Pipa
Pipa in 2022
Personal information
Full name Gonzalo Ávila Gordón[1]
Date of birth (1998-01-26) 26 January 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Esparreguera, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 West Bromwich Albion
Number 26
Youth career
Esparreguera
2008–2017 Espanyol
2009–2010 → Damm (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Espanyol B 59 (4)
2018–2020 Espanyol 7 (0)
2019 → Gimnàstic (loan) 18 (0)
2020–2022 Huddersfield Town 48 (2)
2022–2023 Olympiacos 11 (0)
2023– Ludogorets Razgrad 14 (0)
2023– → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 10 (0)
International career
2016–2017 Spain U19 5 (0)
2016–2017 Spain U20 4 (0)
2019–2021 Spain U21 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 January 2024 (UTC)

Gonzalo Ávila Gordón (born 26 January 1998), known as Pipa, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Bulgarian club Ludogorets.

Career

Espanyol

Born in Esparraguera, Barcelona, Catalonia, Pipa finished his formation with RCD Espanyol, after previous stints at CF Damm and FS Esparraguera.[2] He made his senior debut with the reserves on 20 February 2016, starting in a 0–1 Segunda División B away loss against Valencia CF Mestalla.[3]

Pipa was a regular starter for the B-side during the 2016–17 season, which ended in relegation. On 22 May 2017 he renewed his contract until 2022,[4] and scored his first senior goal on 27 August by netting the last in a 3–0 home win against FC Ascó in the Tercera División.[5]

On 28 May 2018, Pipa was definitely promoted to the main squad in La Liga ahead of the 2018–19 campaign.[6] The following 2 January, after failing to appear in a single match for the Pericos, he was loaned to Segunda División strugglers Gimnàstic de Tarragona until June.[7]

Pipa made his professional debut on 6 January 2019, starting as a right winger in a 1–0 home win against Córdoba CF.[8] He was a regular starter for the club during his six-month spell, suffering team relegation.

Upon returning to Espanyol, Pipa was handed the number 2 jersey, and made his first-team debut on 15 August 2019, starting in a 3–0 home defeat of FC Luzern in the UEFA Europa League.[9] He made his top-tier debut on 26 September, replacing Wu Lei in a 1–1 away draw against RC Celta de Vigo.[10]

Huddersfield Town

On 7 September 2020, Pipa signed a three-year contract with EFL Championship side Huddersfield Town, for an undisclosed fee.[11] He scored his first goal for Huddersfield in a 3–0 win over Millwall on 31 October.[12]

Ludogorets

On 1 February 2023, he was announced as a new signing of Bulgarian club Ludogorets.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 August 2022[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Espanyol B 2015–16 Segunda División B 1 0 — — — 1 0
2016–17 Segunda División B 31 0 — — — 31 0
2017–18 Tercera División 27 4 — — — 27 4
Total 59 4 — — — 59 4
Espanyol 2018–19 La Liga 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
2019–20 La Liga 7 0 2 0 — 4[a] 0 13 0
Total 7 0 2 0 — 4 0 13 0
Gimnàstic (loan) 2018–19 Segunda División 18 0 0 0 — — 18 0
Huddersfield Town 2020–21 Championship 37 2 0 0 0 0 — 37 2
2021–22 Championship 11 0 3 0 0 0 — 14 0
Total 48 2 3 0 0 0 — 51 2
Olympiacos 2022–23 Super League Greece 11 0 0 0 — 9 0 20 0
Career total 143 6 5 0 0 0 13 0 161 6
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Huddersfield Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 34. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  2. ^ ""Estoy centrado en el presente"" [I am focused in the present] (in Spanish). Diario La Grada. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Pipa debuta en Segunda B" [Pipa debuts in Segunda B] (in Spanish). Vavel. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  4. ^ "¡'Pipa' 2022!" [Pipe, 2022!] (in Spanish). RCD Espanyol. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. ^ "El filial perico juega, sufre, disfruta y vence" [The reserve team perico play, suffer, enjoy and win] (in Spanish). Diario La Grada. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Álex López, Pipa y Puado, jugadores de Primera" [Álex López, Pipa and Puado, Primera players] (in Spanish). Marca. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Pipa arriba cedit pel RCD Espanyol" [Pipa arrives on loan from RCD Espanyol] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Un golazo de falta da tres puntos vitales a los tarraconenses" [A great free kick goal gives three vital points to the Tarragona side] (in Spanish). Marca. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Wu Lei, el debutante Campuzano y la cantera arrasan a la morriña" [Wu Lei, the debutant Campuzano and the cantera wash away the homesickness] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Mina rescata al Celta en el minuto 95" [Mina rescues Celta in the 95th minute] (in Spanish). Marca. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Transfer: Pipa joins from Espanyol!". Huddersfield Town AFC. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Millwall 0-3 Huddersfield". BBC. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  13. ^ Dimova, Vyara, ed. (1 February 2023). ""Лудогорец" официално подписа с испанския защитник Пипа" (in Bulgarian). bgonair.bg. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. ^ Pipa at Soccerway

External links

PFC Ludogorets Razgrad – current squad
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