Víctor Ruiz (footballer, born 1989)

Víctor Ruiz Torre (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiɣtoɾ ˈrwiθ ˈtore]; born 25 January 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back.

Víctor Ruiz
Ruiz being presented by Napoli in 2011
Personal information
Full name Víctor Ruiz Torre[1]
Date of birth (1989-01-25) 25 January 1989 (age 35)[1]
Place of birth Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1998–2002 Barcelona
2002–2006 Cornellà
2006–2008 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Espanyol B 44 (0)
2009–2011 Espanyol 37 (2)
2011 Napoli 6 (0)
2011–2015 Valencia 59 (1)
2014–2015Villarreal (loan) 25 (0)
2015–2019 Villarreal 112 (3)
2019–2020 Beşiktaş 23 (0)
2020–2023 Betis 55 (2)
2023–2024 Espanyol 15 (0)
International career
2006 Spain U17 1 (0)
2007–2008 Spain U19 3 (0)
2010–2011 Spain U21 5 (0)
2012 Spain U23 1 (0)
2010 Catalonia 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 June 2024

Club career

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Espanyol

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Born in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Ruiz arrived in RCD Espanyol's youth system in 2006 at the age of 17, from neighbouring UE Cornellà.[2] In the 2008–09 season he made his senior debut, helping the reserve side to win their Tercera División group and subsequently promote in the playoffs.[3][4]

Ruiz made his debut with the first team on 6 December 2009, starting and being booked in a 4–0 home loss against Racing de Santander.[5] Coach Mauricio Pochettino fielded him in a further 21 La Liga games that campaign, with the team finally finishing 11th; he added two goals, against Málaga CF (2–1 away defeat)[6] and Atlético Madrid (3–0, home).[7]

Napoli and Valencia

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In 2010–11, Ruiz played all the minutes for Espanyol in the first 15 rounds.[8] On 31 January 2011, he was sold to SSC Napoli for 6 million cash in a four-and-a-half-year contract, with the Italians also ceding the sporting rights to Jesús Dátolo who was playing with the Spaniards on loan.[9][10]

Ruiz returned to his country on 30 August 2011, after signing a five-year deal with Valencia CF for €8 million.[11][12] He made his official debut on 10 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home victory over Atlético Madrid.[13]

On 12 December 2013, Ruiz was sent off in a 1–1 home draw against FC Kuban Krasnodar in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, for a professional foul on Djibril Cissé.[14]

Villarreal

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On 1 July 2015, following a one-year loan there, Ruiz transferred to Villarreal CF also in the Valencian Community for an initial €2.7 million, potentially rising to €3 million.[15] He played his first competitive match for them in his second spell on 23 August, when he started and finished the 1–1 draw at Real Betis.[16]

Ruiz scored his first league goal for Villarreal on 7 April 2017, in a 3–1 home defeat of Athletic Bilbao where he also received his marching orders after a straight red card with 15 minutes left.[17]

Beşiktaş and Betis

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On 7 August 2019, Ruiz joined Beşiktaş J.K. on a three-year contract.[18] He returned to the Spanish top flight one year later, however, with the free agent signing a one-year deal with Betis.[19]

Ruiz agreed to an extension until 2023 at the Estadio Benito Villamarín on 4 June 2021;[20] at its conclusion, he left.[21] In between, he won the 2021–22 edition of the Copa del Rey for his first major honour,[22] but contributed only three matches to this feat.[23]

Return to Espanyol

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On 20 September 2023, Ruiz returned to his first professional club Espanyol on a one-year deal.[24]

International career

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Shortly after making his debut with Espanyol, Ruiz was called to the Spain under-21 team by manager Luis Milla. On 8 February 2011, in the last minutes of a 2–1 friendly win over Denmark, he was sent off for punching Nicki Bille, who celebrated his goal in front of Ruiz's face.[25][26]

