| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Alejandro Vargas Aranguren |
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| Date of birth | 2 December 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Guatire, Venezuela | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Anderlecht | ||
| Number | 70 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2006 | Caracas | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2008 | Caracas | 32 | (9) |
| 2008–2011 | Club Brugge | 71 | (22) |
| 2011– | Anderlecht | 4 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2008– | Venezuela | 14 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ronald Alejandro Vargas Aranguren (born 2 December 1986 in Guatire) is a Venezuelan footballer. He currently plays for R.S.C. Anderlecht in the Belgian First Division.
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Vargas started his career in the youth teams of Caracas. He was promoted to the first team on 2006. His debut in the Copa Libertadores came on 14 March 2006 against Cienciano. Ronald scored his first goal in the final of the 2006–07 Primera División against Unión Atlético Maracaibo, in a 0–1 victory.
The 2007–08 season established him as a regular player in the starter line-up of Caracas. His first goal of the season came on 21 October 2007 in a league match against El Vigía. He ended the campaign with 29 games and 8 goals. In this season he also made his debut in Copa Venezuela and scored his first goal in Copa Libertadores.
On 14 May 2008, Vargas signed with the Belgian team Club Brugge in a 4 year deal. Caracas received 1.5€ million, making this the most expensive transfer of a Venezuelan team in history. He made his debut on 29 August in a league match against AFC Tubize, in a 4–1 victory. His debut in the UEFA Cup came on 18 September, in a 2–2 draw against BSC Young Boys, and he scored his first goal in the competition on 27 November in another draw, this time 1–1, against AS Saint-Étienne.
In the 2010–11 season Ronald started with high performances, scoring, among other goals, four braces against Westerlo, Charleroi, Zulte-Waregem and Standard Liège. Vargas continued his good shape in the start of the second part of the tournament, but on 6 February 2011 he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a league match against KRC Genk, only eight minutes after the start of the match. He is expected to be out of the fields for over six months, missing the option to play with his national team in the 2011 Copa América.[1]
Contractual differences between Vargas and Club Brugge emerged in summer 2011, finishing this with his transfer to R.S.C. Anderlecht on 29 June 2011. The transfer fee was reported to be €2.5 million. Because of the rivalry between the two clubs mutual transfers aren't very common. It was the first transfer from Club Brugge to Anderlecht since Aleksandar Ilić in 2000.
Vargas made his debut with the team in a Belgian Cup match against Lommel United, on 21 September. This meant his return seven months after his injury, and he scored once in the 4–0 victory. However, on 26 October he fell injured again in the same knee, in a cup match which Anderlecht lost against Rupel Boom. Four months out of the fields were diagnosed by the medics.[2]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Caracas | 2006–07 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 10 | |
| Total | 32 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 43 | 11 | |
| Club Brugge | 2008–09 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 4 |
| 2009–10 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |
| 2010–11 | 23 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 16 | |
| Total | 71 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 92 | 25 | |
| Anderlecht | 2011–12 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| Career totals | 107 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 24 | 3 | 141 | 37 | |
Ronald Vargas has played 14 times for the Venezuela national team, scoring 3 goals.[5] His debut came in the 1–0 match against Haití, in February 2008. He scored his first goal in the historic win against Brazil at the Gillete Stadium, in June 2008; his partner Giancarlo Maldonado scored too, and Venezuela won 2–0.
On 9 September 2009, Ronald Vargas scored the last goal in Venezuela's 3–1 victory over Peru.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | June 6, 2008 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States | Brazil | 0–2 | 0-2 | Friendly |
| 2. | June 14, 2008 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Uruguay | 1–1 | 1-1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | September 9, 2009 | José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela | Peru | 3–1 | 3-1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
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