Javier Baraja

Javier Baraja Vegas (born 24 August 1980) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or a central defender.
He spent most of his professional career with Valladolid, appearing in 229 competitive games and playing in six La Liga seasons (ten in total).

Club career

Born in Valladolid, Castile and León, and a product of hometown Real Valladolid's youth system, Baraja's first appearance in La Liga was on 26 August 2001 as he played 17 minutes in a 0–4 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña. He only featured in one more match in that first season, totalling just 107 minutes of action.

After stints in the second division, appearing scarcely with Getafe CF in two years (he played 13 games in his second year as the Madrid side achieved a first-ever top level promotion) and spending one season with Málaga CF's reserves, Baraja returned to Valladolid in 2005–06, playing 28 times as the club returned to the top flight in the following campaign.

Relatively used during the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons, Baraja scored his first goal for Valladolid on 13 September 2008, netting a penalty in a 2–1 home win against Atlético Madrid.

Personal life

Baraja's older brother, Rubén, was also a footballer. The midfielder was also groomed at Valladolid but played mainly for Valencia CF, and collected nearly 50 caps for Spain.

Honours

Spain U16

• UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1997