Jesús Jiménez (footballer)

Jesús Jiménez Núñez (born 5 November 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.

Jesús Jiménez
Jiménez in 2018
Personal information
Full name Jesús Jiménez Núñez
Date of birth (1993-11-05) 5 November 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Leganés, Spain
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Kerala Blasters
Number 9
Youth career
Lugo de Fuenlabrada
Atlético Madrid
2011–2012 Leganés
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Leganés B
2013–2014 Unión Adarve 27 (5)
2014–2015 Alcorcón B 13 (1)
2015 Atlético Pinto 16 (2)
2015–2016 Illescas 36 (15)
2016–2018 Talavera 68 (36)
2018–2022 Górnik Zabrze 121 (37)
2022 Toronto FC 33 (9)
2023 FC Dallas 22 (0)
2024 OFI Crete 6 (1)
2024– Kerala Blasters 9 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:38, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Early life

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Jiménez began playing youth football with Lugo de Fuenlabrada, later attending the Atlético Madrid youth school.[1] At age 16 or 17, he joined the academy of CD Leganés.[2]

Club career

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After having spent two seasons with CD Leganés B, he went on to represent AD Unión Adarve, AD Alcorcón B, Atlético Pinto in Tercera División.[3]

On 18 July 2015, Jiménez joined newly promoted club CD Illescas.[4] He scored 15 goals in 36 matches that season.[5]

In the summer of 2016, he moved to CF Talavera de la Reina.[5] On 27 November, he scored four goals in a 5–0 victory against his former club Illescas.[6] He scored 26 league goals in his first season with his club winning promotion to Segunda División B.[7] On 6 September 2017, he scored twice in a 3–1 Copa del Rey victory against Antequera CF.[8]

On 1 June 2018, Jiménez moved abroad and joined Polish club Górnik Zabrze on a three-year contract.[9] On 12 July, he made his first team debut, starting in a 1–0 win against Moldovan club Zaria Bălți in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.[10] In his second season, he scored 12 goals and compatriot teammate Igor Angulo scored 16.[11] He recorded the same figures in 2020–21,[12] including a hat-trick on the opening day in a 4–2 home win over Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała.[13]

On 7 February 2022, Jiménez signed with Major League Soccer club Toronto FC on an initial two-and-a-half-year deal.[14] He made his debut on 26 February in the season opener against FC Dallas.[15] He scored his first goal in the next match on 5 March, in a 4–1 loss against the New York Red Bulls.[16]

In February 2023, ahead of the 2023 MLS season, he was traded to FC Dallas in exchange for Brandon Servania.[17] After dealing with visa issues, he made his debut for the club on 18 March 2023, in a match against Sporting Kansas City.[18] After the season, he agreed to mutually terminate the remainder of his contract.[19]

In February 2024, he signed with Super League Greece club OFI Crete.[20] In late August 2024, he agreed to mutually terminate his contract with the Greek club.[21]

On 30 August 2024, following heavy media speculation, Jiménez left OFI Crete and joined the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC on a two-year deal until 2026.[22] He debuted for the Blasters on 15 September 2024 in a 2–1 loss against Punjab, in a substitute appearance, also scoring his first goal for the club in the match.[23] His next two goals came against Odisha FC in October,[24] along with a match winning goal against the Kolkata side, Mohammedan SC.[25] After scoring the opening goal in a 3–0 win against Chennaiyin on 24 November, he became the first player in Kerala Blasters' history to score in six consecutive matches.[26]

Career statistics

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As of match played 3 November 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Alcorcón B 2014–15[28] Tercera División 13 1 13 1
Atlético Pinto 2014–15[28] Tercera División 16 2 16 2
Illescas 2015–16[28] Tercera División 36 15 36 15
Talavera 2016–17[28] Tercera División 33 26 2[b] 1 35 27
2017–18[28] Segunda División B 35 10 2 2 37 12
Total 68 36 2 2 2 1 72 39
Górnik Zabrze 2018–19 Ekstraklasa 36 5 4 2 4[c] 0 44 7
2019–20 Ekstraklasa 37 12 1 0 38 12
2020–21 Ekstraklasa 29 12 2 3 31 15
2021–22 Ekstraklasa 19 8 2 1 21 9
Total 121 37 9 6 4 0 134 43
Toronto FC 2022 Major League Soccer 33 9 3 1 1[d] 0 37 10
FC Dallas 2023 Major League Soccer 23 0 0 0 1[e] 0 24 0
OFI Crete 2023–24 Super League Greece 4 1 4 1
2024–25 Super League Greece 2 0 2 0
Total 6 1 6 1
Kerala Blasters 2024–25 Indian Super League 9 7 0 0 0 0 9 7
Career total 321 105 14 9 4 0 4 1 343 115
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Polish Cup, U.S. Open Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in Tercera División play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearance in 2020 Canadian Championship final
  5. ^ Appearance in the MLS Playoffs

