Joan Oriol

Joan Oriol
Oriol in 2016
Personal information
Full name Joan Oriol Gràcia
Date of birth (1986-11-05) 5 November 1986
Place of birth Cambrils, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
Gimnàstic (youth)
Youth career
2004–2005 Cambrils
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Pobla Mafumet
2006–2007Reus (loan) 33 (0)
2007–2008 Gavà 34 (2)
2008–2010 Villarreal B 66 (3)
2010–2013 Villarreal 50 (0)
2013–2014 Osasuna 11 (0)
2014–2015 Blackpool 11 (0)
2015 Rapid București 13 (0)
2015–2017 Mallorca 62 (1)
2017–2018 Atromitos 0 (0)
2018 Cornellà 9 (0)
2018–2020 Lleida Esportiu 61 (2)
2020–2025 Gimnàstic 168 (14)
Total 485 (22)
Managerial career
2025– Gimnàstic (youth)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joan Oriol Gràcia (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈan uɾiˈɔl]; born 5 November 1986) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He is the manager of the Juvenil A squad of Gimnàstic de Tarragona.

Club career

Born in Cambrils, Tarragona, Catalonia, Oriol played lower league or amateur football in his first four years as a senior. In the 2008–09 season he helped Villarreal CF's B team promote to Segunda División for the first time ever, scoring two goals in 32 games.[1][2]

Oriol made his debut for the main squad on 6 January 2010, playing the full 90 minutes and being booked in a 1–1 away draw against RC Celta de Vigo in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.[3] On 27 November of that year he made his first appearance in La Liga, starting in a 3–0 victory at Real Zaragoza.[4]

From 2011 to 2013, Oriol was both relegated and promoted with the Yellow Submarine, featuring in an average of 22 matches in the process. On 2 July 2013, the free agent signed a three-year contract with CA Osasuna, with a 5 million clause.[5]

In early August 2014, following Osasuna's relegation, Oriol agreed to a one-year deal with the option of a further year with Football League Championship side Blackpool, linking up with his twin brother Eduard.[6] On 12 January 2015, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[7]

On 4 July 2015, after a short spell at FC Rapid București in Romania, Oriol signed a two-year contract with RCD Mallorca.[8] On 28 August 2017, after being relegated to Segunda División B, he agreed to a 1+1 deal at Atromitos F.C. from Greece.[9]

Oriol returned to Spain in January 2018, signing for UE Cornellà of the third division. He remained in that tier the following years, representing Lleida Esportiu and Gimnàstic de Tarragona.[10]

On 8 July 2025, Oriol accepted Nàstic's offer to become the new manager of the club's Juvenil A squad, and retired from professional football at the age of 38.[11]

Personal life

Oriol's twin brother, Eduard, was also a footballer. A winger, he shared teams with his sibling on several occasions.[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[12]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gavà 2007–08 Segunda División B 34 2 2[a] 0 36 2
Villarreal B 2008–09 Segunda División B 32 2 5[a] 0 37 2
2009–10 Segunda División 34 1 34 1
Total 66 3 5 0 71 3
Villarreal 2008–09 La Liga 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009–10 0 0 1 0 1 0
2010–11 6 0 4 0 3[b] 0 13 0
2011–12 21 0 1 0 5[c] 0 27 0
2012–13 Segunda División 23 0 1 0 24 0
Total 50 0 7 0 8 0 65 0
Osasuna 2013–14 La Liga 11 0 3 0 14 0
Blackpool 2014–15 Championship 11 0 1 0 12 0
Rapid București 2014–15 Liga I 13 0 0 0 13 0
Mallorca 2015–16 Segunda División 39 1 0 0 39 1
2016–17 23 0 2 0 25 0
Total 62 1 2 0 64 1
Atromitos 2017–18 Super League Greece 0 0 2 0 2 0
Cornellà 2017–18 Segunda División B 9 0 0 0 2[a] 0 11 0
Lleida Esportiu 2018–19 Segunda División B 36 1 3 0 39 1
2019–20 25 1 1 0 26 1
Total 61 2 4 0 65 2
Gimnàstic 2020–21 Segunda División B 26 2 0 0 26 2
2021–22 Primera División RFEF 37 2 1 0 2[d] 0 40 2
2022–23 Primera Federación 34 4 3 0 37 4
2023–24 37 1 1 0 4[e] 0 42 1
2024–25 34 5 1 0 4[e] 1 39 6
Total 168 14 6 0 10 1 184 15
Career total 485 22 25 0 8 0 19 1 537 23
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearances in Primera División RFEF promotion play-offs
  5. ^ a b Appearances in Primera Federación promotion play-offs

References

  1. ^ "2008–09 El filial asciende a Segunda División" [2008–09 The reserves promote to Segunda División] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Edu y Joan Oriol: tú al Barça, yo al Villarreal" [Edu and Joan Oriol: you go to Barça, i go to Villarreal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 December 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  3. ^ Campos, Tomás (6 January 2010). "El Madrigal dictará sentencia" [El Madrigal will dictate the sentence]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Miserable start for Aguirre". ESPN Soccernet. 27 November 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  5. ^ Martínez de Zúñiga, Uxue (2 July 2013). "Joan Oriol: "Osasuna no se va a arrepentir de haberme fichado"" [Joan Oriol: "Osasuna will not regret having signed me"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Blackpool: Joan Oriol joins after leaving Spanish club Osasuna". BBC Sport. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Oriol twins head out of Pool". Blackpool Gazette. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Joan Oriol un nuevo refuerzo para el Real Mallorca" [Joan Oriol a new addition for Real Mallorca] (in Spanish). RCD Mallorca. 4 July 2015. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Επίσημο: Στον Ατρόμητο ο Οριόλ" [Official: Oriol joins Atromitos] (in Greek). Onsports. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Joan Oriol, nou jugador grana" [Joan Oriol, new grana player] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. ^ Moreno, Juanfran (8 July 2025). "Joan Oriol entrenará al Juvenil A del Nàstic" [Joan Oriol will manage the Juvenil A of Nàstic]. Diari de Tarragona (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  12. ^ Joan Oriol at Soccerway