Oleguer Presas

Early career

Born in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia, Oleguer started his career at modest CD Lepanto, a club from his hometown. In 1997, he joined neighbours UDA Gramenet from CE Sant Gabriel, making his senior debut two years later whilst at the service of the former.

Barcelona

At 21, Oleguer signed with FC Barcelona, spending his debut season with their reserves. He would make his first-team debut during a 2002–03 UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray SK, a 3–1 home victory where he came on as a late substitute for Frank de Boer. During that season he played for both sides, on occasion being a last-minute addition to the main squad. On 17 May 2006, Barça beat Arsenal to win the Champions League for the second time in their history. Oleguer started the match, but on the day he appeared tense and slow, struggling to neutralise Freddie Ljungberg's runs down the wing and more importantly not being able to stop Sol Campbell scoring the opening goal. In the 71st minute he was substituted in favour of Juliano Belletti by manager Frank Rijkaard, and the Brazilian went on to score the decider with less than ten minutes to go. Oleguer signed a contract extension in July 2006, keeping him with the club until 2010. He had the honour of captaining the team for the first time in their first pre-season game but, with the arrival of Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram, he found himself coming on from the bench in the first few matches of the campaign. On 29…

Oleguer majored in economics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. On 30 March 2006 he published his first book with recollections on his youth, early career and the league triumph of 2004–05 (and the subsequent street parade through the Avinguda Diagonal in Barcelona). The book, called Camí d'Itaca (The Road to Ithaca), dealt with such varied subjects as childhood anorexia, the anti-fascist struggle and the previous Spanish government's involvement in both Gulf Wars. Though injured just before the end of the 2005–06 season in a Champions League match and forced to miss the league-winning match against RC Celta de Vigo, Oleguer was able to return to the pitch to play in the next match at the Camp Nou when the trophy was presented to the team. True to form, he celebrated wrapped in the colors of the senyera estelada, the Catalan independence flag. Oleguer had sympathies with left-wing and Catalan nationalist causes (La Bressola) and Escola Valenciana, and was asked by Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation to play a charity match in Chiapas, Mexico, during the summer of 2005. Later that year, he was invited to take part in a meeting of shortlisted players for the Spain national team, an invitation that he accepted only to tell manager Luis Aragonés he did not feel motivated enough to be selected. On 7 February 2007, in an article written for Basque language newspaper Berria, Oleguer questioned the validity and independence of legal and…

Barcelona

La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06 Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006 UEFA Champions League: 2005–06 UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2006 FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2006 Ajax

Eredivisie: 2010–11 KNVB Cup: 2009–10