Football Player's Biography 7: Raúl Albiol

Full name	Raúl Albiol Tortajada
Date of birth	4 September 1985 (1985-09-04) (age 25)
Place of birth	Vilamarxant, Spain
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Centre back

Raúl Albiol Tortajada (Spanish pronunciation: [ra'ul al'bjol toɾta'xaða]; born 4 September 1985 in Vilamarxant, Valencia) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.
His main asset is his versatility, as he can play as a central defender, right back or defensive midfielder

Club career

Valencia

Albiol's father Miguel was a famous player for modest Benidorm CF. Whilst he had contacts at Benidorm, Raúl joined the club's under-9 side. He impressed during a friendly against Valencia CF's youth teams, and was signed on trial with the local La Liga side moving permanently. He made his first team debut on 24 September 2003, at 18 years and four days, in a UEFA Cup first-round contest against AIK Fotboll, but spent the first year still registered with the B side.
In August 2004, whilst on route to sign a deal to join Getafe CF on loan, Albiol was involved in a serious car accident, being put in intensive care.^[1] He managed to recover completely and, after reappearing in January, played a very important part in the Madrid side surviving the relegation scrap: he made his top flight debut on 15 January 2005, in a 1–1 home draw with Atlético de Madrid, he scored against another side from the capital, Real Madrid, in a 2–1 home triumph, two months later.

Albiol then returned the following season to Valencia, and quickly established himself as first-choice due to his versatility. In the opening game of the 2006–07's league campaign, he scored the winner (his only goal of the season) against Real Betis, as the game finished 2–1. He also scored from long distance against Olympiacos FC on 12 September 2006, in that year's UEFA Champions League, which Valencia won 4–2 away.^[2] During his four-season spell with the first team, his smallest output consisted of 29 matches, and he helped the Che to the 2007–08 Copa del Rey.

Real Madrid

On 25 June 2009, Albiol joined Real Madrid, for a fee thought to be in the region of €15 million,^[3] becoming the first Spanish player signed by Florentino Pérez upon his return to the presidency. On 2 July, he was officially presented at the Santiago Bernabéu, receiving the #18 jersey from Rubén de la Red, who was absent for the season with unresolved heart problems.^[4]
Albiol scored his first goal for the Merengues on 8 December, in a 3–1 Champions League win at Olympique de Marseille. During the league campaign he was an undisputed starter for Real, mainly due to Pepe's serious knee injury.

In 2010–11, Albiol was relegated to the bench as Real Madrid brought in another player for his position, Ricardo Carvalho (a compatriot of newly-appointed manager José Mourinho), only appearing in the league through injury or suspension to teammates (Pepe again missed several matches due to physical problems). He did start, however, in the club's domestic cup campaign, helping Real to reach the final. On 26 January 2011, in the semi-final first leg against Sevilla FC (1–0 away win), he cleared a Luís Fabiano shot just before it crossed the goal line.

International career

After having represented Spain's U-21, Albiol first appeared for the main squad on 13 October 2007, in an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark (3–1 away win).
In the competition's final stages, he appeared twice for the eventual continental champions, against Sweden (subbing in for the injured Carles Puyol) and Greece.
New national team coach Vicente Del Bosque included Albiol in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He started in Spain's first game, partnering Puyol in central defence ahead of Valencia teammate Carlos Marchena, helping defeat New Zealand 5–0. He was also picked for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but did not leave the bench for the eventual World champions, after having suffered an injury in training.

Honours

Club

Valencia:
- Copa del Rey: 2007–08

Country

Individual

Don Balón Award – Breakthrough player in La Liga: 2006

Personal

Albiol and his wife Alicia have two daughters, Azahara (born 16 March 2009) and Alma (7 January 2010).^[6]

His older brother, Miguel, is also a footballer. A midfielder, he was also groomed at Valencia, playing one league match with the first team, but mainly represented Rayo Vallecano.

Raul Albiol Wallpaper: