Raul Albiol
Raul Albiol was born in Vilamarxant, Valencian Community, Spain on September 4th, 1985 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 38, Raul Albiol biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 38 years old, Raul Albiol has this physical status:
Raúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team.
A reliable and physically strong player who excels in the air, his main asset is his versatility, as he can play as a centre-back, right-back or defensive midfielder. He has spent most of his career with Valencia and Real Madrid, winning five major titles between both teams. He amassed La Liga totals of 328 matches and eight goals over 13 seasons, and also played several years in the Italian Serie A with Napoli.
A Spanish international since 2007, Albiol represented the country in two FIFA World Cup and as many UEFA European Championship, winning three tournaments including the 2010 World Cup.
Personal life
Albiol's nickname is "El Chori". His older brother Miguel was also a footballer, while his father, also named Miguel, appeared in the Segunda División for Sabadell. The youngest sibling, Brian, was named after Brian Laudrup, whom Raúl admired on account of his success with the Denmark national team.
Albiol fathered two daughters with his wife Alicia. In 2008, with Guillermo Franco and Marcos Senna, he founded Evangélico FC, an organisation consisting of 140 athletes and 16 coaches which sought to promote Christian values among young athletes in Spain.
Club career
Albiol, a student at the University of Vilamarxant, Valencia, began playing football with two modest clubs in his hometown area before he reached Valencia, where he was celebrating his 10th birthday. On September 24, 2003, he made his first-team debut against AIK in a UEFA Cup first-round match against AIK, but the reserves were also registered for the first year.
Albiol was involved in a serious car accident in August 2004, when not traveling to sign a contract to join Getafe on loan. He was put in intensive care. He recovered fully and, after reappearing in January, played a key role in the team's victory over the relegation war. In a 2–1 home win two months later, he made his La Liga debut in a 1–1 home draw with Atlético Madrid and scored against another team from the capital, Real Madrid.
Albiol returned to the Mestalla Stadium in the following season and quickly established himself as a first-choice due to his versatility. In a 2–1 home win over Real Betis in the first game of 2006–07, he was the winner. In the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, Valencia defeated 4–2 away from long distance against Olympiacos on September 12, 2006. He also scored from long distance against Olympiacos on September 12, 2006.
Albiol played at least 29 league games during his four-season tenure with the first team, and he helped to win the Copa del Rey in 2007–08.
Albiol signed Real Madrid for a fee that was estimated to be in the region of €15 million, making him the first Spanish player to be signed by Florentino Pérez upon his return to the presidency on June 25. In a 3–1 Champions League victory over Marseille, he scored his first goal on 8 December. During the league season, he was mainly due to Pepe's significant knee injury.
Albiol was demoted to the bench in the 2010-11 season as Real brought in another player for his position, Ricardo Carvalho, who was only playing in the league due to injury or suspension to teammates; he did not start in the club's domestic cup run, however. He cleared a Lu's Fabiano shot just before it crossed the goal line on January 26, 2011 in the semi-final first leg against Sevilla (1–0 away). During El Clásico with Barcelona, he was suspended on 16 April for fouling former Valencia teammate David Villa inside the penalty area, resulting in the first goal in a 1–1 league home draw.
Albiol re-signed on August 6, 2012, extending his deal until June 2017. On Friday, in his first appearance as captain, he had to be stretchered off after only one minute, being sidelined for about one month due to an ankle injury.
Albiol joined Napoli for a reported €12 million, signing a four-year deal on July 21, 2013. In a 3–0 home win over Bologna on August 25, he made his Serie A debut on August 25th.
In a 1–1 home draw against Chievo Verona, Albiol scored his first goal for the Rafael Bentez-led team on January 25, 2014, with an 88th-minute equalizer. He appeared in the entire final of Coppa Italia on May 3rd, contributing to a 3–1 victory over Fiorentina.
The 33-year-old Albiol, a 33-year-old Albiol, returned to Spain on July 4 after committing to a three-year contract with Villarreal. He made his Granada debut on August 17th in a 4–4 home draw.
The club won the first major award in the country's history, Albiol, who appeared twice from 11 appearances in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. He failed to make the crucial call in the shoot-out in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea.
International career
Albiol made his senior squad debut against Denmark on October 13th, a 3–1 away victory. He appeared twice for the eventual champions in the final stages against Sweden (subbing in for the injured Carles Puyol) and Greece.
For the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, new national team coach Vicente del Bosque selected Albiol in the squad. He started playing in Spain's first game, assisting Puyol in central defense against Valencia teammate Carlos Marchena and assisting New Zealand in defeating New Zealand 5–0.
Albiol was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but the eventual champions did not leave the bench after suffering a knee injury in preparation. He was also in the squad for the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine, which also resulted in victory.
For the 2014 World Cup, Albiol was selected in Spain's 23-man squad. In the last group match against Australia, he made his debut in a major finals, but Sergio Ramos led the Spanish to victory in central defense for the entire 90 minutes.