Rubén Baraja

Football player infobox
playername = Rubén Baraja


fullname = Rubén Baraja Vegas
height = 180 cm
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1975|7|11
cityofbirth = Valladolid
countryofbirth = Castile
currentclub = Valencia CF
clubnumber = 8
position = Central midfielder
years = 1993-1996 1996-1998 1999-2000 2000-present
clubs = Real Valladolid Atlético B Atlético Madrid Valencia CF
caps(goals) = 41 (2)
34 (4)
198 (38)
nationalyears = 2000-2006
nationalteam = Spain
nationalcaps(goals) = 43 (7)
pcupdate = September 30, 2008
ntupdate = September 30, 2008

Rubén Baraja Vegas, Baraja (born July 11, 1975 in Valladolid, Castile), is a Spanish professional footballer, who currently plays for Valencia CF in the Spanish "La Liga".

A complete central midfielder, with good tackling and offensive qualities, together with accurate passing and goalscoring ability, Baraja was also a consistent part of the Spanish national team from 2000 to 2006.

Biography

Baraja started his career at local club Real Valladolid before moving to Atlético de Madrid, where he would spend two 1/2 seasons with the the B side, first appearing with the main squad on February 7, 1999, playing the second half of a 1-2 defeat at UD Salamanca.

When Atlético was relegated at the end of 1999-2000, Baraja left the club in a 2,000 million pesetas transferref|transfer to 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League finalists Valencia CF, who were looking to strengthen their midfield following the sale of first team players Claudio López, Gerard, and Javier Farinós.

In his first season at Valencia, Baraja made his debut for the Spanish national team on October 7, 2000, in the 2002 World Cup qualification 2-0 win over Israel. Clubwise, he was a key element in Valencia's 2000-01 Champions League campaign, as the club was beaten in the final for the second year running, this time losing in a penalty shootout to Bayern Munich, with Baraja scoring on his attempt.

The 2001-02 season would see Baraja's first trophy win, where his goals late in the campaign helped Valencia to their first league championship in 31 years. He finished the club's top scorer in the league with seven goals in only seventeen league games. On the international stage, Baraja played for the national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup where the team reached the quarter-finals before being sent out by South Korea on penalties, though Baraja once again scored on his attempt.

2003-04 was another big year, winning both the domestic championship (with 8 Baraja league goals) as well as the UEFA Cup, beating Olympique de Marseille 2-0 in the final. Baraja also took part in the disappointing 2004 European Championship where Spain was eliminated in the group stage by later finalists Portugal and Greece. Baraja was left out of the Spanish squad for the 2006 World Cup, as his club presence was also diminished due to recurrent injuries. In 2006-07, he only appeared in 14 league contests, as Valencia finished fourth.

Personal

Baraja's younger brother, Javier, is also a professional footballer, currently with Real Valladolid.

Honours

References

# [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/spain/players_to_watch/default.stm Baraja article on BBC Sport] , May 25, 2004
# [http://www.namibian.com.na/Netstories/2000/August/Sport/0094B9AA26.html Valencia break club transfer record] , The Namibian, August 2, 2000

External links

* [http://www.valenciacf.es/equipo/equipo.asp?Idioma=1&IdJugador=20&IdTemporada=2005&Estadisticas=False&Equipo=1&IdBanner=136 Valencia CF profile]
* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=5931 Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional] es icon
* [http://futbol.sportec.es/seleccion/ficha_jugador.asp?j=69&n=baraja/ruben/baraja/vegas National team data] es icon
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=604 FootballDatabase.com profile and stats]