Roberto Soldado

Roberto Soldado

Soldado playing for Valencia
Personal information
Full name	Roberto Soldado Rillo[1]
Date of birth	(1985-05-27) 27 May 1985
Place of birth	Valencia, Spain
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Tottenham Hotspur
Number	9
Youth career
1990–2000	Don Bosco
2000–2002	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2006	Real Madrid B	120	(64)
2005–2008	Real Madrid	16	(2)
2006–2007	→ Osasuna (loan)	30	(11)
2008–2010	Getafe	60	(29)
2010–2013	Valencia	101	(59)
2013–	Tottenham Hotspur	20	(5)
National team‡
2001	Spain U15	2	(0)
2001–2003	Spain U17	18	(12)
2003	Spain U18	3	(3)
2002–2004	Spain U19	9	(5)
2004–2007	Spain U21	9	(6)
2007–	Spain	12	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 February 2014. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 September 2013

Roberto Soldado Rillo (Spanish pronunciation: [roˈβerto solˈdaðo ˈriʎo]; born 27 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League as a striker.

After emerging through Real Madrid's youth system, he went on to appear in only 27 official games for the first team (four goals). Over the course of nine La Liga seasons he amassed totals of 207 matches and 101 goals, representing also Osasuna, Getafe and Valencia.

An international since 2007, Soldado represented Spain at the 2013 Confederations Cup.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Valencia, Soldado joined Real Madrid at the age of 15 from local small club CF Don Bosco. After seasons of prolific goalscoring with the club's B-team, he made his first team debut on 23 October 2005 against Valencia CF, playing 18 minutes in a 1–2 home loss. Previously, on 28 September, he had scored an 86th minute winner after just six minutes on the pitch, in the season's UEFA Champions League contest against Olympiakos FC (2–1 home win),^[2] adding a late equalizer against CA Osasuna and another in a 3–2 success at Racing de Santander as Real finished second in the league, also netting in the Copa del Rey 4–0 win against Athletic Bilbao.

In 2005–06, with Castilla, Soldado scored 19 goals in Segunda División (two penalties) to become joint-second highest goalscorer, alongside Ciudad de Murcia's José Juan Luque, one goal behind Nigerian Ikechukwu Uche of Recreativo de Huelva.

On 24 July 2006, Soldado officially became the first member of Real Madrid to leave under new manager Fabio Capello and new president Ramón Calderón, moving to fellow La Liga club Osasuna on a season-long loan. Set to score goals and return to Real Madrid as a better footballer, he stated: "The idea is to leave and have a good season with a first division team scoring goals, and to develop as a footballer".^[3] Osasuna had finished fourth in the previous campaign, to earn themselves a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, hence Soldado chose them over a number of other Spanish clubs competing for his presence. "The following year I want to return to the Real first team. I chose Osasuna because it gives me the chance to play in the Champions League", he said to Real Madrid's website after his signing; he finished the campaign with a total of 15 official goals, making him the Navarrese team's top scorer.

Soldado returned to Real Madrid where, on 11 July 2007, he renewed his contract with the team until 30 June 2012.^[4] In a 21 July interview with Spanish newspaper Diario AS, he revealed that he would be wearing number 9 shirt in his second stint: "During the preseason I'll be number 9, the number I've always dreamed of. When I step onto the pitch at the Bernabéu I'll remember all the hard work it took to get here". However, he finished the season with just five league appearances (one start, at Deportivo de La Coruña), the second with fewer minutes for the league champions.

