.jpg) Roberto playing forWest Ham United in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roberto Jiménez Gago[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1986-02-10)10 February 1986 (age 39)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2005 | Atlético Madrid | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Atlético Madrid B | 40 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Atlético Madrid | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | →Gimnàstic (loan) | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Recreativo | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Atlético Madrid | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010 | →Zaragoza (loan) | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Benfica | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Zaragoza | 71 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Atlético Madrid | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | →Olympiacos (loan) | 32 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Olympiacos | 57 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Espanyol | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | →Málaga (loan) | 34 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | West Ham United | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | →Alavés (loan) | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Valladolid | 32 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 359 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Spain U17 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Spain U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Spain U19 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Spain U20 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Spain U21 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Roberto Jiménez Gago (Spanish pronunciation:[roˈβeɾtoxiˈmeneθˈɣaɣo]; born 10 February 1986), known simply asRoberto, is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper.
He appeared in 150La Liga matches over eight seasons, forAtlético Madrid (two spells),Zaragoza (twice),Espanyol,Málaga,Alavés andValladolid. Abroad, he spent three years withOlympiacos where he won theSuper League Greece in three consecutive seasons, and also played in Portugal withBenfica and England withWest Ham United.
Roberto representedSpain at youth level.
AnAtlético Madrid youth graduate,Madrid-born Roberto played mainly forthe reserves, only receiving the occasional call-up due to suspensions or injuries. After a plague of the latter he made his first-team debut on 22 December 2005, in a 2–1 away loss againstCA Osasuna.[3]
In early July 2008, following aSegunda División loan atGimnàstic de Tarragona,[4] Roberto was deemed surplus to requirements and sold to fellowLa Liga clubRecreativo de Huelva as part of the deal that sentFlorent Sinama Pongolle in the opposite direction – Atlético, however, had an option to rebuy.[5][6] During hisonly season, which ended in relegation, he was restricted solely toappearances in theCopa del Rey.[7]
Roberto returned to Atlético on 13 July 2009 after a payment of€1,250,000 to theAndalusians, penning a three-year contract. This happened after the simultaneous departures ofGrégory Coupet andLeo Franco.[8][9]
As first-choiceSergio Asenjo was summoned for the2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Roberto was promoted to the starting XI,[10] his first game being a 5–2 loss atFC Barcelona on 19 September.[11] He got injured shortly after,[12] and when he returned found himself third-choice behind Asenjo and youngsterDavid de Gea; thus, in late January 2010, a loan to strugglingReal Zaragoza was arranged until the end ofthe campaign[13]– he relegatedJuan Pablo Carrizo to the bench, helping theAragonese finally escape relegation.[14]
On 25 June 2010, it was confirmed thatS.L. Benfica signed Roberto for a fee of €8.5 million.[15][16] In his first three official matches – the first againstFC Porto inthe season'sSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira – his performances were poor overall, as theLisbon club suffered three defeats and he conceded six goals; he was benched for the thirdPrimeira Liga game ofthe season, at home againstVitória de Setúbal, but had to be brought in afterJúlio César wassent off for a foul in the box at the 20-minute mark, and saved the ensuingpenalty fromHugo Leal in a 3–0 win.[17]
Subsequently, Roberto fell out of favour at Benfica after the off-season signings ofArtur andEduardo.[18]
On 1 August 2011, Roberto returned to Zaragoza, being transferred for a fee of €8.6 million in a purchase which was almost totally funded by a parent company of Zaragoza, who retained 99% of the player's economic rights.[19] However, it was later reported that a football investment fund was involved in that deal.[20]
In hisfirst season in his second spell, he played all 38 league games as the team again avoided top-flight relegation in the last round. He again started in the2012–13 campaign, but they returned to the second tier after a four-year stay.[21][22]
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Roberto returned to Atlético Madrid on 26 July 2013, signing a four-year contract after an arrangement with Benfica and being immediately loaned to Greek sideOlympiacos FC.[23] The transfer was questioned by thePortuguese Securities Market Commission, with Benfica explaining that BE Plan, the parent company who originally funded his transfer,defaulted on its obligations, so Zaragoza and Benfica agreed to revert the player's sporting and economic rights, with the latter immediately selling him to Atlético Madrid for €6 million.[24][25][26]
On 5 November 2013, Roberto put on aplayer of the match performance against his former club Benfica, in a 1–0 win inPiraeus inthe season'sUEFA Champions League.[27] In February of the following year, Olympiacos and Atlético reached an agreement for a permanent €2.5 million transfer, and he signed a four-year contract with the former;[28] prior the official announcement, news regarding the move were announced through theKaraiskakis Stadium loudspeakers during a match againstPanionios FC.[29]
Roberto saved several shots in a 1–0 home win overJuventus FC in the Champions League on 22 October 2014,[30] but his team eventuallydid not progress from the group stage.
