In June 2003, Raúl Lozano played his last game as a Sporting player. Almost twenty years later, his only son, Alejandro (Almería, 2005), has entered a squad list for the first time. The rojiblanco youth squad is the great novelty among the 23 footballers displaced by Miguel Ángel Ramírez for the visit tonight to the Unión Deportiva Las Palmas. His appearance comes to take over from the injured Jony at the left-hand end and he also has a lot of rewards. His good season in the subsidiary and in the División de Honor has made him win to participate in the dynamics of the first team on several occasions and negotiate a new link to shield his progression in Mareo.
He was born in Almería, the city where his father continued his career after finishing his time as a Sporting footballer. However, his first steps with the ball were already in Gijón. Alejandro started out when he was just over 4 years old in the Mareo Soccer School teams, where his left foot drew attention at the same time that he began to polish himself. From the School he went to the youngest of Sporting, fulfilling all the stages of rojiblanco grassroots football. He did it with the exception of a single campaign, in cadets, the year in which the family moved to Salamanca for work reasons. There he was a member of Santa Marta.
The last year has been perhaps the one with the greatest progression for Lozano. After scoring 17 goals in the National League with youth B, the jump was double. He became a regular at Sporting B, where as a second-year youth player he has scored 4 goals in 21 games and has taken ownership at the far left. Occasionally he has gone down with the División de Honor, I feel like one of those who have taken part in the great role of Isma Piñera’s team in the Copa del Rey.
It is common to see Alejandro Lozano with his father in Mareo. He, Raúl, is in charge of taking him to training every day. To him and some other teammate from the subsidiary. The “guaje” came of age this year and is now preparing for the driving test. At the moment, he needs a driver. Raúl is a father, an agent and also the one who has been in charge in recent months of dodging praise and ensuring that the young player keeps his feet on the ground. He knows the importance of managing time well at a key age to complete the jump to professional football. Tonight he will be one more cheering on Sporting in the stands of the Estadio Gran Canaria waiting to see if his entry into the squad can also translate into a debut.
If Alejandro’s football profile is that of a left-handed, fast and vertical winger, Raúl lived more comfortably between the lines, receiving from behind and finishing. He arrived at Sporting to strengthen the reserve team in 1998, and ended up making his first-team debut in December 1999, on a visit to the Atlético de Madrid reserve team. In four seasons he added 109 official matches and signed 12 goals. For the memory remains the couple that he formed with David Villa. He went to Almería in 2003, but it was a see you later.
After hanging up his boots, Raúl Lozano returned to Sporting in 2009 working as a scout. After the departure of Emilio de Dios, he assumed the position of technical secretary, until 2016. Along the way, relevant signings such as Scepovic and the rise of “los Guajes”. He was later sports director of Almería, later holding other positions in the Andalusian club. He is now part of the Interstar Deporte agency, in addition to ensuring that Alejandro follows and improves in his footsteps.
