Rubén Baraja

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Rubén Baraja
Personal information
Full name Rubén Baraja Vegas
Date of birth July 11, 1975 (1975-07-11) (age 32)
Place of birth    Valladolid, Castile
Height 180 cm.
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Valencia CF
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993-1996
1996-2000
2000-present		 Real Valladolid
Atlético Madrid
Valencia CF		 41 (2)
34 (4)
191 (36)   
National team2
2000-2006 Spain 38 (6)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 10 June, 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of August 22, 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Rubén Baraja Vegas (born July 11, 1975 in Valladolid, Castile, Spain) is a Spanish professional football player, who currently plays for Valencia CF in the Spanish La Liga. He is one of Europe's most complete midfielders[1] with his good tackling in his defensive position on the pitch, as well as offensive qualities such as his incredible passing and goalscoring ability. He was also a consistent part of the Spanish national team from 2000 to 2006.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Baraja started his career at local club Real Valladolid before moving to Atlético Madrid. When Atlético was relegated at the end of the 1999/2000, he left the club in a 2,000 million peseta transfer[2] to 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League finalists Valencia CF who were looking to strengthen their midfield following the sale of first team players Claudio López, Gerard, and Javier Farinós.

In his first season at Valencia, Baraja made his debut for the Spanish national team on October 7, 2000 in the 2002 World Cup qualification 2-0 win over Israel. Clubwise, he was a key element in Valencia's 2000/01 Champions League campaign, but the club was beaten in the final for the second year running, this time losing on penalty shootouts to Bayern Munich, with Baraja scoring on his penalty shot.

The 2001/02 season would see Baraja's first trophy win, where his goals late in the campaign helped Valencia to their first league championship in 31 years. He finished the club's top scorer in the league with seven goals in only seventeen league games. On the international stage, Baraja played for the national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup where the team reached the quarter-finals before being sent out by South Korea on penalties, though Baraja once again scored on his attempt.

2003/04 was another big year, winning both the domestic championship (with 8 Baraja league goals) as well as the UEFA Cup, beating Olympique Marseille 2-0 in the final. Baraja also took part in the disappointing 2004 European Championship where Spain was eliminated in the group stage by later finalists Portugal and Greece.

Baraja was left out of the Spanish squad for the 2006 World Cup, as his club presence was also diminished due to recurrent injuries.

[edit] Honours

Team Award Year(s)
Flag of Spain Valencia CF La Liga 2001-02, 2003-04
Flag of Spain Valencia CF UEFA Cup 2004
Flag of Spain Valencia CF European Super Cup 2004
Flag of Spain Valencia CF Copa del Rey 2007-08

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^  Ruben Baraja, BBC, 25 May, 2004
  2. ^  Valencia break club transfer record, The Namibian, 2 August, 2000
v • d • e
Spain squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Torres • 3 Juanfran • 4 Helguera • 5 Puyol • 6 Hierro • 7 Raúl • 8 Baraja • 9 Morientes • 10 Tristán • 11 de Pedro • 12 Luque • 13 Ricardo • 14 Albelda • 15 Romero • 16 Mendieta • 17 Valerón • 18 Sergio • 19 Xavi • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Joaquín • 23 Contreras • Coach: Camacho
 Flag of Spain
v • d • e
Valencia CF – current squad

1 Cañizares • 2 Sunny • 3 Maduro • 4 Raúl Albiol • 5 Marchena • 6 Albelda • 7 David Villa • 8 Baraja • 9 Morientes • 10 Angulo • 11 Éver • 12 Caneira • 13 Hildebrand • 14 Vicente • 15 Helguera • 16 Mata • 17 Joaquín • 18 Žigić • 19 Arizmendi • 20 Alexis • 21 D. Silva • 22 Edu • 23 Miguel • 24 Moretti • 25 Mora • -- H. Viana • Coach: Unai Emery