Spanish footballer
In this
Spanish name , the first or paternal
surname is
López and the second or maternal family name is
Silva .
David López Silva (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið ˈlopeθ] ; born 9 October 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for La Liga club Girona .
He spent most of his career in two spells at Espanyol , making over 225 appearances. He also played for two years with Napoli in Italy's Serie A .
Club career
Espanyol
Born in Barcelona , Catalonia , López finished his youth career with local RCD Espanyol , and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2008–09 season , in Tercera División . In August 2009 he was loaned to Terrassa FC of the Segunda División B ,[ 2] being a regular starter but suffering relegation .
López returned to Espanyol in June 2010, and made his main squad – and La Liga – debut on 26 September, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 home win against CA Osasuna .[ 3] He continued to appear more regularly with the B side, however.
On 11 August 2011, López was loaned to CD Leganés in the third tier.[ 4] A year later, he joined Segunda División club SD Huesca on the same basis.[ 5]
López returned to Espanyol on 16 June 2013 after the Pericos recalled him.[ 6] He scored his first goal in the top flight on 24 August, his team's first in a 3–1 home victory over Valencia CF .[ 7]
Napoli
López with Napoli in 2015
On 31 August 2014, SSC Napoli confirmed López' signing on a five-year contract.[ 8] He made his Serie A debut on 21 September, playing the full 90 minutes and being booked in a 1–0 defeat at Udinese Calcio .[ 9] He won the Supercoppa Italiana on 22 December in Qatar; he made a mistake for Carlos Tevez of Juventus FC to open the scoring, though his side won on a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw.[ 10]
López scored his first competitive goal for the Italians (from 39 appearances) on 7 May 2015, putting his team ahead in an eventual 1–1 home draw against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League .[ 11]
Espanyol return
On 26 August 2016, López returned to Espanyol on a four-year deal.[ 12] During most of his second spell he was utilised by manager Quique Sánchez Flores as a central defender [ 13] [ 14] and, from that position, he scored in a 4–1 away loss to FC Barcelona in the Derbi barceloní on 18 December.[ 15]
In August 2018, López agreed to an extension until 2023.[ 16] He scored a top-flight best of four goals in the 2019–20 campaign , but his team were relegated;[ 17] [ 18] this started with the opener on 4 January in a 2–2 draw with Barcelona at the RCDE Stadium .[ 19] On 23 February, he was sent off for the first time for the club, for two yellow cards in the opening 25 minutes of the 2–1 defeat at Real Valladolid .[ 20]
López remained a regular as Espanyol won promotion as champions in May 2021.[ 21] He scored once that season, equalising in a 3–1 win at CD Castellón on 26 March.[ 22]
On 10 June 2022, López left as his contract was expiring. He featured in 237 official matches, scoring 12 times.[ 23]
Girona
López remained in the top flight and his native region on 25 July 2022, on a two-year contract at Girona FC .[ 24] In December 2023, aged 34, he extended his link to the club until June 2026.[ 25] On 2 October, López scored the club's first ever international goal when he opened the scoreline in a 2–3 lost to Dutch-side Feyenoord .[ 26]
International career
López was never capped by Spain at any level. He played one game for the unofficial Catalonia team on 30 December 2013, as a substitute in a 4–1 win over Cape Verde .[ 27]
Career statistics
As of match played 26 January 2025 [ 28] [ 29]
Honours
Napoli
Espanyol
References
^ a b c "David López" . Diario AS . Retrieved 21 April 2022 .
^ "El RCD Espanyol cede al jugador del filial David López al Terrassa" [RCD Espanyol loan reserve team player David López to Terrassa] (in Spanish). Join Futbol. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014 .
^ Giraldo, Javier (26 September 2010). "El canterano Álvaro Vázquez desmonta a Osasuna" [Youth player Álvaro Vázquez brings Osasuna down]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022 .
^ "El Espanyol cede a David López al Leganés" [Espanyol loan David López to Leganés]. Marca (in Spanish). 11 August 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2014 .
^ "El Huesca ficha al mediocentro David López Silva" [Huesca sign central midfielder David López Silva]. Marca (in Spanish). 14 June 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2014 .
^ "El Espanyol recupera a David López" [Espanyol reclaim David López]. Marca (in Spanish). 16 June 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014 .
^ "Espanyol battle back for victory" . ESPN FC . 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014 .
^ "David Lopez moves to Napoli" . S.S.C. Napoli. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014 .
^ "Udinese 1–0 Napoli" . BBC Sport . 21 September 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2015 .
^ a b Voakes, Kris (22 December 2014). "Under-par Juventus finally punished as Napoli claims the Supercoppa" . Goal . Retrieved 3 November 2021 .
^ "Dnipro deny dominant Napoli" . UEFA. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2022 .
^ "David López, welcome home!" . RCD Espanyol. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016 .
^ "David López: "No esperaba jugar de central" " [David López: "I did not expect to play as stopper"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 30 September 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016 .
^ Martínez Moriana, Andrea (20 November 2016). "David López: "Una victoria nos daría mucha confianza" " [David López: "We would grow significantly in confidence with a win"] (in Spanish). Vavel . Retrieved 21 December 2016 .
^ Juárez, María Carmen (18 December 2016). "David López: "El gol marcado, un golpe de fe" " [David López: "The scored goal, a strike of faith"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2016 .
^ Molero, Iván (1 August 2018). "Oficial: El Espanyol amarra a David López hasta 2023" [Official: Espanyol tie David López to them until 2023]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 November 2021 .
^ "Cuarto gol de David López y cuarto de cabeza" [Fourth goal by David López and fourth with his head]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2022 .
^ Besa, Ramon (8 July 2020). "El Barça desciende al Espanyol" [Barça relegate Espanyol]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022 .
^ Dunne, Robbie (4 January 2020). "Espanyol salvage point against Barcelona with late Wu Lei strike" . Diario AS . Retrieved 3 November 2021 .
^ Munday, Billy (23 February 2020). "Real Valladolid hand defeat to ten-man Espanyol" . Marca . Retrieved 3 November 2021 .
^ a b "El Espanyol cae como campeón ante un Alcorcón salvado" [Espanyol fall as champions against saved Alcorcón]. Sport (in Spanish). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021 .
^ López de Vicente, Sergio (26 March 2021). "Darder, el gran showman" [Darder, the great showman]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 November 2021 .
^ "David López to leave RCD Espanyol" . RCD Espanyol. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022 .
^ "David López, experiència per a la línia defensiva" [David López, experience to the defensive lines] (in Catalan). Girona FC. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022 .
^ "David López amplia el seu contracte fins a la temporada 2025–2026" [David López extends his contract until the 2025–2026 season] (in Catalan). Girona FC. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023 .
^ "Feyenoord edge luckless Girona in five-goal thriller" . Reuters . 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024 .
^ "Cataluña golea a Cabo Verde entre gritos de "independencia" " [Catalonia thrash Cape Verde amidst shouts of "independence"]. Marca (in Spanish). 30 December 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2021 .
^ David López at Soccerway
^ David López at FBref.com
External links