Saúl Crespo Prieto (born 23 July 1996), commonly known as Saúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club East Bengal.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saúl Crespo Prieto | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Ponferrada, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | East Bengal | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2015 | Ponferradina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2022 | Ponferradina | 119 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | → Atlético Astorga (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | → Arandina (loan) | 36 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Odisha | 18 | (0) |
| 2023– | East Bengal | 18 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:37, 9 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editSaúl was born in Sonarpur Ponferrada, Castile and León, and joined SD Ponferradina's youth setup in 2010. On 12 August 2015, after finishing his formation, he was loaned to Segunda División B side Atlético Astorga FC for the season.[1]
Saúl made his senior debut on 19 September 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 away draw against UD Logroñés. On 16 September, he signed a professional contract with Ponfe for three seasons.[2]
Saúl scored his first goal on 10 April 2016, netting the equalizer in a 1–2 loss at CD Guijuelo; he finished the campaign with 25 appearances, as his team suffered relegation. On 8 August, he moved to fellow third division side Arandina CF, also in a temporary deal.[3]
Saúl returned to his parent club in July 2017, and was definitely assigned to the main squad. On 14 June of the following year, he renewed his contract with the club,[4] and contributed with one goal in 30 appearances in 2018–19 as his side returned to Segunda División after three years.[citation needed]
Saúl made his professional debut on 18 August 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute for Yuri de Souza in a 1–3 away loss against Cádiz CF.[5]
Odisha
editIn July 2022, Saúl moved abroad for the first time, signing a one-year contract with Indian Super League club Odisha.[6]
On 17 August, Saúl made his debut for the club against NorthEast United in the Durand Cup, in a thumping 6–0 win.[7][8] Six days later, he scored his first goal for the club against Kerala Blasters which ended in 2–0 win.[9][10]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 29 April 2023[11]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ponferradina | 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 29 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Segunda División | 22 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 15 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 18 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||||
| Ponferradina total | 119 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 1 | ||
| Atlético Astorga (loan) | 2015–16 | Segunda División B | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| Arandina (loan) | 2016–17 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| Odisha | 2022–23 | Indian Super League | 18 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 5[c] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| East Bengal | 2023–24 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6[c] | 1 | — | 24 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 198 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 216 | 5 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Copa del Rey
- ^ Appearance(s) in Super Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
- ^ Appearance(s) in Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage
References
edit- ^ "Saúl Crespo llega cedido al Atlético Astorga" [Saúl Crespo arrives on loan at Atlético Astorga] (in Spanish). León Noticias. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "El canterano Saúl firma con la SD Ponferradina por tres temporadas" [Youth graduate Saúl signs with SD Ponferradina for three seasons] (in Spanish). SD Ponferradina. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Saúl Crespo cedido a la Arandina" [Saúl Crespo loaned to Arandina] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Saúl Crespo renueva su contrato con la SD Ponferradina" [Saúl Crespo renews his contract with SD Ponferradina] (in Spanish). SD Ponferradina. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "El Cádiz remonta a base de golazos" [Cádiz complete a comeback based on screamers] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Saúl signs for OFC". odishafc.com. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ "Half a dozen for Odisha FC to start the campaign!". odishafc.com. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ "NorthEast United 0 – 6 Odisha". the-aiff.com. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Odisha FC beat Kerala Blasters, extend winning run". khelnow.com. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Odisha 2 – 0 Kerala Blasters". the-aiff.com. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Saúl Crespo at Soccerway
External links
edit- Saúl Crespo at BDFutbol
- Saúl Crespo at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- Saúl Crespo at Soccerway