Marco Gastón Ruben Rodríguez (born 26 October 1986) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Rosario Central.
 Ruben in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marco Gastón Ruben Rodríguez | ||
| Date of birth | 26 October 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Capitán Bermúdez, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rosario Central | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rosario Central | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2006 | Rosario Central | 77 | (20) |
| 2007 | River Plate | 28 | (7) |
| 2008–2012 | Villarreal | 65 | (14) |
| 2008–2009 | → Recreativo (loan) | 43 | (7) |
| 2009–2010 | Villarreal B | 31 | (18) |
| 2012–2016 | Dynamo Kyiv | 11 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | → Évian (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2014 | → Tigres (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Rosario Central (loan) | 41 | (28) |
| 2016–2022 | Rosario Central | 95 | (35) |
| 2019 | → Athletico Paranaense (loan) | 23 | (4) |
| 2023–2024 | Deportivo Maldonado | 13 | (3) |
| 2024– | Rosario Central | 6 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | Argentina | 1 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:26, 28 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
He spent the better part of his 18-year career with Rosario Central, scoring 105 goals in all competitions. He also played in Spain, Ukraine, France, Mexico and Brazil.
Ruben won one cap for the Argentina national team, in 2011.
Club career
editBorn in Capitán Bermúdez, Santa Fe Province, Ruben started his career with Rosario Central in 2004. In the 2006 Apertura tournament he scored seven goals in 17 matches to be the team's top scorer, and this brought him to the attention of several major clubs in Argentina and Europe, with Club Atlético River Plate eventually winning the battle and paying US$7.5 million for his signature, alongside teammates Juan Ojeda and Cristian Villagra.[1]
After a short spell, Manuel Pellegrini's Villarreal CF purchased Ruben for $7 million in January 2008, immediately loaning him to fellow La Liga side Recreativo de Huelva until 30 June.[2] He made his league debut in Spain on the 27th, appearing as a substitute and being booked in the 3–1 home loss against Getafe CF.[3]
The loan was renewed for the 2008–09 season,[4] but Ruben scored just three times as the Andalusians were relegated.[5] After returning to Villarreal, he spent the vast majority of the year with the reserves, which were having their first experience in the Segunda División.[6]
In mid-January 2010, Villarreal agreed to sell Ruben to Wigan Athletic of the Premier League after the player had helped the reserves to the fourth place with nine league goals, good enough for joint-third.[7] Although the player agreed personal terms with Wigan, the clubs could not reach an agreement and the deal fell through.[8]
Ruben played his first league game with Villarreal's main squad on 7 February 2010, more than two years after his purchase, appearing six minutes at RCD Mallorca (1–0 loss).[9][10] On 9 January of the following year, while starting in the place of injured Nilmar, he scored against Real Madrid to make it 2–1 for the Valencians (his first goal for the first team), who were eventually defeated at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (4–2).[11]
On 13 July 2012, Ruben signed a five-year contract with Ukrainian club FC Dynamo Kyiv for a €14 million fee.[12][13] He scored his first goal for his new team on 3 November, netting the first in a 2–0 home win over SC Tavriya Simferopol.
After a spell in the French Ligue 1 with Thonon Évian F.C.[14] where he failed to meet expectations as that particular type of football did not suit his style,[15] Ruben joined Liga MX side Tigres UANL on 18 June 2014 on a one-year loan from Dynamo.[16] He made his competitive debut on 9 July, playing the whole of a 4–1 defeat to Monarcas Morelia in the Supercopa MX.[17]
Ruben returned to Rosario Central on 24 December 2014, initially on a temporary deal.[18] He scored a career-best 21 goals in his first year (24 in all competitions) and was named team captain.[19]
On 11 January 2019, Ruben joined Brazil's Club Athletico Paranaense on a year-long loan.[20] He retired on 7 May 2022 at the age of 35 after scoring for Rosario in the 3–1 win over Estudiantes de La Plata at Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, as the club's third all-time scorer with 105 goals.[21][22]
Ruben came out of retirement in November 2023, moving to Deportivo Maldonado of the Uruguayan Primera División.[23] The following 26 May, he again returned to Rosario Central.[24]
International career
editRuben made his debut for Argentina in an unofficial pre-Olympic preparation match against Guatemala in February 2008, scoring once in a 5–0 win.[25] His only official appearance took place on 5 June 2011 in a friendly with Poland, and he netted the 1–1 equaliser in an eventual 2–1 loss.[26][27]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rosario Central | 2005–06 | Argentine Primera División | 29 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 11 |
| 2006–07 | Argentine Primera División | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 | |
| Total | 45 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 18 | ||
| River Plate | 2006–07 | Argentine Primera División | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| 2007–08 | Argentine Primera División | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | |
| Total | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | ||
| Villarreal | 2007–08 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 30 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 13[a] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 11 | |
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 31 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 9 | |
| Total | 65 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 21 | ||
| Recreativo (loan) | 2007–08 | La Liga | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
| Total | 43 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 7 | ||
| Villarreal B | 2009–10 | Segunda División | 31 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 18 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2012–13 | Ukrainian Premier League | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 2013–14 | Ukrainian Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Évian (loan) | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| Tigres (loan) | 2014–15 | Liga MX | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Rosario Central (loan) | 2015 | Argentine Primera División | 30 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 24 |
