Adrián Colunga

Adrián Colunga Pérez (born 17 November 1984) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker and last played for FC Goa in the Indian Super League.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Colunga and the second or maternal family name is Pérez.

Adrián Colunga
Colunga as a Recreativo player (2009)
Personal information
Full name Adrián Colunga Pérez
Date of birth (1984-11-17) 17 November 1984
Place of birth Oviedo, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Covadonga
Sporting Gijón
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2006 Sporting Gijón B 28 (9)
2002 → Turón (loan) 8 (8)
2003 → Marino (loan) 5 (0)
2003–2004 → Ceares (loan) 25 (8)
2005–2006 → Marino (loan) 14 (2)
2006 Soledad 16 (9)
2006–2007 Pájara Playas 37 (10)
2007–2008 Las Palmas 34 (13)
2008–2010 Recreativo 46 (11)
2010 → Zaragoza (loan) 16 (7)
2010–2014 Getafe 82 (17)
2012 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 17 (3)
2014–2015 Brighton & Hove Albion 17 (3)
2015 → Granada (loan) 4 (0)
2016 Mallorca 8 (2)
2016–2017 Anorthosis 18 (1)
2017–2018 FC Goa 2 (1)
Total 377 (104)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He appeared in 152 La Liga matches over seven seasons, scoring a combined 36 goals for Recreativo, Zaragoza, Getafe, Sporting de Gijón and Granada. He added 54 games and 17 goals in Segunda División, and also competed professionally in England, Cyprus and India.

Club career

Colunga was born in Oviedo, Asturias. After unsuccessfully emerging through Sporting de Gijón's youth system he made his professional debut on loan, in the third division with Marino de Luanco – also in his native region – going on to serve several others in the third and fourth levels while also appearing in the 2004–05 season for Sporting's reserves.

In January 2006, Colunga was definitely released by Gijón and, after a spell in the fourth division and another in the third, joined UD Las Palmas of the second tier. He scored 13 league goals (second-best in the squad) in the 2007–08 campaign for a Canary Islands' side that was threatened with relegation until the last month of competition.[1]

Colunga was then bought by Recreativo de Huelva in La Liga, in a four-year contract worth €2.7 million.[2] In his debut for the team, on 31 August 2008, he netted the game's only goal in an away win against Andalusia neighbours Real Betis.[3]

Alternating between starts and games from the bench during his first year, Colunga entered the club's history when he scored a penalty kick in a 1–4 loss at Deportivo de La Coruña on 21 December, his fourth consecutive game achieving the feat.[4] Spanish football pundit Guillem Balagué compared the player, in his weekly report of first division encounters, to Valencia CF's David Villa;[5] despite a first fruitful year individually, Recre ranked last.

On 23 January 2010, after experiencing personal problems in the new season at Recreativo, which included a confrontation with club fans,[6] Colunga was loaned to Real Zaragoza in the top flight, until June.[7] He scored on his debut eight days later, a 3–1 win at CD Tenerife,[8] and finished the campaign as the team's top scorer in only four months of play, with the Aragonese finally escaping relegation.

On 5 August 2010, Colunga was sold to Getafe CF as Kepa Blanco moved in the opposite direction.[9] He was loaned to Sporting de Gijón in January 2012,[1] netting three times in 13 starts during his short spell but suffering top flight relegation.

On 25 August 2014, Colunga transferred to English club Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year contract.[10] He scored on his debut the following day, contributing to a 4–2 away victory over Swindon Town in the League Cup;[11] he added a further three in the Championship before the close of the year, with strikes against Bournemouth (2–3 away loss),[12] Norwich City (3–3, away)[13] and Fulham (2–0 win, away).[14]

Following the appointment of Chris Hughton as new manager, Colunga found first-team opportunities difficult and, in the very last day of the 2015 January transfer window, joined Granada CF on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season, with the option of a permanent transfer in June.[15] However, after featuring rarely, he returned to Brighton and eventually had his contract terminated by mutual consent on 7 October.[16]

