Verza (footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Rabasco.
Verza
Verza with Almería in 2013
Personal information
Full name José Antonio García Rabasco[1]
Date of birth (1986-09-29) 29 September 1986[1]
Place of birth Murcia, Spain
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position Midfielder
Youth career
Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Villarreal B
2003–2005 Villarreal 4 (0)
2005 → Recreativo (loan) 15 (0)
2005–2007 Córdoba 33 (0)
2007 → Orihuela (loan) 18 (4)
2007–2008 Orihuela 34 (2)
2008–2011 Albacete 100 (12)
2011–2015 Almería 145 (15)
2015–2018 Levante 49 (2)
2017–2018 → Almería (loan) 24 (2)
2018–2019 Rayo Majadahonda 24 (2)
2019–2021 Cartagena 24 (2)
2021 Murcia 12 (0)
Total 482 (41)
International career
2002 Spain U17 1 (0)
2004 Spain U19 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Antonio García Rabasco (born 29 September 1986), known as Verza, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

He appeared in 100 La Liga matches across five seasons, totalling 14 goals while representing Villarreal, Almería and Levante. He added 266 games and 19 goals in the Segunda División, appearing for six clubs including the last two.[2]

Club career

Born in Murcia and raised in Orihuela, Province of Alicante, Verza finished his youth career in Villarreal CF's academy, going on to spend two years with the reserves in the lower leagues.[3][4] On 22 June 2003, he made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, playing the last 20 minutes in a 1–4 home loss against Real Betis when he was just 16.[5][4]

In January 2005, Verza was loaned to Segunda División side Recreativo de Huelva until the end of the season.[6] In July, he joined neighbouring Córdoba CF in the Segunda División B.[7]

In January 2007, having been sparingly used by the Andalusians, Verza moved to Orihuela CF on loan,[8] signing permanently in July. After one and a half years with the Valencian club, he joined second-tier Albacete Balompié on a two-year deal.[9]

Verza was an undisputed starter for the Castilla–La Mancha side the following years but, after their relegation in 2011, he terminated his contract[10] and signed with UD Almería from the same league one week later.[11]

Verza appeared in 40 league matches in his second season (plus four in the play-offs), helping the Rojiblancos return to the top flight after a two-year absence. He played his first game in the competition in more than one decade on 19 August 2013, starting in a 2–3 home loss to former side Villarreal,[12] and scored his first goal later that month, from the penalty spot in the 2–2 home draw with Elche CF.[13]

On 8 February 2014, Verza netted twice at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos to help hand Atlético Madrid the second consecutive loss of the campaign, scoring the final 2–0 through a penalty.[14] On 7 January 2015, he scored an own goal and a penalty in the 1–1 home draw against Getafe CF in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.[15]

On 8 June 2015, Verza signed a four-year deal with Levante UD after his contract expired.[16] In August 2017, he returned to Almería by agreeing to a one-year loan.[17]

Verza became a free agent on 29 August 2018,[18] and joined second division team CF Rayo Majadahonda two days later.[19] The following 19 July, after suffering relegation, he signed a two-year contract with third-tier FC Cartagena.[20]

Verza helped Efesé in their promotion to division two in his first season, but terminated his contract on 11 January 2021 due to being rarely used in his second.[21][22] He retired in 2021 aged 34, following a brief spell with Real Murcia CF.[23][24]

Personal life

Verza's father, José (born 1960), was also a footballer, and the former inherited the nickname from the latter. He played mainly in the lower leagues, but made one top-division appearance for Murcia.[4][25]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[26][27]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Villarreal 2002–03 La Liga 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2003–04 3 0 2 0 3[a] 0 — 8 0
2004–05 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 — 1 0
Total 4 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 10 0
Recreativo (loan) 2004–05 Segunda División 15 0 0 0 — — 15 0
Córdoba 2005–06 Segunda División B 25 0 1 0 — — 26 0
2006–07 8 0 1 0 — — 9 0
Total 33 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 35 0
Orihuela (loan) 2006–07 Segunda División B 18 4 0 0 — — 18 4
Orihuela 2007–08 34 2 0 0 — — 34 2
Total 52 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 6
Albacete 2008–09 Segunda División 33 4 1 0 — — 34 4
2009–10 34 2 0 0 — — 34 2
2010–11 33 6 0 0 — — 33 6
Total 100 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 101 12
Almería 2011–12 Segunda División 38 1 3 0 — — 41 1
2012–13 40 2 3 0 — 4[c] 0 47 2
2013–14 La Liga 34 8 0 0 — — 34 8
2014–15 33 4 3 1 — — 36 5
Total 145 15 9 1 0 0 4 0 158 16
Levante 2015–16 La Liga 29 2 2 1 — — 31 3
2016–17 Segunda División 20 0 1 0 — — 21 0
2017–18 La Liga 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 49 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 52 3
Almería (loan) 2017–18 Segunda División 24 2 1 0 — — 25 2
Rayo Majadahonda 2018–19 Segunda División 24 2 0 0 — — 24 2
Cartagena 2019–20 Segunda División B 19 2 0 0 — 1[d] 0 20 2
2020–21 Segunda División 5 0 0 0 — — 5 0
Total 24 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 25 2
Murcia 2020–21 Segunda División B 12 0 0 0 — — 12 0
Career total 482 41 18 2 4 0 5 0 509 43
  1. ^ One appearance in Intertoto Cup, two appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in UEFA Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in La Liga play-offs
  4. ^ Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs

