He spent most of his career withValencia,Real Madrid andVillarreal, winning five major titles between the first two teams and the2020–21 UEFA Europa League with the third. He amassedLa Liga totals of 394 matches and eight goals over 16 seasons, and also played several years in the ItalianSerie A withNapoli.
Born inVilamarxant,Valencian Community,[4] Albiol started playing football with two modest clubs in his native region, moving to local giantsValencia before celebrating his 10th birthday. He made his first-team debut on 24 September 2003 in aUEFA Cupfirst-round tie againstAIK at 18 years and 20 days,[5][6] but spent the first year still registered withthe reserves.[7]
In August 2004, whilst travelling to sign a deal to joinGetafe onloan, Albiol was involved in a serious car accident, being put inintensive care.[8] He managed to recover completely and, after reappearing in January, played an important role in the teamsurviving the relegation battle.[9][10][11] He made hisLa Liga debut on 15 January 2005 in a 1–1 home draw withAtlético Madrid,[12] and scored against another side from the capital,Real Madrid, in a 2–1 home win two months later.[13]
During his four-season spell with the first team, Albiol played at least 29 league games, and he helped to victory in the2007–08 edition of theCopa del Rey.[18]
On 25 June 2009, Albiol joined Real Madrid for a fee thought to be in the region of €15 million,[19] becoming the first Spanish player signed byFlorentino Pérez upon his return to the presidency.[20] He scored his first goal on 8 December in a 3–1Champions League win away toMarseille.[21] He was an undisputed starter duringthe league campaign, mainly due toPepe's serious knee injury.[22]
In the2010–11 season, Albiol was relegated to the bench as Real brought in another player for his position,Ricardo Carvalho, only appearing in the league through injury or suspension to teammates;[23][24] he did start, however, in the club'sdomestic cup run.[25] On 26 January 2011, in the semi-final first leg againstSevilla (1–0 away victory), he cleared aLuís Fabiano shot just before it crossed the goal line.[26] On 16 April, he wassent off forfouling former Valencia teammateDavid Villa inside thepenalty area duringEl Clásico withBarcelona, which resulted in the first goal in a 1–1 league home draw.[27]
On 6 August 2012, Albiol renewed his contract until June 2017.[28] On 27 November, in his first appearance ascaptain, at home againstAlcoyano in theSpanish Cup, he had to be stretchered off after only one minute, being sidelined for approximately one month with an ankle injury.[29]
On 21 July 2013, Albiol joinedNapoli for a reported €12 million,[30] signing a four-year contract.[31] He made hisSerie A debut on 25 August, in a 3–0 home win overBologna.[32]
Albiol scored his first goal for theRafael Benítez-led team on 25 January 2014, with an 88th-minute equaliser in a 1–1 home draw againstChievoVerona.[33] On 3 May, he played the entirefinal of theCoppa Italia, helping to a 3–1 defeat ofFiorentina.[34]
On 4 July 2019, the 33-year-old Albiol returned to Spain after agreeing to a three-year deal withVillarreal.[35] He made his debut on 17 August, in a 4–4 home draw withGranada.[36]
Albiol was picked for the2010 FIFA World Cup, but did not leave the bench for the eventual champions after having suffered an injury in training.[48] Again as an unused player, he was also in the squad for theEuro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine, which also ended in victory.[49]
Albiol was named in Spain's 23-man squad for the2014 World Cup.[50] He made his debut in a major finals in the last group match againstAustralia with the Spanish already eliminated, playing the whole 90 minutes alongsideSergio Ramos in central defence in a 3–0 victory.[51]
On 11 October 2018, after taking part in the 4–1friendly away victory overWales, Albiol appeared in his 52nd international to become the most-capped player from his region of birth, surpassingDavid Albelda.[52][53] He went on to total 58 appearances.[54]
Albiol's nickname is "El Chori".[57] His older brotherMiguel was also a footballer, while his father, also named Miguel, appeared in theSegunda División forSabadell. The youngest sibling, Brian, was named afterBrian Laudrup, whom Raúl admired on account of his success with the Denmark national team.[58][59][60][61]
Albiol fathered two daughters with his wife Alicia.[62][63] In 2008, withGuillermo Franco andMarcos Senna, he founded Evangélico FC, an organisation consisting of 140 athletes and 16 coaches which sought to promote Christian values among young athletes in Spain.[64]
^Cerezo, Hugo; Lara, Miguel Ángel (6 February 2012)."Albiol, contra las cuerdas" [Albiol, against the ropes].Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved21 November 2021.
^Calero, Toni (9 January 2010)."El 'alma' valenciana de Albiol" [Albiol's Valencia 'soul' (Alma in English)].Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved2 May 2016.
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