Getafe

In late July 2008 Soldado was sold to Getafe CF for €4 million, signing a four-year deal with the side from the Madrid outskirts,^[5] like former Real midfielder Esteban Granero the previous week. He scored his first goal for the club on 19 October 2008 in a 1–2 away loss against Málaga CF, adding two in another away defeat, with Osasuna (2–5), two months later;^[6] in between, he was sent off in a 0–3 home loss against Valencia, for head-butting Carlos Marchena.^[7]

On 25 January 2009 Soldado netted a hat-trick as an early substitute, in a 5–1 home win against Sporting de Gijón.^[8] On 22 March, as Getafe struggled in the league, he scored twice to secure another home triumph, 2–1 with Recreativo de Huelva.^[9] The following month he netted the opener against his first professional club, albeit in a 2–3 away defeat.^[10]

Soldado started 2009–10 in impressive fashion, scoring three past Racing Santander in a 4–1 away win.^[11] After a long scoring drought, he added three more against newly promoted Xerez CD, in a 5–1 home triumph.^[12]

On 19 December 2009, Soldado took his league tally to ten after scoring twice in a 2–1 win at Sevilla FC – with this achievement, he became Getafe's best ever scorer in the first division, surpassing Manu del Moral and Daniel Güiza;^[13] he missed one month of competition due to injury but, in his return to action, scored from a bicycle kick, earning his side a point in the 1–1 home draw against Gijón.^[14]

Valencia

In early June 2010, after a successful year at Getafe – 16 league goals, and the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League – Soldado returned to his hometown and signed for Valencia for €10 million, replacing FC Barcelona-bound David Villa. In his first official game, on 14 September, for the Champions League group stage, he contributed one goal in the Che's 4–0 win at Bursaspor;^[15] when the two teams met at the Mestalla Stadium in November, he netted two more, in a 6–1 success.^[16]

On 2 April 2011, Soldado scored all of Valencia's goals in a 4–2 away win against former club Getafe.^[17] In the next fixture, a local derby against Villarreal CF, he netted two more in a 5–0 home thrashing,^[18] and finished the season as joint-fourth top scorer as his team ranked third and qualified to the Champions League.

In the first game of the 2011–12 season (second round), Soldado scored four goals against Racing Santander – one in his own net – in an eventual 4–3 home win. His last two goals arrived in the final three minutes.^[19] In late November 2011, in two home games separated by only five days, he added five more: two in a 2–3 home loss against Real Madrid^[20] and three in a 7–0 routing of K.R.C. Genk for the Champions League group stage.^[21]

Soldado took his league tally to 15 (and 25 for the campaign) on 18 March 2012, scoring all three of his team's goals in a 3–0 win at Bilbao.^[22] In late June, he extended his contract until 2017.^[23]

On 23 October 2012 Soldado scored a hat-trick against FC BATE Borisov, in a 3–0 success for the Champions League group stage in Minsk.^[24]

Tottenham Hotspur

Valencia agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for the transfer of Soldado on 1 August 2013, for a club-record fee of £26 million.^[25] The transfer was completed four days later after a successful medical,^[26] and it broke the English side's previous record of £17 million paid for Paulinho earlier in the summer.^[27]

On 18 August 2013, Soldado scored Tottenham's winning goal with a penalty kick in a 1–0 win against Crystal Palace on his Premier League debut.^[28] Four days later, he scored his first goals in European competition for the Spurs, netting a brace in a 5–0 win at FC Dinamo Tbilisi for the Europa League playoff round;^[29]

On 20 October 2013, Soldado scored his first Premier League goal from open play in a 2–0 win for Spurs against Aston Villa at Villa Park.^[30]

On 12 December 2013, he scored his first Tottenham hat-trick against against FC Anzhi Makhachkala in the group stage on the Europa League.^[31]

International career

Soldado represented Spain at all its youth levels, scoring a total of 26 goals. He was first called up to the first team in June 2007 for two UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, against Latvia and Liechtenstein, playing in both;^[32] however, he did not make it to the finals in Switzerland and Austria, as the nation emerged victorious.

