Name Ruben Cano Playing position Role Footballer | Years Team Height 1.82 m Position Forward | |
 | ||
Full name Ruben Andres Cano Martinez Date of birth (1951-02-05) 5 February 1951 (age 64) Similar People Juan Gomez Voglino, Julio Cardenosa, Ruben Ayala | ||
Flamenco Rubén Cano Moreno Y Cristian Cano Moreno
Rubén Andrés Cano Martínez (born 5 February 1951) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
Contents
He played in 228 La Liga games over the course of eight seasons (94 goals) in representation of two teams, mainly Atlético Madrid.
Cano appeared for Spain at the 1978 World Cup.
Club career
Born in San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina to Spanish parents, Cano started his professional career with Buenos Aires-based Club Atlético Atlanta, remaining four years with the team. In 1974 he returned to the land of his ancestors and joined Elche CF, making his La Liga debut on 14 September 1974 in a 1–0 home win against Atlético Madrid and finishing his first season with six goals in 32 games as the Valencians ranked in eighth position.
In the 1976 off-season, Cano signed for precisely Atlético de Madrid, scoring 20 times in his first year – fifth-best in the competition – as the Colchoneros won the national championship, one point ahead of FC Barcelona. He added 40 in the following two seasons combined, and formed an efficient forward partnership during his spell with another Argentine-born player, Rubén Ayala.
After only 12 games (one goal) in 1981–82, 32-year-old Cano left Atlético and joined CD Tenerife in the third division, helping the Canary Islands side promote in his debut season and remaining with the club for a further two second level campaigns; he closed out his career at the age of 36 after a couple of years with another team in Madrid, division two's Rayo Vallecano.
International career
Cano chose to represent Spain internationally, going on to win 12 caps in two years. His debut occurred on 16 April 1977 in a 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Romania (0–1 loss in Bucharest).
Picked for the finals in Argentina, Cano appeared in the 1–2 defeat against Austria, in an eventual group stage exit.
