Raúl Bravo facts for kids
Bravo in action for Olympiacos in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raúl Bravo Sanfélix | ||
| Date of birth | 14 April 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Gandia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1996 | Palma CF | ||
| 1996 | Gandía | ||
| 1997–2000 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1997 | Gandía | 21 | (4) |
| 2000–2001 | Real Madrid C | 7 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Real Madrid B | 40 | (2) |
| 2001–2007 | Real Madrid | 77 | (4) |
| 2003 | → Leeds United (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Olympiacos | 63 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Numancia (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Rayo Vallecano | 6 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Beerschot | 12 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Córdoba | 31 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Veria | 23 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Aris | 25 | (1) |
| 2016 | → Veria (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Gandía | ||
| 2021 | Pego | 3 | (0) |
| 2022 | Beniopa | ||
| Total | 325 | (13) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998 | Spain U16 | 10 | (1) |
| 1998 | Spain U17 | 3 | (2) |
| 2002 | Spain U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Spain | 14 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raúl Bravo Sanfélix (born on April 14, 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He played as a left-back or centre-back.
Raúl Bravo grew up playing in the youth teams of Real Madrid. He later spent six years with their main team. During this time, he also played for the Spanish national team. He even represented Spain at the Euro 2004 tournament.
Bravo also played for several years in Greece. He was most famous for his time with Olympiacos. There, he won six major titles, including three national championships.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Real Madrid
Raúl Bravo was born in Gandia, a city in Spain. He started playing football with two local clubs. When he was 16, he joined the youth system of Real Madrid.
He played for Real Madrid's younger teams, including the Junior A side. Later, he moved up to the C team and then to Real Madrid Castilla (Real Madrid's B team).
On October 6, 2001, Raúl Bravo made his first appearance in La Liga. This was the top football league in Spain. He played for the main Real Madrid team against Athletic Bilbao. He played 70 minutes in a 2–0 win. He then started training often with the main team. This led to him joining the first team permanently from the 2002–03 season.
In January 2003, Bravo went on loan to Leeds United in England for six months. It was not a very successful time for him there. Later, during UEFA Euro 2004, a football commentator noted he looked like a different player. However, it was hard for him to play regularly at Real Madrid. This was because of the famous left-back Roberto Carlos.
Playing for Olympiacos
In July 2007, Raúl Bravo signed a four-year contract with Olympiacos F.C. in Greece. He wanted to keep playing in the UEFA Champions League. He moved for about €2.3 million.
He did not play much at first due to injuries. In January 2009, he went back to Spain for a short time. He joined CD Numancia on loan. They were struggling in the top league and ended up being relegated.
After returning to Olympiacos, Bravo showed great effort. He became the starting left-back for the team. In May 2011, he left Olympiacos at age 30. He had helped them win the Super League Greece championship that season.
Later Years in Football
On August 31, 2011, Bravo returned to Spain. He signed with Rayo Vallecano, a team that had just been promoted to the top division. He did not play much in his only season there.
The next year, he joined Beerschot A.C. in Belgium for one year. At 33, Bravo went back to the Greek top league. He joined Veria FC. His contract ended in June 2015. Two months later, he signed a one-year deal with Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in Greece.
International Career
Raúl Bravo played for Spain's youth national teams. In 1997–98, he played for the under-16 team. They won the Algarve Tournament.
With the under-17s, he played in the Nymburk International Tournament. He scored two goals in three matches.
Bravo made his full debut for the Spanish national team on August 21, 2002. This was in a friendly game against Hungary.
He was part of the Spanish team for UEFA Euro 2004. He played every minute of Spain's group stage games. These were against Portugal, Russia, and Greece. He played as a central defender in these matches. After Euro 2004, he was not called up to the national team again. He earned a total of 14 caps for Spain.
Honours and Achievements
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2002–03, 2006–07 (Spanish League Champion)
- Supercopa de España: 2003 (Spanish Super Cup)
- UEFA Champions League: 2001–02 (Europe's top club competition)
- UEFA Super Cup: 2002 (European Super Cup)
Olympiacos
- Super League Greece: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11 (Greek League Champion)
- Greek Football Cup: 2007–08 (Greek Cup)
- Greek Super Cup: 2007 (Greek Super Cup)
