Adrián López · Biography

On 26 May 2012 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Adrián López Álvarez came on at half-time in a Spain national team friendly against Serbia. In the 64th minute he headed in a goal on his senior debut, and he later won a penalty; Spain won 2-0. Born on 8 January 1988 in Teverga, Asturias, he played as a forward. He won two caps for Spain and scored one goal. At club level he played for Deportivo, Atlético de Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Osasuna.

Early years in Asturias and the move to Riazor

He came through the youth ranks at Club Deportivo Covadonga and Real Oviedo. He made his Oviedo debut in the Spanish third tier, Segunda División B, in 2005-06 under Antonio Rivas. In the summer of 2006 he joined Deportivo de La Coruña and moved up to La Liga. His first goal in the top flight came on 31 March 2007 at Camp Nou, although FC Barcelona won 2-1. It was his only league goal that season. In 2008 he went on loan to Deportivo Alavés, where he scored three goals. He spent 2008-09 on loan at Málaga and scored three goals in 28 matches. He returned to A Coruña in 2009 and stayed until the club were relegated in 2011.

A youth international who scored goals

At the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, he scored a hat-trick against Jordan on 7 July and finished the tournament with five goals. Spain went out in the quarter-finals, and he won the Silver Shoe. He played at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Sweden without scoring. The 2011 edition in Denmark went differently: two goals against the Czech Republic, one against Ukraine and, in the semi-final against Belarus, a late equaliser and another goal in extra time in a 3-1 win. Spain won the title. Adrián was the top scorer with five goals and was named in the Team of the Tournament. In 2012 he went to the London Olympics as one of the permitted over-age players, and Spain went out in the group stage.

Four trophies with Atlético de Madrid

Atlético de Madrid signed him on a free transfer on 19 July 2011. He made his Europa League debut on 28 July and his league debut on 28 August, against Osasuna. His first league goal for Atlético came on 18 September against Racing de Santander. He scored 11 goals in that Europa League campaign, and Atlético won the competition on 9 May 2012 after beating Athletic Club 3-0 in the final in Bucharest. A few months later he won the 2012 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea, setting up a goal for Falcao. In the 2013 Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid he came on in extra time. In May 2014 he played in the match that clinched the 2013-14 La Liga title, replacing the injured Diego Costa. That same season Atlético lost the Champions League final. He left the club having played more than 140 matches and scored 26 goals in all competitions.

Porto, Villarreal and a return to Deportivo

On 12 July 2014 he signed a five-year contract with Porto, who paid Atlético €11 million for 60% of his economic rights. He scored in the Champions League against BATE Borisov. Even so, on 31 August 2015 he joined Villarreal on a season-long loan and made his debut against Granada. In January 2017 he returned to Villarreal, again on loan, for the rest of the 2016-17 season. On 11 August 2017 Deportivo announced that he was coming back to Riazor, also on loan. He scored nine league goals, but the Galician club were relegated in 2018.

A last spell in Portugal, then Osasuna and Málaga

Back at Porto, he won the 2018 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. On 19 October that year he scored four goals in a 6-0 Taça de Portugal win away to Vila Real. He finished that season with six goals in 25 matches and left Porto with seven goals in 50 matches in total. On 30 July 2019 he joined Osasuna on a free transfer. In two seasons in Pamplona he played 46 competitive matches, 43 in the league and three in the cup, and he left the club in 2021. His last club was Málaga, where he returned on 31 March 2022, thirteen years after his loan spell. He played two matches before the end of the season.

From the pitch to the dugout

After hanging up his boots, he started coaching at Rayo Vallecano. In February 2024 he joined Íñigo Pérez's coaching staff there as an assistant. Villarreal hired Pérez in June 2026, and Adrián returned to the club where he had played on loan in 2015-16 and 2016-17. In 2026 he became Villarreal's assistant manager.