Full name Roberto Soldado Rillo 1990–2000 Don Bosco Spouse Rocio Millan Place of birth Valencia, Spain Name Roberto Soldado Salary 4 million EUR (2013) | Playing position Role Footballer Children Enzo Soldado Number 9 Height 1.79 m | |
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Date of birth (1985-05-27) 27 May 1985 (age 30) Current teams Villarreal CF (#9 / Forward), Spain national football team (Forward) Similar People Alvaro Negredo, Erik Lamela, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mauricio Pochettino, Danny Rose Profiles | ||
Roberto Soldado Welcome to Fenerbache
Roberto Soldado Rillo ([roˈβerto solˈdaðo ˈriʎo]; born 27 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Turkish club Fenerbahçe SK and the Spain national team as a striker.
Contents
- Roberto Soldado Welcome to Fenerbache
- Real Madrid
- Getafe
- Valencia
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Villarreal
- Fenerbahe
- International career
- Club
- International goals
- International
- Individual
- References
After emerging through Real Madrid's youth system, he went on to appear in only 27 official games for the first team (four goals). However, he became a more regular La Liga player and goalscorer for Osasuna, Getafe, and Valencia, and secured a £26 million move to Tottenham Hotspur. After two unsuccessful seasons in England, he returned to the Spanish top division with Villarreal.
An international since 2007, Soldado represented Spain at the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Real Madrid
Born in Valencia, Valencian Community, Soldado joined Real Madrid at the age of 15 from native region small club CF Don Bosco. After years of prolific goalscoring with the club's B-team, he made his first team debut on 23 October 2005 against Valencia CF, playing 18 minutes in a 1–2 home loss. Previously, on 28 September, he had scored an 86th-minute winner after just six minutes on the pitch, in the season's UEFA Champions League contest against Olympiakos FC (2–1 home win), adding a late equalizer against CA Osasuna and another in a 3–2 success at Racing de Santander as Real finished second in the league, also netting in the 4–0 win against Athletic Bilbao for the Copa del Rey.
In the 2005–06 campaign, with Castilla, Soldado scored 19 goals in Segunda División – two penalties – to become joint-second highest goalscorer, alongside Ciudad de Murcia's José Juan Luque, one behind Ikechukwu Uche of Recreativo de Huelva.
On 24 July 2006, Soldado officially became the first member of Real Madrid to leave under new manager Fabio Capello and new president Ramón Calderón, moving to fellow La Liga club Osasuna on a season-long loan. Set to score goals and return to Real Madrid as a better footballer, he stated: "The idea is to leave and have a good season with a first division team scoring goals, and to develop as a footballer". Osasuna had finished fourth in the previous campaign, to earn themselves a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, hence Soldado chose them over a number of other Spanish clubs competing for his presence. "The following year I want to return to the Real first team. I chose Osasuna because it gives me the chance to play in the Champions League", he said to Real Madrid's website after his signing; he finished the campaign with a total of 15 official goals, making him the Navarrese's top scorer.
Soldado returned to Real Madrid where, on 11 July 2007, he renewed his contract with the team until 30 June 2012. In a 21 July interview with Spanish newspaper Diario AS, he revealed that he would be wearing number 9 shirt in his second stint: "During the preseason I'll be number 9, the number I've always dreamed of. When I step onto the pitch at the Bernabéu I'll remember all the hard work it took to get here". However, he finished the campaign with just five league appearances (one start, at Deportivo de La Coruña), the second with fewer minutes for the league champions.
Getafe
In late July 2008, Soldado was sold to Getafe CF for €4 million, signing a four-year deal with the side from the Madrid outskirts like former Real player Esteban Granero the previous week. He scored his first goal for them on 19 October 2008 in a 1–2 away loss against Málaga CF, adding two in another away defeat, with Osasuna (2–5), two months later; in between, he was sent off in a 0–3 home loss against Valencia for head-butting Carlos Marchena.
On 25 January 2009, Soldado netted a hat-trick as an early substitute, in a 5–1 home win against Sporting de Gijón. On 22 March, as Getafe struggled in the league, he scored twice to secure another home triumph, 2–1 with Recreativo de Huelva. The following month he netted the opener against his first professional club, albeit in a 2–3 away defeat.
