Adrián López Álvarez

Real Oviedo

Born in Teverga, Asturias, Adrián was a product of local Real Oviedo's youth system. He quickly made the transition into the first team, scoring three goals in 26 matches while playing in the Segunda División B. However, he did not have a professional contract because he was a youth player, and the only way to acquire his services for free was to offer him one.

Deportivo

Deportivo de La Coruña obliged and, in October 2006, Oviedo were given a €331,000 compensation by the La Liga club. Adrián's finest moment of 2006–07 arrived when, on 31 March 2007, he entered the league match at the Camp Nou in the 61st minute, and although FC Barcelona won it 2–1, he managed to score with a clever touch; it was his only league goal of the campaign, in 15 appearances (six starts). After receiving few first team opportunities during 2007–08, Adrián was loaned to Segunda División strugglers Deportivo Alavés in April 2008. After helping the Basque team avoid relegation with three league goals, he returned to A Coruña to be loaned again on 14 August, this time to newly promoted Málaga CF on a season-long deal. On 28 September 2008, Adrián netted his first goal for Málaga in a 2–1 home win over Real Valladolid, and appeared regularly throughout the campaign albeit only scoring three times. For 2009–10 he returned to Deportivo, where he began to feature prominently in the starting XI in various attacking positions. On 23 March 2010, he equalised for 10-men –…

In February 2024, López was appointed assistant manager of Rayo Vallecano. Two years later, as head coach Iñigo Pérez signed with Villarreal, he joined him at his staff.

Club

International

Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Adrián goal.

In the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada, Adrián scored a hat-trick for Spain in the final group stage game against Jordan on 7 July, with all three goals coming in a span of ten minutes late in the first half. Subsequently, he represented the under-21s in two UEFA European Championships. In the 2011 edition in Denmark, Adrián scored a brace in a 2–0 group stage victory over the Czech Republic, adding another in the next match against Ukraine (3–0). In the semi-final against Belarus, he scored the late 1–1 which took the game into extra time, adding another in that period in an eventual 3–1 win; he was awarded the Golden Boot as the highest scorer in the tournament. Adrián made his full side debut on 26 May 2012 in a friendly with Serbia: after replacing Soldado at half-time, he scored with a header in the 64th minute, and later won a penalty kick which resulted in the final 2–0 in St. Gallen. He was also part of the Olympic team in 2012.