Spanish successes and failures in the Premier League

Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso became a Kop idle in his time at Liverpool, a ticking clock that the rest of the team set their watches by. The Spaniard won the Champions League in his debut season, the FA Cup final the next year, was instrumental in the merseysiders Europea

Albert Ferrer

Albert Ferrer showed up at Chelsea with the weight of the Barça 'Dream Team' tag on his shoulders having won the European Cup, The UEFA Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Super Cup, The Spanish Cup twice, The Spanish Super Cup four times and La Liga a staggering five

Emilio Aldecoa

When Emilio Aldecoa escaped the Spanish civil war and began playing for a Staffordshire electrical works team, he could hardly have dreamed of one day winning La Liga with Barcelona. The remarkable story of this unlikely trajectory began when Wolves spott

Roberto Martinez

This photo shows Roberto Martinez playing for Wigan Athletic during a second division match against Millwall at the New Den in London. Millwall might have won 3-1 that day, but Martinez was part of the team won promotion from the third into the second div

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres.

Josemi

Josemi arrived at Anfield as one of a torrent of Benitez' Spanish signings, originally intended as Steve Finnan's replacement who Rafa didn't rate. Signed from Malaga for just £2 million in July 2004, Josemi had a reputation for being a hard-tackler and p

Antonio Nuñez

After Josemi, Rafa Benitez' next Spanish punt was on Antonio Nuñez, another flop at the Kop: An attacking midfielder that Real Madrid had drafted in from Las Rozas back in 2001, one of the quartet of Spanish players signed by Rafa in his first season as L

Albert Luque

He did it for the money! The most obvious motivation for decisions in football is often overlooked, but when £9m was stacked up on the table, Albert Luque just couldn't say no. Graeme Souness brought the forward to Newcastle in the summer of 2005 when Fre

Roberto Soldado

Just becasue a player costs €30M, doesn't mean he'll score 30 goals a season. Soldado's ill-fated spell at White-Hart Lane was a mistake on many parts. Spurs have to be blamed for bringing in a player who didn't fit their system, and when coach Villas-Boa

Marcelino

"The fans called me a thieving Spanish gypsy who was stealing the club's money", complained £6.7 million 1999 Newcastle signing Marcelino Elena, after the club payed him to go away in 2002. He made 17 appearances in three seasons. Another inauspicious sta