With Andalusian parentage, Jose Angel Crespo was born on February 9th, 1987 in the city of Lora Del Rio, 57 kilometers from Seville. He is a product of Sevilla’s youth system, and it was there where he made his first steps in professional football.

He played for two years for Sevilla’s B team, while his first team debut came in December 2005 in a match against Getafe. In August 2007 he became a more prominent member of the squad, playing in a left-back role.

In 2009 he was loaned out to Racing Santander and the following season he became a free agent and decided to join Padova in Italy, with whom he completed his first full season, making 43 appearances. The team reached the final of the promotion Play Offs but was beaten by Novara, but the Spaniard had already booked his place in Serie A.

Bologna came calling and signed up Crespo, who featured in 10 matches before joining Hellas Verona on loan. With Verona, the Spanish defender played in 17 matches as the club won automatic promotion by finishing second. After one more season with Bologna, he returned to the Primera Division with Cordoba, again on loan.

Cordoba decided to sign the Andalusian ace on a permanent deal in March 2015, but just two months later, his excellent appearances led him to the English Premier League. Aston Villa signed the Spaniard for 500.000 Euros. After a six-month spell in English he was loaned out to Rayo Vallecano, which was the last stop in his career before he became a resident of Thessaloniki.

He is now into his sixth season with the Double-headed Eagle and he has already achieved so much. He has surpassed 200 appearances for the club, has been used as captain, celebrated one Super League title and four Greek Cups, and he is recognised as one of the best central defenders in the Greek top flight.

Happy Birthday to The Guarantee!