Soldado started 2009–10 in impressive fashion, scoring three past Racing Santander in a 4–1 away win. After a long scoring drought, he added three more against newly promoted Xerez CD, in a 5–1 home triumph.
On 19 December 2009, Soldado took his league tally to ten after scoring twice in a 2–1 win at Sevilla FC – with this achievement, he became Getafe's best ever scorer in the first division, surpassing Manu del Moral and Daniel Güiza; he missed one month of competition due to injury but, in his return to action, scored from a bicycle kick, earning his side a point in the 1–1 home draw against Gijón.
Valencia
In early June 2010, after a successful year at Getafe – 16 league goals, and the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League – Soldado returned to his hometown and signed for Valencia for €10 million, replacing FC Barcelona-bound David Villa. In his first official game, on 14 September, for the Champions League group stage, he contributed one goal in the Che's 4–0 win at Bursaspor; when the two teams met at the Mestalla Stadium in November, he netted two more, in a 6–1 success.
On 2 April 2011, Soldado scored all of Valencia's goals in a 4–2 away win against former club Getafe. In the next fixture, a local derby against Villarreal CF, he netted two more in a 5–0 home thrashing, and finished the season as joint-fourth top scorer as his team ranked third and qualified to the Champions League.
In the first game of the 2011–12 season (second round), Soldado scored four goals against Racing Santander – one in his own net – in an eventual 4–3 home win. His last two goals arrived in the final three minutes. In late November 2011, in two home games separated by only five days, he added five more: two in a 2–3 home loss against Real Madrid and three in a 7–0 routing of K.R.C. Genk for the Champions League group stage.
Soldado scored his 25th official goal of the campaign on 18 March 2012, netting all of his team's goals in a 3–0 win at Bilbao. In late June, he extended his contract until 2017.
On 23 October 2012, Soldado scored a hat-trick against FC BATE Borisov, in a 3–0 success for the Champions League group stage in Minsk.
Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for the transfer of Soldado on 1 August 2013, for a fee of £26 million, which would break the English club's previous record of £17 million paid for Paulinho earlier in the summer. The transfer was completed four days later after a successful medical.
On his Premier League debut on 18 August, Soldado scored Tottenham's winning goal with a penalty kick in a 1–0 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Four days later, he scored his first goals in European competition for Spurs, netting a brace in a 5–0 win at FC Dinamo Tbilisi in the Europa League playoff round.
On 20 October, Soldado scored his first Premier League goal from open play, in a 2–0 victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park. Two months later he netted his first hat-trick for Tottenham, against FC Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League group stage (4–1).
Soldado scored the only goal against relegation-threatened Cardiff City on 2 March 2014, his first goal of the calendar year for Tottenham. He netted just six times in his debut season, only two of which came from open play, and was included in The Telegraph website's list of the "10 worst buys of the Premier League season".
On 18 October 2014, making his first league start of the campaign, Soldado set up Christian Eriksen's goal during the match against Manchester City, also having a penalty saved by Joe Hart in an eventual 1–4 away loss. His first goal came on 30 November, the decisive in a 2–1 home victory over Everton.
Villarreal
On 14 August 2015, Soldado returned to his country's top flight, signing a three-year contract with Villarreal CF for a reported £10 million. He scored in his very first appearance, helping to a 1–1 draw at Real Betis in which he started and retired injured midway through the second half.
On 13 December 2015, Soldado netted the game's only goal to help defeat his former club Real Madrid at the Estadio El Madrigal. He missed the vast majority of 2016–17, due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee contracted in pre-season.
Fenerbahçe
On 11 August 2017, Fenerbahçe SK announced the signing of Soldado.
International career
Soldado represented Spain at all its youth levels, scoring a total of 26 goals. He was first called up to the first team in June 2007 for two UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, against Latvia and Liechtenstein, playing in both; however, he did not make it to the finals in Switzerland and Austria, as the nation emerged victorious.
On 29 February 2012, after nearly five years of absence, Soldado returned to the national team: he came on as a substitute for Fernando Llorente at half-time of a friendly with Venezuela in Málaga, scoring twice after only seven minutes on the pitch; afterwards, he gained a penalty and the sending off of Fernando Amorebieta, but missed the ensuing attempt, only to close the score at 5–0 in the 83rd minute.
Manager Vicente del Bosque selected Soldado for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squad. He scored in the opener on 16 June, helping Spain to a 2–1 win against Uruguay.