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Name: Rubén Baraja Vegas
Birth Date: 11 July 1975
Birth Place: Valladolid, Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain
Nationality: Spain
Hieght: 1.80 m (5'11'')
Wieght: 75 kg (165 lbs)
Position: Midfield
Number: 8
Contract Expires: 30 June 2010
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Real Valladolid
Baraja started his career with home town club Valladolid. He spent time with both the reserve squad and the first team squad from 1993-1995. In the 1995/1996 season, Baraja secured a spot in the first team, playing in 27 games and scoring one goal.
Atletico Madrid
Baraja then moved to Atletico. He spent two seasons with the Atletico reserves before breaking into the main team in 1999/2000. He made 34 appearances and scored four goals.
Valencia CF
After Atletico's relegation in 2000, Baraja moved to VCF. Los Che were looking to strengthen their central midfield following the sale of first team players Gerard and Javier Farinós.
In his first season at Valencia, he was a key element in Valencia's 2000/2001 Champions League campaign, as the club was beaten in the final for the second year running, this time losing in a penalty shootout to Bayern Munich, with Baraja scoring on his attempt.
The 2001/2002 season would see Baraja's first trophy win, where his goals late in the campaign helped Valencia to their first league championship in 31 years. He finished the club's top scorer in the league with seven goals in only seventeen league games.
2003/2004 was another big year, winning both the domestic championship (with eight Baraja league goals) as well as the UEFA Cup, beating Olympique de Marseille 2-0 in the final.
In 2006/2007, he only appeared in 14 league contests, as Valencia finished fourth.
When Ronald Koeman came to manage Valencia, he stripped David Albelda of the captain's armband and awarded it to Baraja.
On 9 May 2009, Baraja scored a stunning left footed volley against Real Madrid at Mestalla to help sink the Madridistas 3-0.
International Career
Baraja made his debut for the Spanish national team on 7 October 2000, in the 2002 World Cup qualification 2-0 win over Israel. Consequently, he was picked for the final stages, where the team reached the quarter-finals before being sent out by South Korea on penalties, though Baraja, as the year before with his club, once again scored on his attempt.
Baraja also took part in the disappointing UEFA Euro 2004, where Spain was eliminated in the group stage by later finalists Portugal and Greece.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Baraja was left out of the Spanish squad as his club presence was also diminished due to recurrent injuries.
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