Koke
The one-club captain who rose from Atlético Madrid's youth system to become the club's all-time appearance leader.
via Wikipedia: Koke (footballer, born 1992) · see source
Jorge Resurrección Merodio, known as Koke, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains La Liga club Atlético Madrid. Born in Madrid on 8 January 1992, he arrived at Atlético's youth system at age eight and has spent his entire senior career with the club since his first-team debut in 2009. Koke won the 2013 European Championship with Spain's under-21 team and made his senior debut that same year, representing Spain at three World Cups and two European Championships.
Quick Facts
- Full name
- Jorge Resurrección Merodio
- Born
- 8 January 1992
- Birthplace
- Madrid, Spain
- Height
- 1.76 m / 5 ft 9 in
- Position
- Midfielder
- Current club
- Atlético Madrid
Facts from the source article.
Background
Koke made his first-team debut on 19 September 2009, coming on as a substitute for Paulo Assunção in a 5–2 away loss to FC Barcelona. He scored his first league goal on 26 February 2011, a 47th-minute header from a Diego Forlán cross in a 2–2 home draw against Sevilla FC. Under Diego Simeone, Koke became an essential midfield presence, appearing in 13 matches during the 2011–12 Europa League run including a 90th-minute substitute appearance in the 3–0 final win over Athletic Bilbao.
He started in 38 of 48 official appearances in 2012–13, playing 112 minutes in the Copa del Rey final won against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. On 9 April 2014, Koke scored his first Champions League goal, the only goal of a quarter-final against Barcelona to send Atlético to the semi-finals for the first time since 1974. He finished the 2013–14 league season as the player with the second-most assists (14) as Atlético won the title for the first time in 18 years.
After Diego Godín's departure in summer 2019, Koke became team captain. He broke Adelardo Rodríguez's club appearance record on 1 October 2022 in his 554th match, a 2–0 win at Sevilla. On 12 February 2023, he appeared in his 402nd top-division game, again surpassing Adelardo, in a 1–0 away defeat of RC Celta de Vigo. Koke featured in his 100th Champions League match on 26 November 2024 in a 6–0 victory at AC Sparta Prague.
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