Rubén Baraja
Baraja as Elche manager in 2016
Personal information
Full name Rubén Baraja Vegas[1]
Date of birth (1975-07-11) 11 July 1975[1]
Place of birth Valladolid, Spain[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Valencia (manager)
Youth career
Valladolid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Valladolid B 46 (11)
1993–1996 Valladolid 41 (2)
1996–1999 Atlético Madrid B 79 (20)
1999–2000 Atlético Madrid 34 (4)
2000–2010 Valencia 263 (41)
Total 463 (78)
International career
1993 Spain U18 3 (1)
2000–2005 Spain 43 (7)
Managerial career
2011 Atlético Madrid (assistant)
2013–2015 Valencia (youth)
2013 Valencia B (interim)
2015–2016 Elche
2016–2017 Rayo Vallecano
2017–2018 Sporting Gijón
2019–2020 Tenerife
2020 Zaragoza
2023– Valencia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rubén Baraja Vegas (Spanish pronunciation: [ruˈβem baˈɾaxa]; born 11 July 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer, currently manager of Valencia.

A complete central midfielder with good tackling, technique, and offensive qualities, together with accurate passing and goalscoring ability,[2][3] he played mostly for Valencia during a 17-year professional career, being an essential figure in five of the club's major titles, which included two La Liga championships.[4]

Baraja was also a consistent part of the Spain national team for five years, appearing in one World Cup and one European Championship and winning 43 caps. He began work as a head coach in 2015 and was hired by Valencia eight years later.

Playing career

Club

Born in Valladolid, Castile and León, 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, first appearing with the first team on 7 February 1999 by playing the second half of a 2–1 away defeat against UD Salamanca.[5] In 1998–99, with the B's in the Segunda División, he scored a career-best 11 goals.[6]

When Atlético was relegated at the end of 1999–2000, Baraja left the club in a 2,000 million pesetas transfer to that year's UEFA Champions League finalists Valencia CF,[7] who were looking to strengthen their central midfield following the sale of first-team players Gerard and Javier Farinós. In his first season, he was a key element in the Che's Champions League run, as they were beaten in the final for the second year running, this time losing in a penalty shootout to FC Bayern Munich, with the player scoring on his attempt.[8]

2001–02 would see Baraja's 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.[9][10] 2003–04 was another big year, winning both the domestic championship (with eight league goals from him) as well as the UEFA Cup, beating Olympique de Marseille 2–0 in the final.[11]

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,[12] he was again greatly troubled by injuries in the 2009–10 campaign, featuring in only 18 matches (two complete).

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 CD Tenerife, and being replaced to a standing ovation in the 89th minute.[13] The 35-year-old announced his retirement shortly after, having appeared in 338 top-flight games over 15 seasons and scored 47 goals.[14]

International

Baraja made his debut for Spain on 7 October 2000, in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2–0 defeat of Israel.[15] Consequently, 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, though the player, as the year before with Valencia, once again scored on his attempt; he scored from a header during regulation time, but saw his goal disallowed for alleged shirt pulling and pushing in the Korean penalty area.[16][17][18]

Baraja also took part in the disappointing UEFA Euro 2004 tournament,[19] where Spain was eliminated in the group stage by eventual finalists Portugal and Greece.[20][21] He was left out of the 2006 World Cup squad,[22] as his club presence was also diminished due to recurrent injuries.[23][24][25]

Coaching career

Early years

In June 2011, Baraja returned to former team Atlético Madrid as part of newly appointed manager Gregorio Manzano's staff.[26] In the summer of 2013, he returned to main club Valencia, first coaching the youths.[27]

On 22 December 2013, Baraja took interim charge of the reserves in the Segunda División B, as Nico Estévez was doing the same for the first team, and achieved a 2–1 win at UE Sant Andreu.[28][29]

Segunda División

Baraja was appointed manager of Elche CF, newly relegated to the second tier, on 12 July 2015.[30] On 6 June of the following year, he resigned after failing to agree new terms.[31]

On 8 November 2016, Baraja took the reins at fellow second-division Rayo Vallecano.[32] After only three wins from 13 games, he was sacked on 20 February 2017, as they sat a point above the relegation places.[33]

Baraja was appointed at Sporting de Gijón on 12 December 2017.[34] Towards the end of the season, he received a four-match ban and a €3,005 fine for preventing FC Barcelona B's Sergi Palencia from taking a throw-in;[35] this included the first game of the play-offs, in which eventual champions Valladolid eliminated the Asturians 5–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.[36]

On 18 November 2018, Baraja was dismissed after losing the Asturian derby against Real Oviedo, leaving the team in 14th position with a streak of only one win from 11 matches.[37] In December of the following year, he became coach of Tenerife in the same league,[38] managing to avoid relegation, but still left on 20 July 2020.[39]

Baraja replaced Víctor Fernández at the helm of Real Zaragoza on 20 August 2020.[40] He was relieved of his duties on 9 November, after a poor start to the season.[41]

