Rubén Navarro
Quick Facts
Biography
Rubén Navarro Méndez (born 6 June 1978) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
He amassed La Liga totals of 147 games and 31 goals over the course of seven seasons, representing Valencia, Numancia and Alavés. He added in 187/57 Segunda División, in a 15-year professional career.
Football career
Navarro was born in Sallent de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia. A product of Valencia CF's youth system, he first appeared in La Liga on 15 June 1997 in a 2–1 home win against Real Oviedo, but could never settle at his first club, moving to CD Numancia where he played two years. In his first season at Soria he scored ten league goals, helping it barely avoid top flight relegation.
Subsequently, Navarro joined Deportivo Alavés after the side's runner-up exploits in the UEFA Cup, and was an important attacking element during six years, three spent in the second division. In three of those campaigns, he netted in double digits.
For 2007–08, Navarro signed with another team in the second level, Hércules CF. On 5 April 2009, as they eventually narrowly missed on promotion, he scored a hat-trick against Sevilla Atlético in an 8–0 home routing.
In late June 2009, Navarro returned to his native region after nearly 15 years, signing as a free agent with Gimnàstic de Tarragona for two years. On 2 September 2011, after two seasons of irregular use after which he did not have his contract renewed and was released, the 33-year-old joined CD Leganés in division three.