On 2 September 2017, 32-year-old Colunga switched to the Indian Super League with FC Goa[17] after stints with RCD Mallorca and Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta FC.[18] He made his debut on 16 December, scoring in the last minutes of a 5–1 victory against Delhi Dynamos FC.[19]

On 25 January 2018, Colunga's contract was terminated by mutual agreement after he refused to play second-fiddle to compatriot Ferran Corominas.[20] Four days later, he announced his retirement.[21]

Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Marino (loan) 2002–03[22] Segunda División B 5000—50
Marino (loan) 2005–06[22] Segunda División B 14200—142
Pájara Playas (loan) 2006–07[22] Segunda División B 3710002[lower-alpha 1]23912
Las Palmas 2007–08[22] Segunda División 331330—3613
Recreativo 2008–09[22] La Liga 33910—349
2009–10[22] Segunda División 13210—142
Total 461120—4811
Zaragoza (loan) 2009–10[22] La Liga 16700—167
Getafe 2010–11[22] La Liga 297107[lower-alpha 2]0377
2011–12[22] La Liga 4020—60
2012–13[22] La Liga 22620—246
2013–14[22] La Liga 27441—315
Total 821791709818
Sporting Gijón (loan) 2011–12[22] La Liga 17300—173
Brighton & Hove Albion 2014–15[23] Championship 17341—214
Granada (loan) 2014–15[22] La Liga 4000—40
Mallorca 2015–16[22] Segunda División 7200—72
2016–17[22] Segunda División 1000—10
Total 8200—82
Anorthosis 2016–17[24] Cypriot First Division 18121—202
Goa 2017–18[24] Indian Super League 21——21
Career total 299702039232875
  1. Appearances in Relegation Play-offs
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

References
  1. "Adrián Colunga jugará en el Sporting hasta final de temporada" [Adrián Colunga will play in Sporting until end of the season] (in Spanish). Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. "Adrián Colunga, segundo fichaje más caro de la historia del 'Recre', llega dispuesto a "no defraudar a nadie"" [Adrián Colunga, the second most expensive signing in Recre history, arrives willing to "not let anyone down"] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  3. "Colunga: "Fue el debut soñado"" [Colunga: "It was a dream debut"] (in Spanish). Huelva Información. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  4. "Deportivo La Coruña 4–1 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN Soccernet. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  5. "One to watch". Sky Sports. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  6. "Un grupo de aficionados increpa a Colunga y causa daños en su coche" [Group of fans insults Colunga and damages his car]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  7. "Zaragoza sign Colunga as Ayala leaves". ESPN Soccernet. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  8. "Gay inspires memorable triumph". ESPN Soccernet. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  9. "Kepa Blanco nuevo delantero del Decano" [Kepa Blanco new Dean forward] (in Spanish). Recreativo Huelva. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  10. "Adrian Colunga: Brighton & Hove Albion sign Getafe striker". BBC Sport. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  11. Tighe, Adam (26 August 2014). "Report: Swindon 2 Albion 4". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  12. "Bournemouth 3–2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  13. "Norwich 3–3 Brighton". BBC Sport. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  14. "Fulham 0–2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  15. "Brighton: Adrian Colunga joins La Liga side Granada on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  16. "Adrian Colunga: Brighton release Spanish forward". BBC Sport. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  17. "FC Goa sign Edu Bedia, Adrian Colunga". The Indian Express. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  18. Bauzà, Jaume (1 September 2016). "Colunga se marcha harto de Vázquez: "Me ha defraudado"" [Colunga leaves tired of Vázquez: "He disappointed me"]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  19. "ISL 2017: FC Goa pump in five past Delhi Dynamos, go top of the table". News 18. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  20. Mergulhao, Marcus (25 January 2018). "ISL: FC Goa start hunt for new striker as they part ways with Adrian Colunga". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  21. "Adrián Colunga, ex de la UD y Pájara, se retira" [Adrián Colunga, formerly of UD and Pájara, retires]. La Provincia (in Spanish). 31 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  22. "Adrián Colunga: Adrián Colunga Pérez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  23. "Games played by Adrián Colunga in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  24. "Adrián Colunga". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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