Alberto appendicitis". Football Italia. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  39. ^ "L. Alberto". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  40. ^ "Luis Alberto". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  41. ^ Campanale, Susy (15 May 2019). "Coppa Italia: Atalanta bow to Lazio". Football Italia. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  42. ^ Gerna, Jacopo (13 August 2017). "Juventus-Lazio 2–3: Murgia al 94' decide la Supercoppa" [Juventus-Lazio 2–3: Murgia decides Supercup in the 94th]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  43. ^ "Lazio beat Juventus 3–1 to win Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia". BBC Sport. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  44. ^ Mork, Martin (19 March 2021). "Gran Galà del Calcio: The winners". Football Italia. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  45. ^ "Luis Alberto MVP For February". Serie A. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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