Personal Information
Full Name | Jorge Resurrección Merodio |
Date of Birth | January 8, 1992 |
Nationality | Spanish |
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) |
Role | Midfielder |
Koke Videos
Koke: A Brief Biography
Koke is a Spanish professional footballer who was born on 8 January 1992 in Madrid, Spain. He plays for the Spain national football team and the Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
His primary position is in the midfield and due to his ability to play with both feet, he can be deployed as right, left or center midfielder.
He has over 300 appearances for his club.
Background
At a very young age of 8 years, he made his way into the Atletico Madrid youth side. He was a young prospect of the club since the year 2000. He trained with the team for 8 years upto 2008. It was a breakthrough year for Koke.
He got selected in the Atletico Madrid B side in 2008. He went on to make 66 appearances for them and scored 7 goals in his 3-year stint. The same year, he also got the opportunity to be a part of the Spain U16 side.
Debut
Koke made his international debut in the senior team on 14 August 2013 against Ecuador in a friendly game. He came onto the field in the 89th minute replacing Santi Cazorla. Spain beat Ecuador 2-0.
Before making his debut for the senior side, he had already played for the U16, U17, U19, U20, U21 and U23 national sides.
Koke has made 36 appearances for his country and has 5 assists to his name.
Rise to glory
On 9 April 2014, in a quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League, Koke scored the lone goal in the match against Barcelona. This took his side to the semis. Atletico Madrid has reached the semis in 2014 after a long gap of 40 years. This was why the goal was more special.
Koke finished the domestic season with second highest number of assists. Atletico Madrid went on to win the title. He secured his place in the side with some amazing performances in that season.
Club career
Koke has been a part of Atletico Madrid since his junior days. He made his club debut on 19 September 2009 against FC Barcelona. Koke played the second half as Barcelona won the game 5-2. He scored his first league goal on 26 February 2011 against Sevilla FC. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Since 2009, Koke has made 359 appearances for Madrid. He has 32 goals and 88 assists to his name. He has won the La-Liga 2013-14, Copa del Rey 2012-13, Supercopa de Espana 2014, UEFA Europa League 2011-12 and UEFA Super Cup 2012 with Atletico Madrid.
Records
In 389 professional appearances for his club and country, Koke has scored 32 goals and has 93 assists under his belt.
He has been a part of the La Liga Squad of the Season 2013-14, UEFA Squad of the Season 2015-16 and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament 2013. He has also won the La Liga Player of the Month award twice, in October 2013 and April 2016.