Rubén Gracia Calmache (born 3 August 1981), known as Cani, is a Spanish former professional footballer. Usually a right midfielder, he also played on the left.
 Cani training with Villarreal in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rubén Gracia Calmache[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 3 August 1981[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Zaragoza, Spain[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Right midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Stadium Venecia | |||
| Zaragoza | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2002 | Zaragoza B | 32 | (6) |
| 2000–2001 | → Utebo (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2002–2006 | Zaragoza | 122 | (13) |
| 2006–2015 | Villarreal | 259 | (23) |
| 2015 | → Atlético Madrid (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Deportivo La Coruña | 18 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Zaragoza | 32 | (1) |
| Total | 482 | (44) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
During his career, he played almost exclusively with Zaragoza and Villarreal, winning two major titles with the former club and appearing in 327 competitive matches with the latter.[2]
Club career
editZaragoza
editCani was born in Zaragoza. A youth graduate of his hometown's Real Zaragoza, he was shining in the B team who were playing in the Segunda División B after a loan stint with lowly Utebo FC of Tercera División[3] and, as the main squad's fate was already decided in the 2001–02 season (relegation, ranking last) he received his first-team debut, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona.[4]
After helping the Aragonese club regain its top-flight status by appearing in 24 games and scoring five goals, his first coming on 23 March 2003 in a 2–0 win at Real Oviedo,[5][3] Cani went on to become a vital midfield element. In the 2003–04 campaign, he helped Zaragoza win the Copa del Rey in a 3–2 extra time win over Real Madrid – he was also sent off during the match.[6]
Villarreal
editDuring 2005–06, Cani was one of La Liga's best passers, and at the season's end he signed with Villarreal CF for €11 million.[7] He played 32 matches for the 2007–08 runners-up, but did not score.
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In the 2008–09 campaign, after a shaky start, which included not being called to some matches by coach Manuel Pellegrini in spite of being healthy,[8] Cani finished strongly, scoring five times in the last nine appearances, including the final three: Real Madrid (3–2),[9] Valencia CF (3–1)[10] and RCD Mallorca (3–2),[11] as Villarreal finished fifth; after the Chilean manager's departure to Real Madrid, he again appeared in the starting XI regularly.
Cani continued to be an undisputed starter in 2010–11 – Robert Pires had also left the club. On 9 January 2011, he netted the opener at Real Madrid, with a subtle finish inside the box; already on the bench, he threw a water bottle at opposing manager José Mourinho after the coach celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick (which put the score at 3–2 for the hosts, eventually 4–2) in front of his team's bench, being immediately sent off.[12] The one-match suspension was later lifted, and he found the net in the next game, a 3–3 home draw against Sevilla FC in the quarter-finals of the domestic cup,[13] and in the following, scoring from more than 50 metres in a 4–2 home defeat of CA Osasuna,[14] with the Valencians eventually finishing the league in fourth place; he added three goals in a semi-final run in the UEFA Europa League, including one in each leg of the last-four clash against FC Porto in an eventual 7–4 aggregate loss.[15][16]
On 7 January 2015, Cani joined Atlético Madrid on loan for the remainder of the season, after successfully passing a medical.[17] He made his first appearance three weeks later, coming on as a substitute for Arda Turan for the last 27 minutes of a 3–2 home loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Cup quarter-finals (4–2 loss on aggregate).[18]
Later career
editOn 23 July 2015, Cani terminated his contract with Villarreal[19] and signed a one-year deal with Deportivo de La Coruña the following day.[20] He left at the end of the campaign, contributing 888 minutes to a 15th-place finish.
