José Ángel Pozo

José Ángel Pozo la Rosa (born 15 March 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Rayo Vallecano.

José Ángel Pozo
Personal information
Full name José Ángel Pozo la Rosa[1]
Date of birth (1996-03-15) 15 March 1996
Place of birth Fuengirola, Spain
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Rayo Vallecano
Number 22
Youth career
Fuengirola
2007–2012 Real Madrid
2012–2014 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Manchester City 3 (0)
2015–2018 Almería 104 (6)
2018– Rayo Vallecano 98 (9)
2022 → Al Ahli SC (loan) 9 (4)
International career
2012 Spain U16 2 (1)
2011–2013 Spain U17 8 (3)
2014 Spain U18 3 (0)
2014 Spain U19 2 (0)
2018 Spain U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 September 2023
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pozo and the second or maternal family name is La Rosa.

Club career

Early career

Born in Fuengirola, Málaga, Pozo started his football career at UD Fuengirola Los Boliches and was scouted by Real Madrid at the age of 11 to play for its youth set-up.[2] He played for Real Madrid for five years before Manchester City paid £2.4 million[3][4] to sign him in early 2012.[1] The deal also brought over Pozo's younger brother Iker to play for Manchester City at academy level.[2]

Manchester City

Playing for the English club's under-18s side, his first full season in England was impressive, netting him a nomination for Academy Player of the Year[5] but his second season was cut short early by an ankle injury which limited him to just nine appearances for 2013–14.[6] Nevertheless, he made a strong recovery and rejoined the Elite Development Side under Patrick Vieira, where he rapidly drew attention,[7] earning himself the label of "Mini-Messi".[8]

Pozo's first exposure to first team football came on 24 September 2014, when injuries to squad mates Sergio Agüero and Stevan Jovetić left him as the club's second most senior striker for the club's Football League Cup third round match at home against Sheffield Wednesday. Named as a substitute amidst a flurry of national press attention following comments by manager Manuel Pellegrini on the possibility of his appearing,[7][9] Pozo was brought on in the 64th minute for Yaya Touré, with City already 4–0 up against ten men, making his first senior appearance for the club. He recorded his first senior goal in the 88th minute, the sixth of a 7–0 win.[10]

Pozo made his Premier League debut on 3 December 2014 against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Samir Nasri in a 4–1 win.[11] On 13 December, Pozo made his first start for Manchester City, in a 1–0 away win over Leicester City. He had been promoted from the substitutes' bench after Edin Džeko was injured during warm-up.[12]

Almería

On 31 August 2015, Pozo moved to UD Almería of his native Andalusia on a five-year contract.[13] On 6 September he made his debut for the club, coming on as a late substitute for Eldin Hadžić in a 2–1 home win against CA Osasuna; he also scored the winner in the 88th minute.[14]

On 2 December 2015, Pozo scored the only goal for his team in a 3–1 home loss against Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey.

Rayo Vallecano

On 27 July 2018, Pozo signed a five-year contract with La Liga side Rayo Vallecano.[15] He made his debut for the club on 19 August, starting in a 4–1 home loss against Sevilla FC.[16]

On 5 January 2022, Pozo renewed his contract with Rayo until 2024, and joined Al Ahli SC on loan for the remainder of 2021–22 Qatar Stars League season.[17]

Career statistics
As of 5 January 2022[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City 2014–15[19] Premier League 3000001[lower-alpha 1]141
Almería 2015–16[20] Segunda División 29441——315
2016–17[21] Segunda División 36000——360
2017–18[22] Segunda División 39200——392
Total 10464100001087
Rayo Vallecano 2018–19[23] La Liga 29320——313
2019–20[24] Segunda División 23331——264
2020–21[25] Segunda División 32320—00343
2021–22 La Liga 5021—0071
Total 8999200009811
Career total 19615133001121019
  1. Appearance(s) in Football League Cup

References
  1. "Jose Angel Pozo: Forward". mcfc.co.uk. October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. "Man City U21 watch: The rapid Spaniard smashing goals in for fun". TalkSport. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  3. "Manchester City snap up Jose Angel Pozo in bargain deal". Daily Express. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  4. "Pellegrini could hand 'Mini Messi' debut". ESPN. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  5. "Man City 7 0 Sheff Wed". BBC. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  6. "Five facts about Manchester City's Jose Angel Pozo". HITC. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  7. "Pellegrini could hand 'Mini Messi' debut". ESPN. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  8. "Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini considers debut for 'Mini Messi' against Sheffield Wednesday". Daily Telegraph. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  9. "Pozo in line for Manchester City debut". Manchester Evening News. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  10. "PHOTO: Jose Pozo scores on debut for Manchester City". HITC. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  11. "Sunderland 1-4 Manchester City". BBC Sport. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  12. "Leicester 0 City 1". mcfc.co.uk. 13 December 2014. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  13. Sherlock, Harry (31 August 2015). "Official: Pozo joins Almeria from Manchester City". Goal.com. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  14. "Gran remontada del Almería en un partido vibrante" [Great comeback from Almería in an exciting match] (in Spanish). Marca. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  15. "José Ángel Pozo nuevo jugador del Rayo" [José Ángel Pozo new player of Rayo] (in Spanish). Rayo Vallecano. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  16. "André Silva y el Sevilla baila" [André Silva and Sevilla ball] (in Spanish). Marca. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  17. "Pozo renueva con el Rayo hasta 2024 y se marcha cedido al Al-Ahli Sports de Qatar" [Pozo renews with Rayo until 2024 and moves out on loan to Al-Ahli Sports from Qatar] (in Spanish). Unión Rayo. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  18. José Ángel Pozo at Soccerway
  19. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  20. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  21. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  22. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  23. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  24. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  25. "Games played by José Ángel Pozo in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
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