Cani (Spanish footballer)
 Cani training with Villarreal in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rubén Gracia Calmache | ||
| Date of birth | 3 August 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Zaragoza, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Atlético Madrid (on loan from Villarreal) | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Stadium Venecia | |||
| Zaragoza | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000–2002 | Zaragoza B | 32 | (6) |
| 2000–2001 | → Utebo (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2002–2006 | Zaragoza | 122 | (13) |
| 2006– | Villarreal | 259 | (23) |
| 2015– | → Atlético Madrid (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 March 2015. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Rubén Gracia Calmache (born 3 August 1981), commonly known as Cani, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid on loan from Villarreal CF. Usually a right midfielder, he can also play on the left.
During his career he played almost exclusively with Zaragoza and Villarreal, winning two major titles with the former and appearing in more than 300 official games with the latter.
Club career
Zaragoza
Cani was born in Zaragoza. A youth graduate of his hometown's Real Zaragoza, he was shining in the B-team which was playing in Segunda División B after a loan stint with lowly Utebo FC in Tercera División and, as the main side's fate was already decided in the 2001–02 season (relegation, ranking last) he received his first-team debut, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona.[1]
After helping the Aragonese club regain its top flight status by appearing in 24 games and scoring five goals, his first coming on 23 March 2003 in a 2–0 win at Real Oviedo, Cani went on to become a vital midfield element. In the 2003–04 campaign he helped Zaragoza win the Copa del Rey, in a 3–2 extra time win against Real Madrid – he was also sent off during the match.[2]
Villarreal
During 2005–06 Cani was one of La Liga's best passers and, at the season's end, signed with Villarreal CF for €11 million.[3] He appeared in 32 games for the 2007–08 runners-up, although he did not score.
In the 2008–09 season, after a shaky start, which included not being called to some matches by coach Manuel Pellegrini in spite of being healthy, Cani finished strongly, scoring five times in the last nine appearances, including the final three: Real Madrid (3–2),[4] Valencia CF (3–1)[5] and RCD Mallorca (3–2),[6] as Villarreal finished fifth; after the Chilean manager's departure to the Merengues, he again appeared in the starting XI regularly.
Cani continued to be an undisputed starter for Villarreal in the 2010–11 campaign – Robert Pirès had also left the team. On 9 January 2011 he netted the opener at Real Madrid, with a subtle finish inside the box; already on the bench, he threw a water bottle at opposing manager José Mourinho after the coach celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick (which put the score at 3–2 for the hosts, eventually 4–2) in front of his team's bench, being immediately sent off.[7] The one-match suspension was later lifted, and he found the net in the next game, a 3–3 home draw against Sevilla FC for the season's domestic cup, and in the following, scoring from more than 50 metres in a 4–2 home win against CA Osasuna,[8] with the Valencian eventually finishing the league in fourth place; he added three goals in the club's semifinal run in the UEFA Europa League, including one in each leg of the last-four clash against F.C. Porto in an eventual 4–7 aggregate loss.[9][10]
Atlético Madrid
On 7 January 2015 Cani joined Atlético Madrid on loan for the remainder of the season, after successfully passing a medical.[11] He made his first appearance three weeks later, coming on as a substitute for Arda Turan for the last 27 minutes of a 2–3 home loss to Barcelona for the Spanish Cup quarter-finals (2–4 on aggregate).[12]
Honours
- Zaragoza
- Copa del Rey: 2003–04; Runner-up 2005–06
- Supercopa de España: 2004
References
- ↑ El Barcelona se salva del siniestro total (Barcelona avoids complete wreck); El Mundo, 11 May 2002 (Spanish)
- ↑ Beckham misses out on Cup; BBC Sport, 17 March 2004
- ↑ Villarreal make Cani move; UEFA.com, 26 May 2006
- ↑ Un equipo caduco y otro campeón (One expiring team and another champion); Marca, 17 May 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ El Villarreal ejecuta al Valencia (Villarreal executes Valencia); Marca, 23 May 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ Victoria sin historia del Villarreal (Hapless win for Villarreal); Marca, 30 May 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ Lucky Real Madrid win – and Cani throws water bottle at José Mourinho; The Guardian, 10 January 2011
- ↑ Cani inspires Villarreal; ESPN Soccernet, 15 January 2011
- ↑ Porto triumph as four-goal Falcao stuns Villarreal; UEFA.com, 28 April 2011
- ↑ Porto hold off valiant Villarreal to reach final; UEFA.com, 5 May 2011
- ↑ "Acuerdo con el Villarreal para la cesión de Cani" [Agreement with Villarreal for Cani loan] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ↑ Reddy, Luke (28 January 2015). "Atl Madrid 2–3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
External links
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