Rubén Baraja

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Personal information
Baraja
Full name	Rubén Baraja Vegas
Date of birth	July 11, 1975 (age 31)
Place of birth	Valladolid, Spain
Height	180 cm.
Nickname	Ruben
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Valencia CF
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993-1996 1996-2000 2000-present	Real Valladolid Atlético Madrid Valencia CF	41 (2) 33 (4) 182 (35)
National team²
2000-present	Spain	38 (6)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 22, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of August 22, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Rubén Baraja Vegas (born July 11, 1975 in Valladolid) is a Spanish professional football (soccer) player, who currently plays for Valencia CF in the Spanish La Liga. He is one of Europe's most complete midfielders^[1] with his good tackling in his defensive position on the pitch, as well as offensive qualities as a proven goalscorer, and Ruben Baraja has been a consistent part of the Spanish national team from 2000 to 2006.

1 Biography
2 Honours
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Biography

Baraja started his career at local club Real Valladolid before moving to Atlético Madrid. When Atletico was relegated at the end of the 1999/2000 Baraja left the club in a 2,000 million pesata transfer^[2] 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, Ruben Baraja made his debut for the Spanish national team on October 7, 2000 in the 2002 World Cup qualification 2-0 win over Israel. For Valencia, Ruben Baraja took part in a new challenge for the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League, but the club was beaten in the final once again, this time losing on penalty shootouts to Bayern Munich despite Baraja scoring on his penalty shot.

The 2001/02 season would see Baraja's first trophy win, where his goals late in the campaign helped Valencia to their first La Liga championship in 31 years. He finished the club's top scorer in the league that season. 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. The 2003/04 season was another big year, winning both the domestic La Liga championship as well as the European 2003/04 UEFA Cup tournament, beating Olympique Marseille 2-0 in the final. Baraja also took part in the disappointing 2004 European Championship (Euro 2004) where Spain was eliminated in the group stage by later finalists Portugal and Greece. To many people's surprise, Baraja was left out of the Spanish squad for the 2006 World Cup. Spain went out in the 2nd round losing to France.

[edit] Honours

Spanish La Liga: 2002, 2004
UEFA Cup: 2004
European Super Cup: 2004

[edit] External links

[edit] References

^ Ruben Baraja, BBC, 25 May, 2004
^ Valencia break club transfer record, The Namibian, 2 August, 2000

	Spain squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Casillas \| 2 Torres \| 3 Juanfran \| 4 Helguera \| 5 Puyol \| 6 Hierro \| 7 Raúl \| 8 Baraja \| 9 Morientes \| 10 Tristán \| 11 de Pedro \| 12 Luque \| 13 Ricardo \| 14 Albelda \| 15 Romero \| 16 Mendieta \| 17 Valerón \| 18 Sergio \| 19 Xavi \| 20 Nadal \| 21 Luis Enrique \| 22 Joaquín \| 23 Contreras \| Coach: Camacho