Raúl Valbuena

Raúl Valbuena Cano (born 23 April 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Valbuena and the second or maternal family name is Cano.
Raúl Valbuena
Personal information
Full name Raúl Valbuena Cano
Date of birth (1975-04-23) 23 April 1975
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1986–1991 Leganés
1992–1994 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Leganés B
1994–1995 Real Madrid C 27 (0)
1995–1998 Real Madrid B 60 (0)
1998–1999 Mallorca B 18 (0)
1999–2000 Toledo 26 (0)
2000–2002 Albacete 51 (0)
2002–2006 Zaragoza 13 (0)
2004–2005 → Albacete (loan) 21 (0)
2006–2008 Albacete 30 (0)
Total 246 (0)
National team
1992 Spain U18 1 (0)
1992 Spain U19 2 (0)
Teams managed
2009–2015 Zaragoza (youth)
2015–2016 Sariñena
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Madrid, Valbuena made his senior debut with CD Leganés' reserve team, aged only 16. In the 1992 off-season he joined Real Madrid's youth setup, and was promoted to the C-side in 1994.[1]

In 1995, Valbuena was assigned to Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda División. He played his first match as a professional on 24 March 1996, starting in a 1–0 away win against CA Marbella.[2]

Valbuena also suffered relegation in the 1996–97 season, and in summer 1998 he moved to another reserve team, RCD Mallorca B also in the second level. After splitting first-choice duties with Leo Franco, he signed for fellow league club CD Toledo in July 1999.

In 2000, Valbuena joined Albacete Balompié, appearing regularly during his two-year spell. On 6 June 2002 he moved to Real Zaragoza,[3] but only appeared in one league match in an eventual top-flight promotion.

Valbuena made his La Liga debut on 21 September 2003, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 away loss to Real Sociedad.[4] He featured sparingly during the campaign, and was subsequently loaned to former side Albacete on 15 July 2004.[5]

Valbuena was regularly used by the Castile-La Mancha-based team – only being limited due to injuries –[6] which suffered relegation. On 1 May 2005, after starting in a 0–2 defeat at FC Barcelona, he suffered Lionel Messi's first league goal, the second of the match.[7]

Valbuena returned to Zaragoza in 2005, where he notably played 25 minutes in the 2006 Copa del Rey Final 1–4 loss against RCD Espanyol, after replacing field player Delio Toledo due to César Sánchez's dismissal.[8] He left the club the following year, and signed a three-year deal with Alba;[9] he retired with the latter in 2008, at the age of 33.

References
  1. Biografía (Biography); Official website (in Spanish)
  2. Marbella, 0 – R. Madrid B, 1; Mundo Deportivo, 25 March 1996 (in Spanish)
  3. Paco Flores y Valbuena llegan al Real Zaragoza (Paco Flores and Valbuena arrive at Real Zaragoza); Aragón Digital, 6 June 2002 (in Spanish)
  4. Semana grande de la Real (Big week for Real); Mundo Deportivo, 22 September 2003 (in Spanish)
  5. Raúl Valbuena es la nueva incorporación para la portería (Raúl Valbuena is the new addition for the goal); Diario AS, 15 July 2004 (in Spanish)
  6. Valbuena fue operado ayer por segunda vez de su fractura (Valbuena underwent second surgery to his fracture yesterday); Diario AS, 3 November 2004 (in Spanish)
  7. Valbuena: "Me dijeron: 'hay un chavalín que va a ser muy bueno'" (Valbuena: "They told me: 'there is a little kid who will be great'"); Marca, 25 November 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. El Espanyol desquicia al Zaragoza y se alza con la Copa (Espanyol unsettle Zaragoza and lift Cup); Marca, 12 April 2006 (in Spanish)
  9. Valbuena se marcha al Albacete (Valbuena goes to Albacete); Diario AS, 25 July 2006 (in Spanish)
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