Introduction
Diego Ángel Capel Trinidad (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo kaˈpel]; born 16 February 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger.
He made his senior debut with Sevilla at 17, going on to appear in 173 competitive games for the club over the course of seven La Liga seasons (12 goals) and win six major trophies, including two UEFA Cups. In 2011, he signed for Sporting in Portugal.
Capel earned 60 caps for Spain all youth categories comprised, representing the under-21s in two European Championships.
Club career
Sevilla
Groomed in Sevilla FC's youth system (after a brief spell at FC Barcelona), Capel was born in Albox, Almería, and he made his first professional appearance aged only 16, playing three minutes in a 2–1 home win over Atlético Madrid on 24 October 2004. In the following seasons he would alternate between the A and B-teams, playing four further games in 2005–06 with the main squad; on 1 December 2005 he appeared 18 minutes in the Andalusians' 3–1 win against Vitória de Guimarães also at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, in an eventually victorious campaign in the UEFA Cup.
Capel became first-choice in the 2007–08 season due to the death of another left-footed winger, Antonio Puerta, in late August. He scored his first goal in La Liga against Barcelona on 9 February 2008, in a 1–1 home draw. The previous month, he had netted in a Copa del Rey tie, against the same opponent (also 1–1 and in Seville).
In June 2008, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur were linked with a ₤12.5 million bid for Capel. He admitted he would consider leaving Sevilla to "grow as a footballer", if the clubs could agree on a signing fee, but nothing came of it. Also at the end of the league campaign, Barcelona-based daily Sport further speculated that Real Madrid were considering Capel as a potential replacement for the recently departed Robinho, but no move ever materialized.
In the 2009–10 campaign, Capel lost his position to Argentine Diego Perotti, but still managed to feature in 29 matches – one goal in a 5–1 win at Racing de Santander– as Sevilla edged RCD Mallorca for the fourth position, with the subsequent Champions League qualification; additionally, on 19 May 2010, he opened the score at the Camp Nou, in a 2–0 win against Atlético for the final of the domestic cup.
Capel appeared again regularly for Sevilla in 2010–11, playing in 27 league games and starting in 17 as the team finished in fifth position.
Sporting
On 18 July 2011, Capel's uncle Carioca acknowledged negotiations between Sevilla and Sporting Clube de Portugal for the transfer of the player for €6 million and a five-year contract, although the fee agreed was eventually €3.5 million with a €30 million release clause. He made his debut for his new club on the 30th, playing the second half of a 0–3 friendly home loss to Valencia CF.
Capel scored his first goal for Sporting on 2 October 2011, in a 1–0 Primeira Liga away win against Vitória de Guimarães. On the 24th, for the same competition, he netted twice in a 6–1 home success over Gil Vicente FC, in what was the Lions' ninth straight official win.
On 19 April 2012, Capel scored his seventh official goal of the season, helping hosts Sporting come from behind to win it 2–1 against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semi-finals first leg.
Genoa / Anderlecht
On 18 August 2015, as his minutes at Sporting were dwindling dramatically, Capel signed for Genoa C.F.C. in Italy for a reported fee of €1.3 million, as the former retained 50% of his rights regarding any future transfer fee the latter received. The following 4 August 2016 he switched countries again, signing a two-year deal with the option for a third at R.S.C. Anderlecht in the Belgian First Division A; in the winter transfer window the former were looking to transfer him, and he was eventually released in August 2017 having made 25 competitive appearances and scored two goals.
International career
After having helped Spain win the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Capel played in the 2007 FIFA World Cup with the under-20 team, scoring in injury time in the first game against Uruguay for the final 2–2. He helped the country progress to the quarter-finals where they were knocked out by the Czech Republic, and subsequently moved to the under-21s.
On 20 August 2008, Capel made his debut for the senior side, playing the second half of a friendly with Denmark and setting up two goals in the 3–0 away win.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 29 August 2017
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sevilla | 2004–05 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 32 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 41 | 3 | |||
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 29 | 1 | 7 | 3 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 42 | 4 | |||
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 27 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Total | 126 | 6 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 173 | 12 | ||
| Sporting | 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 | — | 49 | 7 | |
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 3 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| Total | 99 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 15 | ||
| Genoa | 2015–16 | Serie A | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |||||
| Anderlecht | 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Career total | 261 | 17 | 33 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 57 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 361 | 29 | ||
Honours
Club
- Sevilla
- Copa del Rey: 2009–10
- Supercopa de España: 2007; Runner-up 2010
- UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
- UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2007
- Sporting
- Taça de Portugal: 2014–15; Runner-up 2011–12
- Anderlecht
- Belgian First Division A: 2016–17
International
- Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2011
- Spain U19
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2006
Individual
- SJPF Player of the Month: October 2011