Antonio Amaya

Antonio Amaya Carazo (Spanish pronunciation: [an'tonjo a'maʝa ka'ɾaθo]; born 31 May 1983) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Rayo Vallecano as a central defender.

Football career

Early years / Rayo

Born in the capital of Madrid, Amaya began his football career at local San Cristóbal de los Ángeles. He joined another team in the community, Rayo Vallecano, in 2002, also serving a six-month loan spell at lowly UD San Sebastián de los Reyes in Segunda División B.

Eventually Amaya returned to Rayo, becoming an important defensive unit for the side which returned to Segunda División at the end of the 2007–08 season and comfortably maintained its league status the following campaign, with the player appearing in less than half of the games (18 out of 42).

Wigan

Amaya signed for Premier League team Wigan Athletic on a three-year contract on 14 August 2009, being joined at the club by Rayo teammate Mohamed Diamé a week later. He made his debut in a 1–4 defeat at Blackpool in the season's Football League Cup on the 26th, scoring his team's goal with a header in stoppage time.