Javier Artero

Early career

Born in Madrid, Artero started playing football with local amateurs Moscardó. In 1995 he signed with Real Madrid, but never made it past the C team, also being loaned to another club in the community, Leganés of Segunda División, and appearing very rarely over the course of his only season. Subsequently, Artero dropped down to Segunda División B and joined Málaga, helping the Andalusians to return to the second tier after which he signed for another side in that league, Badajoz. He scored his only goal as a professional in his country on 29 November 1998, the only in an away win against Albacete.

Dundee

In 1999, Artero moved abroad to San Lorenzo from Argentina. From March–May of the following year he was loaned to Dundee of the Scottish Premier League, with the deal being made permanent on 1 July for £300,000, a club record. On the 30th, he scored in a 2–0 away victory over Motherwell. Artero contributed one goal to a 5–0 home defeat of St Mirren on 18 November 2000. He enjoyed his best years as a professional with the Dark Blues, appearing in 75 competitive games with the side and helping them to the sixth place in his first year, with the subsequent qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. On 1 August 2001, the 26-year-old Artero was admitted to hospital with an unknown disease, which was revealed to be multiple sclerosis early into the following month. Even though he was still able to take part in some matches in the 2001–02 season, he was…