Jordi Alba

Early years

Alba was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia. He started his career in the youth ranks of Barcelona as a left winger, but was released by the club in 2005 for being too small. He then joined neighbouring club Cornellà and, after almost two years, departed in a €6,000 transfer to Valencia where he finished his football education. After helping the reserves earn promotion from Tercera División in 2007–08, Alba played on loan at Segunda División club Gimnàstic Tarragona the following season, where he made 22 starts.

Valencia

After returning to Los Che, Alba made his La Liga debut on 13 September 2009, in a 4–2 win at Real Valladolid. He then started in two consecutive UEFA Europa League group stage matches, against Lille and Slavia Prague (both 1–1 draws, respectively away and home). Due to continuing injuries in Valencia's defence, he played much of 2009–10 as a left-back, posting overall good performances. In that position, on 11 April 2010, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–3 away loss to Mallorca. In 2010–11, still with Unai Emery in charge, Alba was used almost always as a defender, battling for first-choice status with Jérémy Mathieu. He made 27 league appearances as the team again finished third, subsequently qualifying for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. In the following campaign, Emery began using both players on Valencia's left side, a strategy he had tested the previous season. This proved an effective…

Alba represented Spain at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, as well as appearing in all four games as the country won the gold medal at the 2009 Mediterranenan Games. He was also part of the squad at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Alba received his first call-up to the full national team on 30 September 2011, for the last two UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Scotland. He made his debut against Scotland on 11 October, a 3–1 win in Alicante in which his cut back from the left wing provided the assist for the opening goal, scored by former Valencia teammate David Silva. His impressive debut confirmed his status as a strong candidate to be the long-term successor of Joan Capdevila as the regular left-back for La Roja, and he was also included in the under-23 squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Alba was included in Vicente del Bosque's squad for the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine, and played in every match, as Spain won the tournament. He supplied the cross for Xabi Alonso to open the scoring in the 2–0 quarter-final victory over France. In the final against Italy, after running onto a pass from Xavi during a counter-attack, he scored the second goal in a 4–0 win. Alba was also selected for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. He played four complete matches during the tournament, scoring twice in the 3–0 group stage win over Nigeria. Alba made Del Bosque's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, making…

Alba was a diminutive, technically gifted, mobile, and rapid attacking left-back, who could also be used as a left winger; he was known for his pace, link-up play, ball control, positioning, vision, movement, and his ability to time his attacking runs into space and get up the flank, as well as his ability to deliver crosses into the box, which allowed him to provide assists for teammates. Moreover, he was also a tenacious tackler; however, his defending was cited as a weakness by certain pundits, such as Enrique Ortego of Marca, although he was able to improve upon this aspect of his game as his career progressed. His speed and stamina allowed him to be very involved in both his team's offensive and defensive plays, as he could get from one end of the pitch to the other very quickly, often pushing forward to get past players and score goals, or falling back when his team lost possession. In his prime, Alba's connection and combination play with Lionel Messi rendered them one of the most effective attacking duos in world football and one of the most lethal in Barcelona's history. Regarded as a standard for left-backs in Europe by the media, Alba earned plaudits from former left-backs Joan Capdevila and Roberto Carlos over his playing style and ability. He was also considered to be among the quickest players of his generation, and one of the fastest full-backs of all time.

Alba and his partner Romarey Ventura have three children.