On 22 June 2016, Roberto became new managerQuique Sánchez Flores' first signing atRCD Espanyol, penning a three-year contract for €3 million.[31] On 5 July of the following year, after playing second-fiddle toDiego López,[32] he moved to fellow top-tier clubMálaga CF on loan.[33]
Upon his return to theRCDE Stadium, Roberto did not take part in any more league games as López was present in all 38 fixtures.[34]
On 31 May 2019, Roberto signed forWest Ham United on a two-year deal for afree transfer commencing on 1 July.[35] He made his full debut on 27 August, in a 2–0 win againstNewport County in thesecond round of theEFL Cup.[36] His maidenPremier League appearance took place on 28 September, when he replaced the injuredŁukasz Fabiański 34 minutes into an eventual 2–2 away draw toAFC Bournemouth.[37] He retained his place in goal with Fabianski's injury predicted to keep him out for up to two months,[38] and several of his performances attracted criticism after he was deemed to be at fault for goals byEverton,Sheffield United,Newcastle United andBurnley, the latter where he pushed the ball into his own net for the opposition's third goal in a 3–0 victory.[39][40][41][42] Following yet more poor form he was dropped to the bench, with third-choiceDavid Martin playing the fixture againstChelsea on 30 November.[43] In February 2020, former team managerManuel Pellegrini blamed the player's form as part of the reason for his sacking the previous December.[44]
After only ten competitive games for West Ham, on 20 January 2020 Roberto joinedDeportivo Alavés on loan until the end ofthe season.[45] During his brief tenure, in which he was praised for his professional approach even though he played second-fiddle toFernando Pacheco, he conceded 19 goals.[46]
In late August 2020, Roberto joinedReal Valladolid on a free transfer and a three-year contract.[47][48] He made his debut on 20 September in a 2–0 loss atReal Betis afterJordi Masip tested positive forCOVID-19,[49] and played roughly a third of the season's fixtures despite contracting the same virus in March.[50] In2021–22, withPucela in the second division, new managerPacheta played him for the first 19 games before switching to Masip.[51]
Roberto announced his retirement on 5 September 2022 at the age of 36, through his social media.[52]
Roberto won the first of his sixcaps forSpain atunder-21 level on 5 June 2007, in a 1–0 away victory overGeorgia for the2009 UEFA European Championshipqualifiers.[53]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Atlético Madrid B | 2005–06 | Segunda División B | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | Segunda División B | 35 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 0 | — | — | — | 40 | 0 | |||||
| Atlético Madrid | 2004–05 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Gimnàstic (loan) | 2007–08 | Segunda División | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Recreativo | 2008–09 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 2009–10 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Zaragoza (loan) | 2009–10 | La Liga | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Benfica | 2010–11 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| Zaragoza | 2011–12 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Total | 71 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 73 | 0 | ||||
| Olympiacos (loan) | 2013–14 | Super League Greece | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Olympiacos | 2014–15 | Super League Greece | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Super League Greece | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
| Total | 57 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | 76 | 0 | |||
| Espanyol | 2016–17 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Málaga (loan) | 2017–18 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| West Ham United | 2019–20 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Alavés (loan) | 2019–20 | La Liga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Valladolid | 2020–21 | La Liga | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Segunda División | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 360 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 422 | 0 | ||
Benfica
Olympiacos
Spain U17
Individual