| 2016 | Argentine Primera División | 11 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 8[e] | 8 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 19 | |
| Total | 41 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 43 | ||
| Rosario Central | 2016–17 | Argentine Primera División | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 6 |
| 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 17 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[g] | 1 | 8 | 5 | |
| 2021 | Argentine Primera División | 19 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 8[f] | 2 | 11[h] | 3 | 38 | 20 | |
| 2022 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11[h] | 4 | 11 | 4 | |
| Total | 73 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 23 | 8 | 114 | 39 | ||
| Athletico Paranaense (loan) | 2019 | Série A | 23 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 8[e] | 6 | 3[i] | 1 | 42 | 13 |
| Career total | 395 | 126 | 37 | 13 | 49 | 21 | 28 | 9 | 509 | 169 | ||
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in Supercopa MX
- ^ a b Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- ^ a b Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- ^ Appearance in Copa de la Superliga
- ^ a b Appearances in Copa de la Liga Profesional
- ^ Two appearances and one goal in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ruben goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 June 2011 | Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland |  Poland |
1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly[29][27] |
Honours
editRosario Central
Athletico Paranaense
References
edit- ^ "River cerró los pases de Marco Ruben, Villagra y Ojeda" [River closed deals for Marco Ruben, Villagra and Ojeda]. Clarín (in Spanish). 27 December 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "Ruben moves to Villarreal". Sky Sports. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "Recreativo Huelva 1–3 Getafe". ESPN Soccernet. 27 January 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ "Fútbol.– Marco Ruben vuelve al 'Recre' dispuesto a cubrir el hueco de Sinama: "Tengo mis armas para jugar arriba"" [Football.– Marco Ruben returns to 'Recre' willing to cover for Sinama: "I have my strengths to play up front"] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 8 July 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "El Recreativo consumó el descenso" [Recreativo confirmed relegation]. ABC (in Spanish). 23 May 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Marco Ruben rescata un punto para el Villarreal B" [Marco Ruben rescues point for Villarreal B]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 September 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Wigan to buy Argentine Marco Ruben from Villarreal". BBC Sport. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- ^ "El Villarreal paraliza el traspaso de Marco Ruben al Wigan" [Villarreal freeze Marco Ruben's transfer to Wigan]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 January 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Menéndez, Manu (8 February 2010). "El Mallorca suma diez de diez en casa" [Mallorca go ten for ten at home]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Ruben: "Ojalá pueda seguir jugando en el primer equipo"" [Ruben: "Hopefully I'll continue to play in the first team"]. El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). 8 February 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Ronaldo treble revives Real". ESPN Soccernet. 9 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ "Marco Ruben ficha por el Dínamo" [Marco Ruben signs for Dynamo] (in Spanish). UEFA. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ ""Cachavacha", sin récord en Villarreal" ["Cachavacha", no record at Villarreal] (in Spanish). Ovación. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "ETG: L'Argentin Marco Ruben prêté à Evian" [ETG: Argentine Marco Ruben loaned to Evian] (in French). Eurosport. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Poupat, Bastien (14 February 2016). "Marco Ruben: "Le football français ne correspondait pas à mes caractéristiques"" [Marco Ruben: "French football did not suit my style"] (in French). Lucarne Opposée. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Se define el futuro de Ruben: hoy se sabrá si Tigres prescinde del delantero" [Ruben's future in the making: today Tigres will announce if they release the forward]. La Capital (in Spanish). 23 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Tijerina, José Isaac (9 July 2014). "Resultado SuperCopa MX 2014: Morelia – Tigres (4–1)" [2014 MX SuperCup score: Morelia – Tigres (4–1)] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Regalo de cumpleaños" [Birthday present]. Olé (in Spanish). 24 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ León, Daniel (16 February 2016). "Marco Ruben, de Villarreal a capitán de Rosario" [Marco Ruben, from Villarreal to Rosario captain]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Argentino Marco Ruben é o novo atacante do Furacão" [Argentine Marco Ruben is the Hurricane's new striker] (in Portuguese). Athletico Paranaense. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Marco Ruben y el adiós al fútbol: "No me entra en el cuerpo tanto cariño, me dieron la despedida soñada"" [Marco Ruben and goodbye to football: "All this love is too much to bear, I was given a dream farewell"] (in Spanish). Channel 3. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Rosario Central fue una fiesta en la despedida de Marco Ruben" [Rosario Central was a party in Marco Ruben's farewell] (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Marco Ruben saldrá de su retiro y jugará en Deportivo Maldonado en 2024" [Marco Ruben will come out of retirement and will play at Deportivo Maldonado in 2024]. La Capital (in Spanish). 20 November 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Vuelve un ídolo: Marco Ruben regresa a Rosario Central" [Return of an idol: Marco Ruben returns to Rosario Central]. Olé (in Spanish). 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "La Argentina "olímpica" se lució ante Guatemala" ["Olympic" Argentina had a ball against Guatemala]. La Nación (in Spanish). 7 February 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "Musacchio y Ruben, convocados a la selección argentina" [Musacchio y Ruben, called to Argentine national team] (in Spanish). River Plate. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Second-string Argentina humbled again". ESPN Soccernet. 5 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d Marco Ruben at Soccerway
- ^ a b "Argentina vuelve a perder un amistoso" [Argentina lose another friendly]. La Nación (in Spanish). 6 June 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
External links
edit
- Marco Ruben at BDFA (in Spanish)
- Marco Ruben at BDFutbol
- Marco Ruben at National-Football-Teams.com