Career statistics

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As of match played 20 May 2024[27][28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Espanyol 2009–10 La Liga 22 2 0 0 22 2
2010–11 La Liga 15 0 3 0 18 0
Total 37 2 3 0 0 0 40 2
Napoli 2010–11 Serie A 6 0 0 0 1[a] 0 7 0
Valencia 2011–12 La Liga 22 0 7 1 8[b] 1 37 2
2012–13 La Liga 26 0 5 0 2[c] 0 33 0
2013–14 La Liga 11 1 1 0 7[a] 0 19 1
Total 59 1 13 1 17 1 89 3
Villarreal (loan) 2014–15 La Liga 25 0 3 0 8[a] 0 36 0
Villarreal 2015–16 La Liga 35 0 2 0 14[a] 0 51 0
2016–17 La Liga 28 1 2 0 6[d] 0 36 1
2017–18 La Liga 27 2 2 0 5[a] 0 34 2
2018–19 La Liga 22 0 1 0 10[a] 0 33 0
Total 137 3 10 0 43 0 190 3
Beşiktaş 2019–20 Süper Lig 23 0 2 0 1[a] 0 26 0
Betis 2020–21 La Liga 27 2 4 0 31 2
2021–22 La Liga 18 0 3 0 2[a] 0 23 0
2022–23 La Liga 10 0 1 0 3[a] 0 14 0
Total 55 2 8 0 5 0 68 2
Espanyol 2023–24 Segunda División 15 0 0 0 1[e] 0 16 0
Career total 332 8 36 1 68 1 436 10
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance in La Liga play-offs

Honours

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Espanyol B

Betis

Spain U21

Individual

  • UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2015–16[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Víctor Ruiz". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  2. ^ Terrats, Juan (25 August 2010). "Víctor Ruiz confirma que se queda en el Espanyol" [Víctor Ruiz confirms he is staying at Espanyol]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  3. ^ "El Espanyol B ya es campeón de Tercera" [Espanyol B are already Tercera champions]. Sport (in Spanish). 4 May 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Gimnástica y Espanyol B son ya equipos de Segunda B" [Gimnástica and Espanyol B are already Segunda B teams]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 May 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  5. ^ Quixano, Jordi (6 December 2009). "El Espanyol es un juguete roto" [Espanyol are a broken toy]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Espanyol continue away day blues". ESPN Soccernet. 21 February 2010. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Espanyol boost survival hopes". ESPN Soccernet. 11 April 2010. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  8. ^ Beldarrain, Andoni (28 January 2011). "Mercado de invierno: El Sevilla se refuerza y el Espanyol se debilita" [Winter market: Sevilla strengthen and Espanyol weaken] (in Spanish). EITB. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Napoli sign Ruiz from Espanyol". UEFA. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  10. ^ SSC Napoli SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2011, PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA (in Italian)
  11. ^ "Valencia complete deal for Ruiz". ESPN Soccernet. 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  12. ^ SSC Napoli SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2012, PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA (in Italian)
  13. ^ Egea, Pablo (11 September 2011). "Soldado arma al Valencia" [Soldier ("Soldado" in English) arms Valencia]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Europa League: Kuban Krasnodar crash out despite 1–1 draw at Valencia". Sky Sports. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  15. ^ Conn, Tom (1 July 2015). "Villarreal finalise transfer for Victor Ruiz". Inside Spanish Football. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  16. ^ Melero, Delfín (24 August 2015). "Rubén Castro llega justo a tiempo" [Rubén Castro arrives just in time]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  17. ^ "El Villarreal frena las aspiraciones del Athletic" [Villarreal halt Athletic's aspirations]. Deia (in Spanish). 7 April 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  18. ^ "El Villarreal traspasa a Víctor Ruiz al Besiktas" [Villarreal transfer Víctor Ruiz to Besiktas]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Víctor Ruiz, nuevo jugador del Real Betis" [Víctor Ruiz, new player of Real Betis] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Víctor Ruiz extends his contract with Real Betis". Real Betis. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Víctor Ruiz leaves Real Betis". Real Betis. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Real Betis 1–1 Valencia (5–4 on pens): Real Betis win Copa del Rey final on penalties". BBC Sport. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  23. ^ Del Castillo, Alfonso (9 August 2022). "Los jugadores de la 2021–22 en la clasificación histórica" [The 2021–22 players in the historical ranking.] (in Spanish). Manquepierda. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Víctor Ruiz rejoins RCD Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Ten-man Spain defeat hosts Denmark". UEFA. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  26. ^ "International Matches – Under 21". Soccer Spain. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  27. ^ "Víctor Ruiz". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  28. ^ Víctor Ruiz at FBref.com  
  29. ^ Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (26 June 2011). "España tiene futuro" [Spain have a future]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  30. ^ Casal, Rafa (16 May 2016). "Atletico dominate UEFA's La Liga team of the season". Marca. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
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