Rubén de la Red

Rubén de la Red Gutiérrez (born 5 June 1985) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central midfielder, and a current coach.
He made a name for himself at Getafe after emerging through Real Madrid's cantera. Returning to his first club in 2008, he suffered a serious heart ailment which put his career on hold for two years, until he retired in late 2010.
De la Red was part of Spain's squad at the victorious Euro 2008 tournament.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Móstoles, Community of Madrid, de la Red arrived at the Real Madrid youth system when he was 14. At one point he was transferred to CD Móstoles after being told he was not good enough, but was soon re-signed by Madrid; after his fourth season youth coach Quique Sánchez Flores, who was moving to Getafe CF, wanted the player to join him at his new club, but Madrid turned him down.

De la Red made his first-team debut on 10 November 2004, in a 2–1 away win against CD Tenerife for the Copa del Rey. His first La Liga appearance came on 22 September 2005, playing two minutes in a 3–1 home triumph over Athletic Bilbao, and he appeared in two more games as a late substitute during that campaign.

In 2006–07, de la Red was called up to the main squad by manager Fabio Capello along with teammates Miguel Torres and Miguel Ángel Nieto, and made seven appearances during the league-winning season. On 9 November 2006 he scored his first goal with the main squad, closing the scoresheet against Écija Balompié for the domestic cup (5–1 home win, 6–2 aggregate); in July 2007, he renewed his contract until 2011.

Getafe

On 31 August 2007, de la Red was transferred to Madrid-based Getafe, with Real Madrid having an option to re-buy the next two years. There, he established himself as an important player, usually assuming the role of playmaker and being joined at the team by another Real Madrid canterano, Esteban Granero, who arrived on loan.

During the season, de la Red was forced due to injuries to teammates to perform as centre back, notably in the UEFA Cup quarterfinal tie against FC Bayern Munich, in which second leg he was sent off in the sixth minute; in the continental competition he netted three times in 11 matches, notably in a 2–1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on 25 October 2007, equalizing after a set piece combination with Granero.

Return home and retirement

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón confirmed in May 2008 that, along with Granero and Javi García, de la Red would return to the Santiago Bernabéu for 2008–09. It was suggested that the latter could be used in a swap deal involving a number of potential targets, although coach Bernd Schuster stated that he was willing to give the midfielder a chance to impress in his team.

De la Red scored his first goal for the club since returning on 24 August 2008, in the second leg of the Supercopa de España against Valencia CF, with an astounding long-range effort, adding his first in the league – for Real – on 21 September against Racing de Santander (2–0 away win).

On 30 October 2008, de la Red was hospitalized after collapsing during a Spanish Cup game against Real Unión. He suffered an effort syncope. On 12 December, the club announced the player would be missing the rest of the campaign as a precaution, and some subsequent media reports claimed that he might never recover from his heart condition.

In late June 2009, after further tests proved inconclusive, de la Red missed the entire 2009–10, also being scheduled for tests every two months to monitor his situation. On 2 July, the club confirmed the news through its official website; after new Madrid signing Raúl Albiol was given the number 18 shirt, previously worn by de la Red, the defender promised to give the shirt number back to de la Red, in the possibility he made a return.

In January 2010, it was reported in various Madrid-based news sites that Real Madrid were attempting to declare de la Red's heart problem to be "a common condition", and therefore find a way to annul his contract. As a consequence, the player would only receive a €1,500-monthly disability benefit, rather than the full wages due from the remaining two years of his professional contract.

On 3 November 2010, de la Red announced his retirement from football at only 25. Prior to this announcement, he stated he would remain at the club as a youth coach.

Director of football Jorge Valdano – also a former club player and coach – added: "This day marks a turning point in Rubén's life. He ends his career as a player to focus all his passion for this sport on training. He is, from today, a part of Real Madrid's coaching staff and will start learning about what we do and how we come about it. He will also be part of Mourinho's 'lab', in which every game is rigorously prepared. The objective is for Rubén to learn skills in order to apply them to whatever team he ends up being assigned to. He's gone through all of the different teams the club has and he will use that experience to continue to be a part of the world of football".

Return to Getafe

On 20 October 2015, de la Red was appointed manager of Getafe's reserves in the third tier. The team were relegated in his first season, and he left shortly afterwards.

International career

De la Red played for Spain under-21s before being called up by the senior team for a friendly with Italy on 26 March 2008, but did not make his debut. Uncapped, he was named in the nation's squad of 22 for UEFA Euro 2008 by coach Luis Aragonés, but would appear in two exhibition games against Peru and the United States prior to the continental competition.

During the tournament's final group stage match, de la Red scored his only international goal with a powerful strike against Greece on 18 June, for a 2–1 win.

International goals

Statistics

Club

Managerial statistics

As of 15 May 2016

Honours

Club

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2006–07
• Supercopa de España: 2008

Getafe

• Copa del Rey: Runner-up 2007–08

Country

Spain

• UEFA European Championship: 2008

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship : 2004