Valencia

On 14 February 2023, Baraja returned to his former club Valencia as head coach, taking over a team that had slipped from 14th to 18th since the dismissal of Gennaro Gattuso; long-time teammate Carlos Marchena was part of his coaching team.[42] His first top-flight game as a manager came six days later, in a 1–0 loss at Getafe CF,[43] and a 1–1 draw at Real Betis secured survival by a two-point margin on the final day.[44] He then renewed his contract for two more years.[45]

Personal life

Baraja's younger brother, Javier, was also a professional footballer. A defender, he too graduated at Valladolid, and went on to spend most of his senior career there.[46]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[47][48]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Valladolid B 1993–94 Segunda División B 208———208
1994–95 Segunda División B 263———263
Total 4611———4611
Valladolid 1993–94 La Liga 51———51
1994–95 La Liga 90———90
1995–96 La Liga 271———271
Total 412———412
Atlético Madrid B 1996–97 Segunda División 221———221
1997–98 Segunda División 328———328
1998–99 Segunda División 2511———2511
Total 7920———7920
Atlético Madrid 1998–99 La Liga 81402[lower-alpha 1]0—141
1999–2000 La Liga 263526[lower-alpha 1]2—377
Total 3449282—518
Valencia 2000–01 La Liga 3542115[lower-alpha 2]2—527
2001–02 La Liga 177—1[lower-alpha 1]0—187
2002–03 La Liga 3551012[lower-alpha 2]42[lower-alpha 3]0509
2003–04 La Liga 3586211[lower-alpha 2]2—5212
2004–05 La Liga 257208[lower-alpha 4]13[lower-alpha 5]1389
2005–06 La Liga 314201[lower-alpha 6]0—344
2006–07 La Liga 141103[lower-alpha 2]0—181
2007–08 La Liga 252813[lower-alpha 2]0—363
2008–09 La Liga 283414[lower-alpha 1]12[lower-alpha 3]0385
2009–10 La Liga 180208[lower-alpha 1]0—280
Total 2634128566107136457
Career total 4637837774127158198
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. 1 2 Appearances in Supercopa de España
  4. ↑ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Cup
  5. ↑ Two appearances in Supercopa de España, one appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup
  6. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Intertoto Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[49]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 200031
200151
2002103
2003100
2004122
200530
Total437
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Baraja goal.[49]
List of international goals scored by Rubén Baraja
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
111 October 2000Ernst Happel, Vienna, Austria Austria1–11–12002 World Cup qualification
225 April 2001Nuevo Arcángel, Córdoba, Spain Japan1–01–0Friendly
317 April 2002Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland2–05–0Friendly
412 October 2002Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain Northern Ireland1–03–0Euro 2004 qualification
53–0
618 February 2004Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain Peru2–12–1Friendly
75 June 2004Alfonso Pérez, Getafe, Spain Andorra2–04–0Friendly

Managerial statistics

As of 14 January 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Valencia B (interim) Spain 15 December 2013 22 December 2013 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00 [50]
Elche Spain 12 July 2015 6 June 2016 43 13 19 11 43 49 −6 030.23 [51]
Rayo Vallecano Spain 8 November 2016 20 February 2017 13 3 4 6 12 14 −2 023.08 [52]
Sporting Gijón Spain 12 December 2017 18 November 2018 43 20 9 14 59 42 +17 046.51 [53]
Tenerife Spain 2 December 2019 20 July 2020 28 12 9 7 38 27 +11 042.86 [54]
Zaragoza Spain 20 August 2020 9 November 2020 10 2 4 4 9 9 +0 020.00 [55]
Valencia Spain 14 February 2023 Present 40 17 9 14 47 44 +3 042.50 [56]
Total 178 68 54 56 210 186 +24 038.20 —

