Cani (Spanish footballer)

Rubén Gracia Calmache (born 3 August 1981), known as Cani, is a Spanish retired footballer. Usually a right midfielder, he also played on the left.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gracia and the second or maternal family name is Calmache.

Cani
Cani training with Villarreal in 2011
Personal information
Full name Rubén Gracia Calmache
Date of birth (1981-08-03) 3 August 1981
Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Stadium Venecia
Zaragoza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 Zaragoza B 32 (6)
2000–2001 → Utebo (loan) 15 (1)
2002–2006 Zaragoza 122 (13)
2006–2015 Villarreal 259 (23)
2015 → Atlético Madrid (loan) 4 (0)
2015–2016 Deportivo La Coruña 18 (0)
2016–2017 Zaragoza 32 (1)
Total 482 (44)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

During his career, he played almost exclusively with Zaragoza and Villarreal, winning two major titles with the former club and appearing in 327 competitive matches with the latter.

Club career

Zaragoza

Cani was born in Zaragoza. A youth graduate of his hometown's Real Zaragoza, he was shining in the B-team which was playing in Segunda División B after a loan stint with lowly Utebo FC in Tercera División and, as the main squad's fate was already decided in the 2001–02 season (relegation, ranking last) he received his first-team debut, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona.[1]

After helping the Aragonese club regain its top flight status by appearing in 24 games and scoring five goals, his first coming on 23 March 2003 in a 2–0 win at Real Oviedo, Cani went on to become a vital midfield element. In the 2003–04 campaign, he helped Zaragoza win the Copa del Rey in a 3–2 extra time win against Real Madrid – he was also sent off during the match.[2]

Villarreal

During 2005–06, Cani was one of La Liga's best passers, and at the season's end he signed with Villarreal CF for €11 million.[3] He appeared in 32 games for the 2007–08 runners-up, although he did not score.

Cani observes in the forefront as his teammate competes Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Özil for the ball in January 2011.

In the 2008–09 campaign, after a shaky start, which included not being called to some matches by coach Manuel Pellegrini in spite of being healthy, Cani finished strongly, scoring five times in the last nine appearances, including the final three: Real Madrid (3–2),[4] Valencia CF (3–1)[5] and RCD Mallorca (3–2),[6] as Villarreal finished fifth; after the Chilean manager's departure to Real Madrid, he again appeared in the starting XI regularly.

Cani continued to be an undisputed starter in 2010–11 – Robert Pires had also left the club. On 9 January 2011, he netted the opener at Real Madrid, with a subtle finish inside the box; already on the bench, he threw a water bottle at opposing manager José Mourinho after the coach celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick (which put the score at 3–2 for the hosts, eventually 4–2) in front of his team's bench, being immediately sent off.[7] The one-match suspension was later lifted, and he found the net in the next game, a 3–3 home draw against Sevilla FC for the season's domestic cup, and in the following, scoring from more than 50 metres in a 4–2 home win against CA Osasuna,[8] with the Valencians eventually finishing the league in fourth place; he added three goals in a semi-final run in the UEFA Europa League, including one in each leg of the last-four clash against FC Porto in an eventual 4–7 aggregate loss.[9][10]

On 7 January 2015, Cani joined Atlético Madrid on loan for the remainder of the season, after successfully passing a medical.[11] He made his first appearance three weeks later, coming on as a substitute for Arda Turan for the last 27 minutes of a 2–3 home loss to Barcelona for the Spanish Cup quarter-finals (2–4 on aggregate).[12]

Later career

On 23 July 2015, Cani terminated his contract with Villarreal[13] and signed a one-year deal with Deportivo de La Coruña the following day.[14] He left at the end of the campaign, contributing with 888 minutes to a 15th-place finish.

On 6 July 2016, Cani returned to his first club Zaragoza after agreeing to a two-year deal.[15] Roughly one year later, despite featuring regularly during the second division season, the 36-year-old announced his retirement.[16]

International career

In the run up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Spain manager Luis Aragonés called up Cani to a senior team get-together, however he was ultimately not part of the squad at the finals and never won a cap.[17]

Honours

Zaragoza

References
  1. El Barcelona se salva del siniestro total (Barcelona avoid complete wreck); El Mundo, 11 May 2002 (in Spanish)
  2. Beckham misses out on Cup; BBC Sport, 17 March 2004
  3. Villarreal make Cani move; UEFA, 26 May 2006
  4. Un equipo caduco y otro campeón (One expiring team and another champion); Marca, 17 May 2009 (in Spanish)
  5. El Villarreal ejecuta al Valencia (Villarreal execute Valencia); Marca, 23 May 2009 (in Spanish)
  6. Victoria sin historia del Villarreal (Hapless win for Villarreal); Marca, 30 May 2009 (in Spanish)
  7. Lucky Real Madrid win – and Cani throws water bottle at José Mourinho; The Guardian, 10 January 2011
  8. Cani inspires Villarreal; ESPN Soccernet, 15 January 2011
  9. Porto triumph as four-goal Falcao stuns Villarreal; UEFA, 28 April 2011
  10. Porto hold off valiant Villarreal to reach final; UEFA, 5 May 2011
  11. "Acuerdo con el Villarreal para la cesión de Cani" [Agreement with Villarreal for Cani loan] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  12. Reddy, Luke (28 January 2015). "Atl Madrid 2–3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  13. "Cani se desvincula del Villarreal CF" [Cani cuts ties with Villarreal CF] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  14. "Cani, nuevo jugador del Deportivo" [Cani, new player of Deportivo] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  15. "Cani vuelve al Real Zaragoza" [Cani returns to Real Zaragoza] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  16. "Rubén Gracia, 'Cani', pone fin a su trayectoria como futbolista profesional" [Rubén Gracia, 'Cani', ends his career as professional footballer] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  17. "Five new faces for Spain". Special Broadcasting Service. 8 April 2006. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
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