Celebrating Juan Carlos Valeron: From Las Palmas to Deportivo La Coruna and back again

Born and raised in the town of Arguineguín in the Canary Islands, Juan Carlos Valerón probably didn't imagine that he'd go on to become one of the all-time club legends of Deportivo de La Coruña, the team from the Galician city located some 1,855 kilometres away. But, that's exactly what happened as the Canary Islander went on to make the fourth-most appearances in the history of Dépor.

As a youngster, Valerón's dream was simply to play for the football club of his island, UD Las Palmas. He achieved this dream too, although it wasn't easy. With Arguineguín located on the opposite side of the island of Gran Canaria from the UD Las Palmas facilities, opportunities to impress the club's scouts were few and far between. It was actually when some of Los Amarillos' talent-spotters came to take a look at Valerón's older brother, Miguel Ángel, that the young Juan Carlos was also able to catch their eye and earn a place in the prestigious UD Las Palmas academy.

After rising through the ranks and impressing with the club's B team, the midfielder made his debut for UD Las Palmas' first team at the beginning of the 1995/96 season, when Los Amarillos were down in the third tier of Spanish football. Playing alongside big brother Miguel Ángel, the experience of representing the island's team was made even more special, and that season ended with promotion to LALIGA HYPERMOTION level.

By the summer of 1997, Valerón's talent was well-known and he was signed by another island club, RCD Mallorca, ready to make his debut at LALIGA EA SPORTS level. After impressing there and after forming part of the Spain squad that won the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, another transfer materialised, this time to Atlético de Madrid. Los