Playing Career
Valverde was born in Viandar de la Vera, Cáceres, Extremadura. After having made his professional debuts in Segunda División (Deportivo Alavés and Sestao Sport Club) he was transferred to RCD Español in 1986, making his La Liga debut on 31 August in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético de Madrid. In a season which included a second stage he ended with 43 league appearances, scoring seven goals; in his final year he was part of the side that lost the 1988 UEFA Cup on penalties, to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Subsequently Valverde played two years at FC Barcelona, winning a Copa del Rey and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, although he appeared sparingly in the process (only 13 minutes against Lech Poznań in the latter tournament). However, in his second season he netted six goals in only 12 games, including braces in consecutive wins over Sporting de Gijón (2–0) and Valencia CF (2–1).
In 1990 Valverde left for Athletic Bilbao, eliglible for the side although he was born in Extremadura (he moved to the Basque Country still an infant). He played six seasons with the team (from 1992–94 he scored 20 goals in the league) before moving to his final club RCD Mallorca, where he was relatively used as the Balearic Islands outfit achieved top flight promotion, and retired the following summer aged 33; during his time at Athletic, he was nicknamed Txingurri (Basque for ant).
Valverde played once for Spain, appearing 20 minutes in a 2–1 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifier win against Iceland on 10 October 1990, in Seville.
Read more about this topic: Ernesto Valverde
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