Samuel San José Fernández (born 1 March 1984), sometimes known simply as Samuel or Samu for short, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for UM Escobedo as a central defender.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel San José Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-03-01) 1 March 1984 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Santander, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Escobedo | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rayo Cantabria | |||
| Racing Santander | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | Racing B | 31 | (4) |
| 2005–2008 | Racing Santander | 8 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Sporting Gijón (loan) | 33 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Las Palmas (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | Las Palmas | 68 | (2) |
| 2011–2014 | Ponferradina | 90 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Racing Santander | 22 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Atlético San Luis | 16 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Llagostera | 34 | (1) |
| 2017–2020 | Formentera | 89 | (2) |
| 2020– | Escobedo | 9 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 January 2021 | |||
Born in Santander, Cantabria, Samu was a product of hometown Racing de Santander's youth system. He first appeared for its main squad on 11 September 2005, in a 0–1 home loss against Cádiz CF.[1] He finished the season with seven appearances (all but one were complete matches) and four yellow cards, as the Cantabria side finished 17th in La Liga and narrowly avoided relegation.
After having served one season-long loan stint with Sporting de Gijón in the second division, Samu returned to Racing but, midway through the 2007–08 campaign, would be loaned again, alongside teammate Christian Fernández, to second-level strugglers UD Las Palmas. Both would be instrumental in helping the Canarians retain their league status.
Subsequently, Christian returned to Santander but Samu stayed, signing for three years with the option for a further one.[2] He appeared in an average of 23 games in the following three division two seasons, with the club always managing to stay afloat.