Raúl Valbuena
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raúl Valbuena Cano | ||
| Date of birth | 23 April 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1991 | Leganés | ||
| 1992–1994 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1991–1992 | Leganés B | ||
| 1994–1995 | Real Madrid C | 26 | (0) |
| 1995–1998 | Real Madrid B | 60 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Mallorca B | 18 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Toledo | 26 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Albacete | 51 | (0) |
| 2002–2006 | Zaragoza | 13 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | → Albacete (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Albacete | 30 | (0) |
| Total | 245 | (0) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992 | Spain U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 1992 | Spain U19 | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2009– | Zaragoza (youth) | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Raúl Valbuena Cano (born 23 April 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Born in Madrid, Valbuena made his senior debuts with CD Leganés' reserve team, aged only 16. In the 1992 summer he joined Real Madrid's youth setup, and was promoted to the C-team in 1994.[1]
In 1995 Valbuena was assigned to Real Madrid Castilla, in Segunda División. He played his first match as a professional on 24 March 1996, starting in a 1–0 away win against CA Marbella.[2]
Valbuena also suffered relegation in the 1996–97 campaign, and in the 1998 summer moved to another reserve team, RCD Mallorca B also in the second level. After sharing stats with Leo Franco he signed for fellow league team CD Toledo in July 2000.
In 2000 Valbuena joined Albacete Balompié, appearing regularly during his two-year spell. On 6 June 2002 he moved to Real Zaragoza,[3] but only appeared in one league match as his side were promoted.
On 21 September 2003 Valbuena made his La Liga debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 away loss against Real Sociedad.[4] He only appeared sparingly during the season, and was subsequently loaned to his former side Albacete on 15 July 2004.[5]
Valbuena was regularly used by the Castile-La Mancha side – only being limited due to injuries –[6] which suffered relegation. On 1 May 2005, after starting in a 0–2 away loss against FC Barcelona, he suffered Lionel Messi's first league goal, the second of the match.[7]
Valbuena returned to the Aragon in 2005, and also played 25 minutes in 2006 Copa del Rey Final 1–4 loss against RCD Espanyol, after replacing field player Delio Toledo due to César Sánchez's dimissal.[8] He left the club in the following year, and signed a three-year deal with Alba;[9] he retired with the latter in 2008 at the age of 32.
References
- ↑ Biografía (Biography); Raúl Valbuena's official website. Retrieved on 7 March 2015 (Spanish)
- ↑ Marbella, 0 – R. Madrid B, 1; El Mundo Deportivo, 25 March 1996 (Spanish)
- ↑ Paco Flores y Valbuena llegan al Real Zaragoza (Paco Flores and Valbuena arrive at Real Zaragoza); Aragón Digital, 6 June 2002 (Spanish)
- ↑ Semana grande de la Real (Big week of Real); El Mundo Deportivo, 22 September 2003 (Spanish)
- ↑ Raúl Valbuena es la nueva incorporación para la portería (Raúl Valbuena is the new addition for the goal); Diario AS, 15 July 2004 (Spanish)
- ↑ Valbuena fue operado ayer por segunda vez de su fractura (Valbuena was operated yesterday for the second time of his fracture); Diario AS, 3 November 2004 (Spanish)
- ↑ Valbuena: "Me dijeron: 'hay un chavalín que va a ser muy bueno'" (Valbuena: "They said to me: 'there is a kid who will be great'"); Marca, 25 November 2014 (Spanish)
- ↑ El Espanyol desquicia al Zaragoza y se alza con la Copa (Espanyol unsettles Zaragoza and rises with Copa); Marca, 12 April 2006 (Spanish)
- ↑ Valbuena se marcha al Albacete (Valbuena goes to Albacete); Diario AS, 25 July 2006 (Spanish)