Honours

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Toronto FC

Individual

References

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  1. ^ Flores, Noemí (15 December 2016). "Jesús Jiménez (CF Talavera)". SportCLM (in Spanish).
  2. ^ Davidson, Neil (12 May 2022). "Spanish striker Jesus Jimenez finding Toronto FC, MLS to his liking". TSN.
  3. ^ "El Pinto quiere volver a ganar al Alcorcón "B" en el Amelia" [Pinto wants to win again Alcorcón "B" in Amelia]. Futmadrid.com (in Spanish). 25 January 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Isaac y Jesús Jiménez se unen a un Illescas con cinco amistosos" [Isaac and Jesús Jiménez join an Illescas with five friendlies]. Latribunadetoledo.es (in Spanish). 18 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Jesús Jiménez, otro delantero para el CF Talavera" [Jesús Jiménez, another striker for CF Talavera]. Cadenaser.com (in Spanish). 30 June 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Jesús Jiménez no tuvo piedad de su antiguo equipo y le hizo un 'póker' para la 'manita' del CF Talavera" [Jesús Jiménez had no mercy on his old team and made him a 'poker' for the 'hand' of CF Talavera] (in Spanish). Lavozdetalavera.com. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Jesús Jiménez se va a Polonia" [Jesús Jiménez goes to Poland]. Cadenaser.com (in Spanish). 6 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  8. ^ "El CF Talavera gana al Antequera 3-1 y sigue soñando en la Copa del Rey" [F Talavera wins Antequera 3–1 and is still dreaming of the Copa del Rey]. Lavozdeltajo.com (in Spanish). 6 September 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Jesus Jimenez został nowym piłkarzem Górnika Zabrze" [Jesus Jimenez became the new player of Górnik Zabrze]. Ekstraklasa.tv (in Polish). 1 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  10. ^ "UEL: Lech and Gornik Pull Through with First Leg Wins". Psnfutbol.com. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  11. ^ Manchón, Martín (15 July 2020). "España vuelve a superar la barrera de los 100 goles en Polonia" [Spain passes the 100-goal mark in Poland again]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  12. ^ Manchón, Martín (16 July 2021). ""Nunca me habría imaginado jugando con un campeón del mundo"" [I had never imagined playing with a world champion]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  13. ^ Czoik, Tomasz (23 August 2020). "Jesus Jimenez show. Górnik Zabrze pokonuje Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała" [Jesús Jiménez show. Górnik Zabrze overcome Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała Zabrze]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Toronto FC sign forward Jesus Jimenez from Poland's Górnik Zabrze". Mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  15. ^ Grossi, James (2 March 2022). "TFC debutants make solid first impressions in season opener". Toronto FC.
  16. ^ "New York Red Bulls run wild in 4-1 victory to spoil Toronto FC's home opener". CBC Sports. 5 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Toronto FC Acquire Brandon Servania from FC Dallas in Exchange for Jesús Jiménez". Toronto FC. 20 February 2023.
  18. ^ Melcer, Garrett (23 March 2023). "How Jesús Jiménez Adds Tactical Flexibility to FC Dallas' Attack". FC Dallas.
  19. ^ "FC Dallas mutually part ways with Jesús Jiménez". Major League Soccer. 6 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Στον ΟΦΗ ο Jesús Jiménez" [Jesús Jiménez at OFI]. OFI Crete FC (in Greek). 6 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Λύση συνεργασίας με τον Jimenez" [Collaborative solution with Jimenez]. OFI Crete F.C. (in Greek). 30 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Kerala Blasters FC Sign Spanish Striker Jesús Jiménez". Kerala Blasters FC. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  23. ^ E.H, Sankar Narayanan (21 September 2024). "Interview | New recruit Jesus Jimenez aims to spearhead Blasters' ISL title quest". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  24. ^ "ISL: Odisha spurred on but settle for 2-2 draw vs Kerala Blasters". The Times of India. 4 October 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  25. ^ Sportstar, Team (20 October 2024). "ISL 2024-25: Peprah, Jimenez score to help Kerala Blasters complete 2-1 comeback win against Mohammedan SC". Sportstar. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  26. ^ Sportstar, Team (24 November 2024). "Kerala Blasters vs Chennaiyin FC highlights, KBFC 3-0 CFC, ISL 2024-25: Jimenez, Sadaoui, Rahul KP on scoresheet as Blasters cruise to win". Sportstar. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Jesús Jiménez". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  28. ^ a b c d e "Jesús Jiménez Núñez". LaPreferente.com. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  29. ^ "At last, Toronto FC capture 2020 Canadian Championship over Forge FC". Major League Soccer. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Piłkarz Sierpnia 2020: Jesus Jimenez" (in Polish). Ekstraklasa. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
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