Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel (born 22 November 1996), known as Nahuel, is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Israeli club Maccabi Haifa. Born in Argentina, he has represented Spain at youth levels.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Maccabi Haifa | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Escuela ADIUR | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Villarreal | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Villarreal C | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Villarreal B | 64 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Villarreal | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | → Betis (loan) | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Barcelona B (loan) | 18 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Olympiacos | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Tenerife | 30 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Oviedo (loan) | 37 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Śląsk Wrocław | 63 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Maccabi Haifa | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Spain U19 | 11 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
editVillarreal
editBorn in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Nahuel moved to Spain at only 14, joining Villarreal CF's youth setup.[1] He made his senior debut with the C-side in 2012–13, in Tercera División, and also appeared occasionally for the reserves during that first season.
Nahuel made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 13 January 2014, playing 23 minutes in a 5–1 home routing of Real Sociedad.[2] On 28 August he scored his first professional goal, netting the last in a 4–0 home win against FC Astana for the campaign's UEFA Europa League.[3]
On 16 June 2016, Nahuel signed a two-year loan contract with Real Betis also of the top tier.[4][5] On 30 January 2018, he was loaned to Segunda División team FC Barcelona B for six months.[6]
Olympiacos
editOn 31 August 2018, the last day of the summer transfer window, Olympiacos F.C. signed Nahuel for an undisclosed fee – Villarreal retained a buyback option on the player.[7] The following 31 January, after being rarely used, he returned to Spain after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Deportivo de La Coruña of the second division.[8]
Tenerife
editOn 30 August 2019, Nahuel joined CD Tenerife on a three-year contract.[9] On 15 September, after scoring only one goal during the entire 2019–20 campaign, he was loaned to fellow second division side Real Oviedo, for one year.[10]
Śląsk Wrocław
editOn 9 July 2022, Nahuel moved to Ekstraklasa club Śląsk Wrocław, signing a four-year deal.[11] On 11 January 2024, he extended his contract until the end of June 2027.[12]
Maccabi Haifa
editOn 18 September 2024, Nahuel moved to Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, signing a four-year deal.[13]
International career
editNahuel was part of the Spain under-19 team which won the 2015 UEFA European Championship in Greece. He scored in a 3–0 group stage opening victory against holders Germany,[14] adding the second goal in the 2–0 win over Russia in the decisive match in Katerini.[15]
Honours
editSpain U19
References
edit- ^ Conociendo a Matías Nahuel Leiva (Knowing Matías Nahuel Leiva) Archived 31 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine; Futbolistas Argentinos por el Mundo, 8 October 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ Five-star Villarreal cruise to win Archived 25 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 13 January 2014
- ^ ¡Europa, ya estamos aquí! (4–0) (Europe, we have arrived! (4–0)) Archived 4 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal CF, 28 August 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ Real Betis signs Nahuel for the next two seasons Archived 30 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Real Betis, 16 June 2016
- ^ Nahuel jugará cedido en el Real Betis (Nahuel will play on loan at Real Betis) Archived 1 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal CF, 16 June 2016 (in Spanish)
- ^ "Agreement with Villarreal CF for the loan of Nahuel Leiva". FC Barcelona. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ "Μεταγραφικό... χτύπημα με Ναουέλ ο Ολυμπιακός!" [Signing... Olympiacos get Nahuel!] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "New Dépor player! Nahuel Leiva". Deportivo La Coruña. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ "Nahuel Leiva, nuevo refuerzo blanquiazul" [Nahuel Leiva, new white-and-blue addition] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Nahuel Leiva jugará cedido en el Real Oviedo" [Nahuel Leiva will play on loan at Real Oviedo] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ "Matias Nahuel Leiva piłkarzem Śląska" (in Polish). Śląsk Wrocław. 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Śląsk Wrocław zatrzyma kluczowego piłkarza! Mathias Nahuel Leiva przedłużył kontrakt". gazetawroclawska.pl (in Polish). 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "וולקאם נהואל!" (in Hebrew). Maccabi Haifa. 18 September 2024.
- ^ "Slick Spain too strong for holders Germany". UEFA. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Spain see off Russia for seventh Under-19 crown". UEFA. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
External links
edit- Villarreal official profile (in Spanish)
- Matías Nahuel at BDFutbol
- Matías Nahuel at Soccerway
- La Liga official profile (in Spanish)