José María Movilla Cubero (born 8 February 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder.
He played 299 La Liga matches in ten seasons, representing mainly Zaragoza and retiring at 39.El doble récord de 'Movi' ('Movi's double record); El Periódico de Aragón, 6 September 2012 (in Spanish)Zanetti, Giggs, Scholes y el señor Movilla (Zanetti, Giggs, Scholes and Mr. Movilla); El Periódico de Aragón, 6 September 2012 (in Spanish)
Club career An unsuccessful graduate from Real Madrid's system, Madrid-born Movilla started his professional career with modest clubs Moscardó, Numancia and Ourense. He signed with Málaga in January 1998, being instrumental in the Andalusia side's promotion from Segunda División B to La Liga in just two years.
Returning to Segunda División, Movilla joined Atlético Madrid, where he managed another promotion in the 2001–02 season while playing all 38 games. He arrived on loan to Real Zaragoza in January 2004, helping them to avoid top-flight relegation and win the Copa del Rey.
The move was made permanent subsequently, and Movilla spent three additional campaigns with the Aragonese, after which he joined newly promoted Real Murcia. At the start of 2008–09, with the side now in the second division, he was, alongside Paco Gallardo, ousted from the squad by coach Javier Clemente, only being reinstated after the latter's dismissal in December 2008.
On 4 July 2009, Movilla moved close to home as he agreed to a two-year contract at Rayo Vallecano.Movilla jugará en el Rayo (Movilla will play with Rayo); Liga Fútbol, 5 July 2009 (in Spanish) In 2010–11, he contributed 41 matches and 3,269 minutes in a return to the top flight after eight years.
Movilla, who celebrated his 37th birthday in February, took part in 38 fixtures in 2011–12, being essential as Rayo retained their league status. He scored the first of his two goals in the season in the opener against Athletic Bilbao, a 1–1 away draw.Solid return for Vallecano ; ESPN Soccernet, 28 August 2011
Movilla returned to Zaragoza for 2012–13, on a one-year deal.Movilla regresa al Zaragoza (Movilla returns to Zaragoza); Diario AS, 4 September 2012 (in Spanish) On 4 January 2013, after a 1–2 home loss to Real Betis, he became their oldest player to make a competitive appearance at the age of 37 years and 332 days, surpassing Enrique YarzaMovilla, el más veterano en jugar con el Zaragoza (Movilla, the most veteran to play with Zaragoza); El Periódico de Aragón, 5 January 2013 (in Spanish) as the campaign went on to end in relegation.
On 28 January 2014, after making negative remarks about the club's management in social media, Movilla was suspended for 30 days.El Zaragoza suspende a Movilla de empleo y sueldo (Zaragoza suspend Movilla without pay); Marca, 28 January 2014 (in Spanish) He was released the following month along with Javier Paredes, finding about the news through Zaragoza's website.El Zaragoza despide a Movilla y Paredes (Zaragoza fire Movilla and Paredes); Marca, 25 February 2014 (in Spanish)
Honours Zaragoza Copa del Rey: 2003–04 Supercopa de España: 2004
Málaga Segunda División: 1998–99
Atlético Madrid Segunda División: 2001–02
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