Javi Lara


Javier "Javi" Lara Grande is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for UD Ibiza.

Club career

Born in Montoro, Córdoba, Lara graduated from local Córdoba CF's youth setup, and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2003–04 season, in the Tercera División. After loan stints in Segunda División B with CD Villanueva, Real Unión and Écija Balompié, he moved to another reserve team, UD Almería B, in August 2007.
In the summer of 2008, Lara joined RSD Alcalá also of the fourth division. On 20 July 2009 he signed a two-year contract with Elche CF, in Segunda División. He played his first match as a professional on 3 September 2009, starting and featuring the full 90 minutes in 2–3 away loss against FC Cartagena for the campaign's Copa del Rey; he made his league debut three days later, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–4 loss at CD Numancia.
On 29 January 2010, after being sparingly used by the Andalusians, Lara was loaned to CD Alcoyano until June. He then moved to Valencia CF's B-side in January 2011 after being six months without a club, following which he competed in division three with Lucena CF and Alcoyano.
On 17 July 2013, Lara signed a one-year deal with SD Ponferradina. On 24 June of the following year he moved to SD Eibar, freshly promoted to La Liga. He made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 24 August 2014, starting and netting the game's only through a free kick in a win against Real Sociedad at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium.
Lara moved abroad at the age of nearly 30, joining Atlético de Kolkata in the Indian Super League on 17 July 2015. He scored his first goal for the team on 13 October in their first home game of the season, a 2–1 win over Kerala Blasters FC with Pelé in attendance at the Salt Lake Stadium.
In November 2015, after being ruled out of the season due to an injury, Lara was consequently released and replaced by countryman Jorge Alonso. On 2 February of the following year, he returned to his home country after agreeing to a short-term deal with CD Tenerife.
On 12 August 2016, Lara returned to India and Atlético Kolkata. On 10 January 2017, he signed for Córdoba until 30 June.
Lara returned to Spain in August 2019, with the 33-year-old joining UD Ibiza for two seasons as a free agent.

Club statistics