Rubén Baraja

Lore & Background

A complete central midfielder with tackling, passing and scoring ability, he played mostly for Valencia in a 17-year career. He won five major honours with the club, including two La Liga championships. Baraja was also a consistent part of the Spain national team for five years, appearing for them at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 and winning 43 caps. He began working as a head coach in 2015, being appointed by Valencia eight years later.

Reader's Guide

Baraja started his career at local Real Valladolid before moving to Atlético Madrid, where he would spend two and a half seasons with the reserves. He left Atlético in a 2,000 million pesetas transfer to Valencia. In his first season, he was a key element in their Champions League run, as they were beaten in the final by Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout, with the player scoring on his attempt. 2001–02 saw his first trophy win, where his goals late in the campaign helped Valencia to their first La Liga title in 31 years – he finished as team top scorer in the league, netting seven in only 17 league games after recovering from a knee injury. 2003–04 was another big year, winning both the domestic championship (with eight league goals from him) as well as the UEFA Cup.

In 2006–07, Baraja only made 14 league appearances, as Valencia finished fourth, and continued to be constantly bothered by physical problems in the following years. After two respectable seasons, often partnering longtime central midfield partner David Albelda, he was again greatly troubled by injuries in the 2009–10 campaign. Baraja closed his chapter at the Mestalla Stadium after one full decade on 16 May 2010, receiving homages before and after the 1–0 home win over Tenerife.

The 35-year-old announced his retirement shortly after, having appeared in 338 top-flight games over 15 seasons and scored 47 goals. He made his debut for Spain on 7 October 2000, in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2–0 defeat of Israel. He was picked for the final stages, where the team reached the quarter-finals before being sent out by co-hosts South Korea on penalties; he scored from a header during regulation time, but saw his goal disallowed for alleged shirt pulling and pushing in the Korean penalty area.

Baraja also took part in the disappointing UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, where Spain was eliminated in the group stage. He was left out of the 2006 World Cup squad, as his club presence was also diminished due to recurrent injuries. In June 2011, Baraja returned to former team Atlético Madrid as part of newly appointed manager Gregorio Manzano's staff. In the summer of 2013, he returned to main club Valencia, first coaching the youths.

On 22 December 2013, Baraja took interim charge of the reserves in the Segunda División B. He was appointed manager of Elche on 12 July 2015.

Did You Know?

• He finished as Valencia's top league scorer in 2001–02 with seven goals, despite recovering from a knee injury.
• Baraja's younger brother, Javier, was also a professional footballer and spent most of his senior career at Valladolid.