Javi Varas · Biography

The first trophy of Javier Varas Herrera’s career, known as Javi Varas, came in the 2006-07 season: Sevilla Atlético topped their Segunda División B group and then won the promotion final against Burgos. Varas, a goalkeeper born in Seville on 10 September 1982, made 15 league appearances that year. Standing 1.81 metres tall, he spent almost his entire career in Spanish football, with spells at Sevilla FC, Celta de Vigo, Real Valladolid, UD Las Palmas, Granada CF and SD Huesca.

Pino Montano and amateur football

He grew up in the Seville neighbourhood of Pino Montano and took his first steps at the local sports school. From there he moved to Peña Sevillista Pablo Blanco and then to AD Nervión, with whom he played in the national youth league and in Primera Regional. His path was that of a goalkeeper from Andalusia’s grassroots game, far from the big academies. In 2003-04 he kept goal for AD San José in Regional Preferente, and in 2004-05 he was loaned to CD Alcalá in the Spanish third tier, where he made 20 league appearances.

Sevilla’s reserve team

From 2005 he settled at Sevilla Atlético, the club’s reserve side. Over three seasons he played 81 league matches there, plus several promotion play-off ties. The 2006-07 campaign brought promotion to the Spanish second division, a level the reserves had not reached for more than four decades; in 2007-08 Varas played 41 league games in the second tier. During those years he trained occasionally with the first team, where Andrés Palop was the starting goalkeeper.

Debut and a starting role at Sevilla

In 2008 he was promoted to the first team as Palop’s understudy after David Cobeño’s departure. He made his La Liga debut on 17 January 2009, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Numancia. In 2009-10 he covered for an injured Palop for a month and made his UEFA Champions League debut in a win away to VfB Stuttgart. That season he was part of the squad that won the 2010 Copa del Rey against Atlético de Madrid. Midway through 2010-11 he took over as first choice, playing 21 league games as Sevilla finished fifth.

Under Marcelino he kept his place in 2011-12. On 22 October 2011, at Camp Nou, Sevilla drew 0-0 with Barcelona and Varas saved a stoppage-time penalty taken by Lionel Messi. He was named man of the match, and both Marcelino and Pep Guardiola singled out his performance afterwards. He finished that season with 25 league appearances.

Loan to Celta de Vigo

In July 2012 Sevilla loaned him for one season, with no purchase option, to Celta de Vigo, newly promoted to La Liga. At Balaídos he was the regular starter, playing 35 league matches in 2012-13. The Galician side’s survival went down to the final matchday on 1 June 2013, and they secured it with a 1-0 win over Espanyol, finishing seventeenth.

Europa League and leaving Sevilla

Back at Sevilla for 2013-14, with Beto in goal for league games, Varas made six La Liga appearances and nine in the Europa League. Sevilla won the 2014 Europa League; in the final in Turin he was an unused substitute. In all, he played 60 league matches for Sevilla’s first team between 2008 and 2014.

Valladolid, Las Palmas and Granada

On 25 August 2014 he terminated his Sevilla contract and signed a one-year deal with Real Valladolid in the Spanish second division, where he played 38 league games. On 12 July 2015 he joined UD Las Palmas, newly promoted to La Liga, on a two-year contract. He made 56 league appearances for the Canary Islands club between 2015 and 2017, helping them stay up in two consecutive top-flight seasons.

As a free agent, he signed a two-year deal with Granada CF on 13 June 2017, returning to Andalusia and to the second tier. He played all 38 league games of the 2017-18 season and left the club in 2018.

Huesca and retirement

After several months without a club, SD Huesca signed him on 19 February 2019 until the end of the 2018-19 La Liga season, although he did not play a competitive match for the Aragonese side. His league career ended at 328 appearances across all divisions. He announced his retirement from professional football on 22 October 2019.