Honours

Villarreal

Almería

Levante

References

  1. ^ a b c "Verza". Diario AS. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  2. ^ De Haro, Victorio (1 October 2021). "Verza espera una llamada atractiva" [Verza waits for an appealing call]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  3. ^ Mateu, I. (23 June 2005). "El agente de Verza quiere que se le revise el contrato al canterano" [Verza's agent wants that youth player have his contract revised]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c García, Dioni (21 June 2014). ""En mis espinilleras llevo grabados los escudos de Beniel y de Orihuela"" ["The shields of Beniel and Orihuela are etched onto my shinpads"]. La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Villarreal 1–4 Betis Sevilla". ESPN Soccernet. 22 June 2003. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  6. ^ Maestre, Juan José (3 February 2005). "Valero y Verza fueron presentados" [Valero and Verza were presented] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  7. ^ "El Córdoba ficha a Juan Navarro, Verza y Jonathan" [Córdoba sign Juan Navarro, Verza and Jonathan]. Diario Córdoba (in Spanish). 22 July 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  8. ^ "El Córdoba cede a Verza al Orihuela" [Córdoba loan Verza to Orihuela]. Marca (in Spanish). 8 January 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Verza ficha por el Albacete" [Verza signs for Albacete]. Marca (in Spanish). 1 July 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Verza rescinde su contrato y Kike se marcha al Tenerife" [Verza terminates his contract and Kike goes to Tenerife]. La Verdad (in Spanish). 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Verza se convierte en el primer refuerzo del Almería" [Verza becomes Almería's first addition]. Marca (in Spanish). 29 June 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Valiant Villarreal open with win". ESPN FC. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Almeria denied first win". ESPN FC. 30 August 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  14. ^ Aldunate, Ramiro (8 February 2014). "Ádiós liderato, hola dudas" [Goodbye first place, hello doubts]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  15. ^ Egea, Pablo (7 January 2015). "Verza deja todo abierto para la vuelta" [Verza leaves everything open for the second leg]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  16. ^ "El Levante UD llega a un principio de acuerdo con Verza para las cuatro próximas temporadas" [Levante UD reach agreement in principle with Verza for the following four seasons] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  17. ^ "El Almería cierra el fichaje de Verza que volverá a vestir de rojiblanco" [Almería complete the signing of Verza who will wear red-and-white again] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Verza se desvincula del Levante" [Verza cuts ties with Levante] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  19. ^ Jiménez, Mayca (31 August 2018). "Verza y Ramírez completan la plantilla del Rayo Majadahonda" [Verza and Ramírez complete the squad of Rayo Majadahonda]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  20. ^ "'Verza' refuerzo de lujo para el centro del campo albinegro" ['Verza' luxury addition for black-and-white midfield] (in Spanish). FC Cartagena. 19 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  21. ^ Moya, Francisco J. (26 December 2020). "FC Cartagena: Cordero y Verza ya saben que deberán irse y el club desconoce el interés del Cádiz por Rubén Castro" [FC Cartagena: Cordero and Verza already know they must go and club is not aware of Cádiz interest in Rubén Castro]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Verza deja de ser jugador del FC Cartagena" [Verza is no longer a FC Cartagena player] (in Spanish). FC Cartagena. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  23. ^ "El Murcia ficha al oriolano Verza, que hace dos semanas dejó el Cartagena" [Murcia sign Orihuela native Verza, who left Cartagena two weeks ago]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 24 January 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  24. ^ Sánchez, José Antonio (25 June 2021). "El Real Murcia descarta a Verza" [Real Murcia discard Verza] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  25. ^ Chilet, V. (9 June 2015). "Un apodo de procedencia paraguaya" [Nickname made in Paraguay]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  26. ^ Verza at BDFutbol
  27. ^ Verza at Soccerway
  28. ^ "Villarreal 0–0 Heerenveen (Aggregate: 2–1)". UEFA. Archived from the original on 6 October 2003. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  29. ^ Ruiz Valero, Álvaro (20 May 2017). "El Levante es campeón de segunda" [Levante are segunda champions] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
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