Saúl Crespo

Saúl Crespo Prieto (born 23 July 1996), commonly known as Saúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club East Bengal.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Crespo and the second or maternal family name is Prieto.

Saúl Crespo
Personal information
Full name Saúl Crespo Prieto
Date of birth (1996-07-23) 23 July 1996
Place of birth Ponferrada, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Central Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 East Bengal
Youth career
2010–2015 Ponferradina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2022 Ponferradina 119 (1)
2015–2016 → Atlético Astorga (loan) 25 (1)
2016–2017 → Arandina (loan) 36 (0)
2022–2023 Odisha 18 (0)
2023– East Bengal 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:19, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Saúl was born in Ponferrada, Castile and León, and joined SD Ponferradina's youth setup in 2010. On 12 August 2015, after finishing his formation, he was loaned to Segunda División B side Atlético Astorga FC for the season.[1]

Saúl made his senior debut on 19 September 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 away draw against UD Logroñés. On 16 September, he signed a professional contract with Ponfe for three seasons.[2]

Saúl scored his first goal on 10 April 2016, netting the equalizer in a 1–2 loss at CD Guijuelo; he finished the campaign with 25 appearances, as his team suffered relegation. On 8 August, he moved to fellow third division side Arandina CF, also in a temporary deal.[3]

Saúl returned to his parent club in July 2017, and was definitely assigned to the main squad. On 14 June of the following year, he renewed his contract with the club,[4] and contributed with one goal in 30 appearances in 2018–19 as his side returned to Segunda División after three years.

Saúl made his professional debut on 18 August 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute for Yuri de Souza in a 1–3 away loss against Cádiz CF.[5]

Odisha

In July 2022, Saúl moved abroad for the first time, signing a one-year contract with Indian Super League club Odisha.[6]

On 17 August, Saúl made his debut for the club against NorthEast United in the Durand Cup, in a thumping 6–0 win.[7][8] Six days later, he scored his first goal for the club against Kerala Blasters which ended in 2–0 win.[9][10]

Career statistics

Club
As of 29 April 2023[11]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ponferradina 2017–18 Segunda División B 2903[lower-alpha 1]0——320
2018–19 35100——351
2019–20 Segunda División 2202[lower-alpha 1]0——240
2020–21 1501[lower-alpha 1]0——160
2021–22 1803[lower-alpha 1]0——210
Ponferradina total 11919000001281
Atlético Astorga (loan) 2015–16 Segunda División B 25100——251
Arandina (loan) 2016–17 36000——360
Odisha 2022–23 Indian Super League 1803[lower-alpha 2]05[lower-alpha 3]31[lower-alpha 4]0273
East Bengal 2023–24 0000——00
Career total 198212053102165
  1. Appearance(s) in Copa del Rey
  2. Appearance(s) in Super Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
  4. Appearance(s) in Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage

References
  1. "Saúl Crespo llega cedido al Atlético Astorga" [Saúl Crespo arrives on loan at Atlético Astorga] (in Spanish). León Noticias. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. "El canterano Saúl firma con la SD Ponferradina por tres temporadas" [Youth graduate Saúl signs with SD Ponferradina for three seasons] (in Spanish). SD Ponferradina. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. "Saúl Crespo cedido a la Arandina" [Saúl Crespo loaned to Arandina] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  4. "Saúl Crespo renueva su contrato con la SD Ponferradina" [Saúl Crespo renews his contract with SD Ponferradina] (in Spanish). SD Ponferradina. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. "El Cádiz remonta a base de golazos" [Cádiz complete a comeback based on screamers] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  6. "Saúl signs for OFC". odishafc.com. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  7. "Half a dozen for Odisha FC to start the campaign!". odishafc.com. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  8. "NorthEast United 0 – 6 Odisha". the-aiff.com. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  9. "Odisha FC beat Kerala Blasters, extend winning run". khelnow.com. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  10. "Odisha 2 – 0 Kerala Blasters". the-aiff.com. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  11. Saúl Crespo at Soccerway
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