Honours

Valencia

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Rubén BARAJA Vegas". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Ruben Baraja". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2006.
  3. ↑ "Worst players to win the Champions League". ESPN FC. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ballester, Nacho (15 November 2012). "Rubén Baraja, mejor jugador del Valencia del Siglo XXI" [Rubén Baraja, best Valencia player of the 21st Century] (in Spanish). Deporte Valenciano. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Miguelez, José (8 February 1999). "Al Atlético le sacan los colores" [Atlético drained]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Picos, Sergio (13 July 2020). "Atlético B: subir, subir y volver a subir" [Atlético B: promote, promote and promote some more]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Valencia break club transfer record". The Namibian. 2 August 2000. Archived from the original on 27 May 2003. Retrieved 21 May 2006.
  8. ↑ "Bayern crowned European champions". BBC Sport. 23 May 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Ros, Cayetano (29 April 2002). "La sensación se llama Baraja" [Baraja is the sensation's name]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "10 ídolos del valencianismo" [10 Valencia faithful idols] (in Spanish). Valencia Culture. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Valencia 2–0 Marseille". BBC Sport. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Furió, Luis (11 May 2008). "Voro recupera la pareja de los grandes éxitos" [Voro recovers duo of great successes]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Baraja recibe un emotivo adiós de Mestalla" [Baraja gets emotional farewell from Mestalla]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 16 May 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  14. ↑ Izquierdo, Paco (31 August 2021). "Futbolista, vallisoletano y Primera División: ingredientes difíciles de combinar" [Footballer, Valladolid-born and Primera División: hard-to-combine ingredients]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  15. ↑ Miguelez, José (8 October 2000). "España gana con sosería" [Spain win dully]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "Korean dream lives on". BBC Sport. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  17. ↑ Lawrence, Amy (23 June 2002). "Spain rage at referee". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  18. ↑ Hayward, Paul (23 June 2002). "Korean miracle spoilt by refereeing farce". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  19. ↑ Modia, Iván (20 May 2004). "Sáez selects Spain squad". UEFA. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  20. ↑ Spiro, Matthew (17 June 2004). "Greece profit as Charisteas stops Spain surge". UEFA. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  21. ↑ Farrelly, David (20 June 2004). "Portugal leave Spain in shade to light up Lisbon". UEFA. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  22. ↑ Turner, Lucy (15 May 2006). "Aragonés finds no place for Baraja". UEFA. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Baraja muscled out for Valencia". UEFA. 21 August 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  24. ↑ "Valencia get bad news on Baraja". UEFA. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  25. ↑ "Baraja blow deepens Valencia woe". UEFA. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  26. ↑ Aznar, Luis (9 June 2011). "Vizcaíno y Baraja, ayudantes de Gregorio Manzano" [Vizcaíno and Baraja, Gregorio Manzano's assistants]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  27. ↑ "El Juvenil de Baraja, campeón de su grupo" [Baraja's Juvenil, group champions]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 2 April 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  28. ↑ García, A. (18 December 2013). "Rubén Baraja se hace cargo del Mestalla" [Rubén Baraja takes charge of Mestalla]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  29. ↑ "Alex Cortell da la victoria al Valencia Mestalla" [Alex Cortell gives victory to Valencia Mestalla]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). 22 December 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  30. ↑ "Rubén Baraja, nuevo entrenador del Elche C.F." [Rubén Baraja. new manager of Elche C.F.] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  31. ↑ "Rubén Baraja no continuará como entrenador del Elche C.F." [Rubén Baraja will not remain as Elche C.F. manager] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  32. ↑ Álvarez Villacé, C. (6 November 2016). "Baraja, nuevo entrenador del Rayo Vallecano" [Baraja, new manager of Rayo Vallecano]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  33. ↑ Martín, Maite (20 February 2017). "Rayo Vallecano sack Ruben Baraja as head coach". Diario AS. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  34. ↑ "Rubén Baraja, nuevo entrenador del Sporting" [Rubén Baraja, new Sporting head coach] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  35. ↑ Vallespir, Víctor (16 May 2018). "Sancionan a Rubén Baraja con cuatro partidos" [Rubén Baraja banned for four games]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  36. ↑ Jiménez, Pepe; Acebal, David (10 June 2018). "Baraja no despeja la incógnita sobre su futuro" [Baraja does not clear the mystery surrounding his future] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  37. ↑ "Rubén Baraja deja de ser entrenador del R. Sporting" [Rubén Baraja is no longer R. Sporting manager] (in Spanish). La Liga. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  38. ↑ "Rubén Baraja, nuevo técnico del CD Tenerife" [Rubén Baraja, new manager of CD Tenerife] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  39. ↑ "Rubén Baraja completa su ciclo como entrenador del CD Tenerife" [Rubén Baraja ends his cycle as CD Tenerife manager] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  40. ↑ "Lalo Arantegui anuncia que Rubén Baraja será el nuevo entrenador del Real Zaragoza" [Lalo Arantegui announces that Rubén Baraja will be the new manager of Real Zaragoza] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  41. ↑ "El Real Zaragoza toma la decisión de destituir al técnico Rubén Baraja" [Real Zaragoza make the decision of dismissing manager Rubén Baraja] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  42. ↑ Azzoni, Tales (14 February 2023). "Valencia hires former player Rubén Baraja to replace Gattuso" (in Spanish). Associated Press. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  43. ↑ "Baraja se estrena con derrota ante el Getafe y el Valencia se sitúa a dos de la salvación" [Baraja debuts with defeat against Getafe and Valencia are situated two points from safety] (in Spanish). RTVE. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  44. ↑ Fuster, Vicente (4 June 2023). "El Valencia empata en Sevilla y seguirá en Primera" [Valencia draw in Seville and will continue in Primera] (in Spanish). Plaza Deportiva. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  45. ↑ Torres, David (15 June 2023). "Oficial: Baraja renueva con el Valencia CF hasta 2025, ahora busca acompañantes" [Official: Baraja renews with Valencia CF until 2025, now he looks for companions] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  46. ↑ Martínez, C.R. (1 June 2010). "Rubén Baraja, dispuesto a escuchar al Valladolid" [Rubén Baraja, willing to listen to Valladolid]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  47. ↑ Rubén Baraja at BDFutbol
  48. ↑ "Rúben Baraja". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  49. 1 2 "Rúben Baraja". European Football. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  50. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  51. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  52. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  53. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
    "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  54. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  55. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  56. ↑ "Baraja: Rubén Baraja Vegas". BDFutbol. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  57. ↑ Stokkermans, Karel. "ESM XI". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  58. ↑ Harte, Adrian (27 August 2004). "Ranieri finds winning blend". UEFA. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
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