José Izquierdo (footballer, born 1992)


José Heriberto Izquierdo Mena is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Brighton & Hove Albion in the and for the Colombia national team.

Club career

Izquierdo started playing football at an early age, starting out as a goalkeeper before moving outfield into a midfield/winger position. His parents initially wanted him to become a tennis player, however Izquierdo "constantly preferred to kick tennis balls with his feet rather than use rackets, and his teacher promptly advised him to switch to his natural sport". Izquierdo would subsequently abandon football for several years following his brother's death in a traffic accident, before eventually returning to join Deportivo Pereira.
Izquierdo joined Once Caldas in 2013 from Deportivo Pereira, and moved to Club Brugge one year later.

Club Brugge

In his first season with Club Brugge, the 2014–15 season, Izquierdo scored 13 Belgian Pro League goals for the club, and also made six UEFA Europa League appearances as Brugge finished top of their group in the group stage of the competition, advancing through to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Ukrainian club FC Dnipro 1–0 on aggregate. Izquierdo started in both legs of the quarter final.
Izquierdo won the Belgian Pro League with Club Brugge in the 2015–16 season, finishing top of the table in the regular season and winning the Championship play-offs with the club. He contributed 7 league goals in 24 Pro League appearances, and also made several appearances in Brugge's UEFA Europa League campaign. He was also the winner of the Belgian Golden Shoe award for 2016 in recognition of his performances throughout the season at Brugge.
Throughout the 2016–17 season, Izquierdo made 32 appearances for Club Brugge, scoring 14 Belgian First Division A goals to help them finish second in the league's regular season, these including braces against Oostende and Mouscron, as well as a hat-trick against Charleroi on 5 May 2017. He also scored one UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–1 defeat to English champions Leicester City on 22 November 2016. Izquierdo's goal against Leicester was described as "a thumping finish following a terrific solo run".

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 10 August 2017, it was announced that newly-promoted Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion had agreed a club record transfer fee with Club Brugge for Izquierdo, reported to be around £13.5 million. He will join Brighton subject to a medical, international clearance and a successful work permit application. Izquierdo passed his Brighton medical on 12 August 2017, with his work permit hearing scheduled for the following Wednesday. On 16 August 2017, Club Brugge confirmed that Izquierdo's work permit had been granted and that he would be joining Brighton. He was officially unveiled as a Brighton player on 21 August, taking the number 19 shirt and signing a four-year contract with the Albion.
Izqueirdo made his Premier League debut for Brighton on 26 August 2017, coming on as a second half substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Watford.
On 20 October 2017, Izquierdo scored his first goal for Brighton in a 3–0 away win against West Ham United, a spectacular curled effort from distance. He scored his second league goal of the season on 20 November, the equalising goal in a 2–2 home draw against Stoke City.
On 1 January 2018, Izquierdo provided two assists in Brighton's 2–2 home draw against AFC Bournemouth, winning the Man of the Match award.
Izquierdo has been hit by many injuries during his time in Sussex and as a result of his injuries didn't play any games for The Seagulls in the 2019–20 season.

International career

Izquierdo received his first callup to the Colombia national team for friendlies in June 2017 against Spain and Cameroon. He scored his first goal at international level in the friendly against Cameroon on 13 June 2017, the fourth goal in a 4–0 victory.
In June 2018 he was named in Colombia’s 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His only game was where Colombia lost to Japan 2–1 in their opening group game.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.13 June 2017Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, Getafe, Spain4–04–0Friendly

Honours

Club Brugge
Individual