On 29 February 2012, after nearly five years of absence, Soldado returned to the national team: he came on as a substitute for Fernando Llorente at half-time of a friendly with Venezuela in Málaga, scoring twice after only seven minutes on the pitch; afterwards, he gained a penalty and the sending off of Fernando Amorebieta, but missed the ensuing attempt, only to close the score at 5–0 in the 83rd minute.^[33]

Manager Vicente del Bosque selected Soldado to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squad. He scored in the opener on 16 June, helping to a 2–1 win against Uruguay.^[34]

International goals

Score and Result lists Spain's goals first

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	29 February 2012	La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain	Venezuela	3–0	5–0	Friendly
2.				4–0
3.				5–0
4.	11 September 2012	Boris Paichadze, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	1–0	1–0	2014 World Cup qualification
5.	11 June 2013	Yankee Stadium, New York, United States	Republic of Ireland	1–0	2–0	Friendly
6.	16 June 2013	Arena Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil	Uruguay	2–0	2–1	2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
7.	10 September 2013	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Chile	1–1	2–2	Friendly

Honours

Club

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2007–08
• Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2007

Country

Spain

• FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-up 2013

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2004

Individual

• Zarra Trophy (Segunda División): 2005–06
• Zarra Trophy (La Liga): 2011–12

Club statistics

As of 1 February 2014.^[35][36]

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Real Madrid B	2002–03	26	7	—		—		26	7
	2003–04	31	16	—		—		31	16
	2004–05	34	21	—		—		34	21
	2005–06	29	19	—		—		29	19
	Total	120	63	—		—		120	63
Real Madrid	2004–05	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
	2005–06	11	2	4	1	2	1	17	4
	Total	11	2	6	1	2	1	19	4
Osasuna	2006–07	30	11	3	1	11	1	44	13
	Total	30	11	3	1	11	1	44	13
Real Madrid	2007–08	5	0	2	0	1	0	8	0
	Total	5	0	2	0	1	0	8	0
Getafe	2008–09	34	13	0	0	—		34	13
	2009–10	26	16	6	4	—		32	20
	Total	60	29	6	4	—		66	33
Valencia	2010–11	34	18	3	1	7	6	44	25
	2011–12	32	17	6	3	13	7	51	27
	2012–13	35	24	4	2	7	4	46	30
	Total	101	59	13	6	27	17	141	81
Tottenham Hotspur	2013–14	20	5	1	0	3	5	24	10
	Total	20	5	1	0	3	5	24	10
Career total		347	168	31	12	44	24	422	204

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roberto Soldado.

• Tottenham official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• Roberto Soldado at National-Football-Teams.com
• Transfermarkt profile
• CiberChe stats and bio (Spanish)

v t e Tottenham Hotspur F.C. – current squad 1 Gomes 2 Walker 3 Rose 4 Kaboul 5 Vertonghen 6 Chiricheș 7 Lennon 8 Paulinho 9 Soldado 10 Adebayor 11 Lamela 15 Capoue 16 Naughton 17 Townsend 18 Defoe 19 Dembélé 20 Dawson 21 Chadli 22 Sigurðsson 23 Eriksen 24 Friedel 25 Lloris 30 Sandro 35 Fryers 37 Kane 42 Bentaleb 56 Archer Manager: Sherwood

v t e Spain squad – 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Casillas (c) 2 Albiol 3 Piqué 4 Martínez 5 Azpilicueta 6 Iniesta 7 Villa 8 Xavi 9 Torres 10 Fàbregas 11 Pedro 12 Valdés 13 Mata 14 Soldado 15 Ramos 16 Busquets 17 Arbeloa 18 Alba 19 Monreal 20 Cazorla 21 Silva 22 Navas 23 Reina Coach: Del Bosque

Preceded by None	Segunda División Zarra Trophy Winner 2005–06	Succeeded by Marcos Márquez for Las Palmas

Persondata
Name	Soldado, Roberto
Alternative names	Soldado Rillo, Roberto
Short description	Spanish footballer
Date of birth	27 May 1985
Place of birth	Valencia, Spain
Date of death
Place of death