Manolo Lucena

Manuel ‘Manolo’ Lucena is a Spanish central defender playing for Granada CF.

Lucena joined the hometown club Granada in 2002 when the side performed in Tercera. After two years as a starter he signed for Marino de Luanco in the Segunda B division.

In the summer of 2005 Lucena moved to Sporting de Gijon; in January of the next year he returned to Granada as the previous team rendered him too little game practice (3 appearances totaling only 7 playing minutes).

For the next three campaigns Lucena maintained himself as a key player for Granada. He never made less than 32 appearances per season and as a result was granted captainship for the season 2009/10. The defender helped his side win their Segunda promotion after a 22-year absence.

When Granada won their second in a row promotion Lucena prolonged his contract for another two seasons. All in all Lucena made 179 appearances since 2006 scoring 15 goals.