Àngel Rangel

Àngel Rangel

Rangel playing for Swansea in 2011
Personal information
Full nameÀngel Rangel Zaragoza
Date of birth28 October 1982
Place of birthSant Carles, Spain
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing positionRight back
Club information
Current team
Swansea City
Number22
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2001–2003Tortosa
2003–2004Reus
2004–2005Girona24(0)
2005–2006Sant Andreu33(5)
2006–2007Terrassa34(2)
2007–Swansea City281(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 25 April 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rangel and the second or maternal family name is Zaragoza.

Àngel Rangel Zaragoza (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈanʒəɫ rənˈʒɛɫ]; born 28 October 1982) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Welsh club Swansea City as a right back.

After playing lower league football in his country he went on to spend most of his professional career with Swansea City, winning promotion to the Premier League in 2011.

Club career

Born in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Catalonia, Rangel represented CD Tortosa, CF Reus Deportiu, Girona FC, UE Sant Andreu and Terrassa FC in his homeland, never in higher than Segunda División B. In summer 2007 he signed for Swansea City in the English League One on a one-year performance-related deal, for an undisclosed fee – countryman Roberto Martínez was the team's manager.[2]

In his first season with Swansea, Rangel played a massive role as the Welsh club returned to the second tier after a 24-year absence, as league champions. On 27 November 2007 he scored his first goal as a Swan, netting eight minutes from time in a 1–0 home win against Hartlepool United;[3] only two weeks later, again at the Liberty Stadium, he scored in a 3–0 success against Southend United.[4]

At the end of the season, Rangel was one of five Swansea players to make the PFA League One Team of the Year, alongside Ferrie Bodde, Garry Monk, Andy Robinson and the league's top scorer Jason Scotland.[5] On 5 September 2008, Rangel signed a new contract until June 2010.[6]

Rangel continued to feature prominently for Swansea in the following years and, in mid-February 2010, extended his contract until June 2011.;[7] The 2010–11 season was a successful one for Rangel and Swansea as Swansea were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history following a 4–2 victory over Reading in the Championship Play-off Final at Wembley Stadium.[8]

Rangel defending against Kieran Gibbs of Arsenal in September 2011

Following Swansea's promotion to the Premier League, Rangel signed a new three-year contract with Swansea.[9]

In November 2011, Rangel was voted best defender in the Premier League.[10] He contributed with 25 appearances as Swansea retained its top flight status.

Rangel scored his first Premier League goal on 25 August 2012, in a 3–0 home win against West Ham United.[11] On 8 March 2013 he signed a new contract with the Swans, keeping him at the club until 2016.[12]

On 19 April 2015, Rangel was selected in the The Football Manager Team of the Decade at the Football League Awards.[13]

International career

Rangel was believed to qualify to represent Wales on residency grounds,[14][15] but was ruled ineligible in July 2012 as he had not had five years of continuous education in the country.[16]

Honours

Swansea City

Club statistics

As of 19 October 2014[17][18]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Girona 2004–05 Segunda División B 24010—250
Total 24010—250
Sant Andreu 2005–06 Segunda División B 33500—335
Total 33500—335
Terrassa 2006–07 Segunda División B 34210—352
Total 34210—352
Swansea City 2007–08 League One 432504[lower-alpha 1]0522
2008–09 Championship 40160—461
2009–10 Championship 38020—400
2010–11 Championship 382203[lower-alpha 2]0432
2011–12 Premier League 34011—351
2012–13 Premier League 33340—373
2013–14 Premier League 300009[lower-alpha 3]0390
2014–15 Premier League 240000070
Total 26382011602999
Career total 3541522116039216
  1. ↑ Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearances in the Football League play-offs
  3. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

Personal life

On 18 January 2013, Rangel drove round Swansea with his wife Nikki to distribute food to the homeless. He told CNN: "We went for something to eat in a local sandwich chain and overheard the manager saying they had to throw out food as they were about to close for the night. My wife, Nikki, who is a very caring and charitable person, asked if we could have them for the homeless rather than see them thrown in the bin. They agreed and we drove around Swansea for over an hour, but couldn't find any homeless people as it was so cold out on the streets with all the snow. We decided to tweet a plea and we were guided to a local charity shelter who looked after the homeless." He was so pleased with the reaction to his gesture he confirmed that he would be helping out again.[19]

On 5 April 2013, Rangel announced plans to hold charity auctions with his wife and teammates Chico Flores, Ben Davies, Jonathan de Guzmán, Pablo Hernández, Michu and Itay Shechter, to raise money for the Severn Hospice in Telford, Maggie’s Cancer Centre in Swansea and The Christian Lewis Trust Kids Cancer Charity – among the top prizes on offer at one of the auctions were Rangel’s personal box for the game against Manchester City, and a visit to a Formula One garage during qualifying of the German Grand Prix. He was inspired to do this by Nikki, who has had three family members diagnosed with cancer.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile Angel Rangel". Premier League. Barclays Premier League. 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Swans make second Spanish swoop; BBC Sport, 29 June 2007
  3. ↑ Swansea 1–0 Hartlepool; BBC Sport, 27 November 2007
  4. ↑ Swansea 3–0 Southend; BBC Sport, 15 December 2007
  5. ↑ Swans players dominate PFA team; BBC Sport, 28 April 2008
  6. ↑ "Rangel signs fresh Swansea deal". BBC Sport. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  7. ↑ Angel Rangel extends Swansea contract until 2011; BBC Sport, 19 February 2010
  8. ↑ "Reading 2 – 4 Swansea". BBC Sport. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  9. ↑ "Angel Rangel signs three-year extension deal at Swansea". BBC Sport. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  10. ↑ Àngel Rangel, mejor defensa de la Premier (Àngel Rangel, best Premier defender); Diari de Tarragona, 14 November 2011 (Spanish)
  11. ↑ Swans FLY high with win over under-par Hammers; Wales Online, 26 August 2012
  12. ↑ "Defender Angel Rangel extends Swansea City contract until 2016". BBC Sport. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Winners announced for The Football League Awards 2015". The Football League. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Swansea's Angel Rangel would consider representing Wales; BBC Sport, 14 May 2012
  15. ↑ Wales sensitive to Aaron Ramsey 'issues' over Ryan Shawcross call; BBC Sport, 11 July 2012
  16. ↑ Swansea City defender Angel Rangel ineligible for Wales; BBC Sport, 13 July 2012
  17. ↑ "Rangel: Ángel Rangel Zaragoza". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Àngel Rangel". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Swansea's Angel Rangel helps homeless in the city". BBC Sport. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "After giving food to the homeless, Angel the angel raises money for cancer charities". Wales Online. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.

External links

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