Jony, Spanish left-winger, played for Lazio in the 2019-20 season.
Jonathan Rodríguez Menéndez, better known as Jony, was born in Cangas del Narcea (Oviedo) Spain, on July 9, 1991.
He started kicking a ball in his local Narcea before joining nearby Oviedo and Barcelona youth sectors.
He made his first team debut for Real Oviedo, in Segunda Division B, in the 2010-11 season. He only played that one game for the "Oviedistas".
In 2011-12 he played for Marino de Luanco (Avilés- Asturias) in Segunda División B. He played 32 league games with 5 goals.
In 2012-13 he moved to Getafe B in Segunda Division B. He played 8 games with 1 goal for "Los Azulones" but in January he moved to Real Avilés in the same division and played another 13 games.
In 2013 he joined Sporting Gijon B in Segunda Division and played 31 league games with 8 goals. He also played 5 league games, and two in the playoffs, with 2 goals. The "Rojiblancos" first team finished 5th (then lost the semifinal playoff to Las Palmas).
In 2014 he joined the Sporting Gijon first team full time in Segunda Division. He played 41 league games with 7 goals plus 1 game and 1 goal in the Copa del Rey. The "Asturianos" won promotion to the Liga.
So in 2015 Jony made his debut in the top flight. Under manager Abelardo Fernández, he played 36 league games with 5 goals (Rayo Vallecano, Deportivo La Coruña, Las Palmas, Eibar, Villareal).
In 2016 he joined ambitious Malaga in the Liga. In his first season he played 24 league games with 2 goals and 2 games in the Copa del Rey. The "Boquerones" (The Anchovies), under former Real Madrid glory Michel, finished 11th.
In 2017 he started with Malaga but in January, after playing only 5 league games and 2 in Copa del Rey, he returned on loan to Sporting Gijon who in the meantime were back in Segunda Division. Jony played 21 league games, plus 2 in the playoffs and scored 6 goals (Oviedo, Numancia, Cultura Leonesa, Almeria, Albacete, Valladolid) The "Rojiblancos" finished 4th, under Rubén Baraja, and lost the semi-final playoff to Real Valladolid.
In 2018 he joined Alavés, in the Liga, on loan. In Vitoria-Gasteiz he found manager Abelardo again and played 34 league games with 5 goals (Eibar, Huesca, Sevilla, Levante, Valladolid) and 1 game in Copa del Rey. "Los Babazorros" (The Bean Eaters) finished 11th.
In the late summer of 2019 Jony signed for Lazio in Serie A. In Rome his manager was Simone Inzaghi. Jony had his chances and played 24 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and 6 in Europa League. Lazio had an excellent season until lockdown, fighting for the Scudetto and winning the Italian Supercoppa (Juventus 3-1) but then faded and came 4th. They did however qualify for the Champions League after 13 years. Jony however had not convinced and was sent back to Spain on loan.
In 2020-21 he played for Osasuna, from Pamplona, in the Liga. The "Rojillos" under manager Jagoba Arrasate finished 11th. Jony played 22 league games and 2 in Copa del Rey.
In 2021 at the end of the loan he returned to Lazio. The Biancocelesti had a new manager Maurizio Sarri and Jony never played and in January 2022 went back to Sporting Gijon on loan and is still there. In his first half season he played 6 Segunda Division games, first under David Gallego and then José Luis Martí, and Gijon finished 17th. This season he played 13 games with one goal and the Gijonés finished again 17th.
Jony is a left-footed midfielder who plays mainly on the wing. His best period was his first spell at Sporting Gijon but since then he has not reached those heights.
At Lazio he was not a success. He played with a certain regularity but rarely convinced. He is obviously not without talent and has an excellent cross but in his Roman spell he seemed timid, physically weak and lacking confidence. He won silverware in Rome, the Supercoppa, and could even have won a Scudetto had it not been for the Covid-19 interruption. At Lazio he will be remembered mainly for his sublime cross for Caicedo's 97th minute winner in Cagliari.
In the summer of 2023 Lazio and Jony ended the contract by mutual consent. He then signed for Cartagena in the Spanish second division.
Lazio Career
Season | Appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2019-20 | 32 | 24 | 2 | 6 |
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