Cani returned to his first club Zaragoza on 6 July 2016, after agreeing to a two-year deal.[21] Roughly one year later, despite featuring regularly during the second division season, the 36-year-old announced his retirement.[22]
International career
editIn the run up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Spain national team manager Luis Aragonés called up Cani to a senior team get-together, however he was ultimately not part of the squad at the finals and never won a cap.[23]
Personal life
editCani's nickname was passed down from his father and grandfather who were both footballers, as was his brother.[24] His father Jesús held the record for most appearances for Andorra CF.[25]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Zaragoza B | 2001–02 | Segunda División B | 31 | 6 | – | – | – | 31 | 6 | |||
| 2002–03 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 | ||
| Zaragoza | 2001–02 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Segunda División | 24 | 5 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 25 | 6 | |||
| 2003–04 | La Liga | 32 | 4 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 4 | |||
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 46 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 8 | 1 | – | – | 38 | 3 | |||
| Total | 122 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 15 | ||
| Villarreal | 2006–07 | La Liga | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | 2[b] | 0 | 40 | 4 | |
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 22 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 31 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 35 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | 47 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 34 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 4 | – | 54 | 10 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Segunda División | 37 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 3 | |||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | – | 14 | 2 | ||
| Total | 259 | 23 | 21 | 1 | 45 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 327 | 33 | ||
| Atlético Madrid (loan) | 2014–15 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | 2015–16 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| Zaragoza | 2016–17 | Segunda División | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 467 | 43 | 38 | 3 | 55 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 564 | 55 | ||
- ^ Appearances in Supercopa de España
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
Honours
editZaragoza
- Copa del Rey: 2003–04; runner-up: 2005–06[27]
- Supercopa de España: 2004[27]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Rubén García Calmache, CANI". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "El Villarreal celebra los trescientos partidos de Mario Gaspar" [Villarreal celebrate Mario Gaspar's three hundred matches]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 22 March 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ a b Martín, Ignacio (26 March 2018). "Cani: «Ni un segundo me arrepentí de volver al Real Zaragoza»" [Cani: "Not for one second did I regret returning to Real Zaragoza"]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Ortega, Ignacio (11 May 2002). "El Barcelona se salva del siniestro total" [Barcelona avoid complete wreck]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Álvarez, Dani (30 September 2017). "Oviedo, una visita históricamente complicada para el Real Zaragoza" [Oviedo, historically tough trip for Real Zaragoza]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Beckham misses out on Cup". BBC Sport. 17 March 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ "Villarreal make Cani move". UEFA. 26 May 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Beltrán, J. (23 September 2008). "Pellegrini vuelve a dejar a Cani fuera de una convocatoria en la que Rossi es la gran novedad" [Pellegrini again leaves Cani out of a squad in which Rossi is the biggest novelty]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Melero, Delfín (17 May 2009). "Un equipo caduco y otro campeón" [One expiring team and another champion]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Melero, Delfín (23 May 2009). "El Villarreal ejecuta al Valencia" [Villarreal execute Valencia]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Egea, Pablo (30 May 2009). "Victoria sin historia del Villarreal" [Hapless win for Villarreal]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (10 January 2011). "Lucky Real Madrid win – and Cani throws water bottle at José Mourinho". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ "Negredo frena en seco al Villarreal" [Negredo stops Villarreal in their tracks]. El País (in Spanish). 12 January 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Cani inspires Villarreal". ESPN Soccernet. 15 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ Atkin, John (28 April 2011). "Porto triumph as four-goal Falcao stuns Villarreal". UEFA. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Hunter, Graham (5 May 2011). "Porto hold off valiant Villarreal to reach final". UEFA. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Acuerdo con el Villarreal para la cesión de Cani" [Agreement with Villarreal for Cani loan] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Reddy, Luke (28 January 2015). "Atl Madrid 2–3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Cani se desvincula del Villarreal CF" [Cani cuts ties with Villarreal CF] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Cani, nuevo jugador del Deportivo" [Cani, new player of Deportivo] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Cani vuelve al Real Zaragoza" [Cani returns to Real Zaragoza] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "Rubén Gracia, 'Cani', pone fin a su trayectoria como futbolista profesional" [Rubén Gracia, 'Cani', ends his career as professional footballer] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "Five new faces for Spain". Special Broadcasting Service. 8 April 2006. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ Gimenez, Ángel A. (13 April 2003). "Futbolista por aburrimiento" [Footballer because of boredom]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "XVIII Gala del Deporte de Zaragoza" [18th Zaragoza Sports Gala] (PDF) (in Spanish). Zaragoza Deporte. p. 29. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ Cani at BDFutbol
- ^ a b c Cani at Soccerway
External links
edit
- Cani at BDFutbol