Roberto Soldado facts for kids
Soldado lining up for Spain in 2013
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Roberto Soldado Rillo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Valencia, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–2000 | Don Bosco | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Real Madrid | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Real Madrid B | 120 | (64) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Real Madrid | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | → Osasuna (loan) | 30 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Getafe | 60 | (29) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Valencia | 101 | (59) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Tottenham Hotspur | 52 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Villarreal | 38 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Fenerbahçe | 47 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Granada | 62 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Levante | 43 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 569 | (217) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Spain U15 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Spain U17 | 18 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Spain U18 | 3 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Spain U19 | 9 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Spain U21 | 9 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2013 | Spain | 12 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||
Roberto Soldado Rillo (born 27 May 1985) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was a main goal scorer for his teams.
Soldado started his career in the youth system of Real Madrid. He later played for several top Spanish clubs like Osasuna, Getafe, and Valencia. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur in England. Over 13 seasons in Spain's top league, La Liga, he played 325 games and scored 129 goals.
He also represented Spain in international matches from 2007 to 2013. This included playing in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Early Career with Real Madrid
Roberto Soldado was born in Valencia, Spain. He joined Real Madrid when he was 15 years old. Before that, he played for a small local club called CF Don Bosco. He scored many goals for Real Madrid's reserve team, Real Madrid B.
Soldado made his first team debut for Real Madrid on 23 October 2005. He played against Valencia in a home game. Earlier that year, he scored a winning goal in the UEFA Champions League against Olympiacos. He also scored in the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao.
In the 2005–06 season, Soldado scored 19 goals for Real Madrid B. This made him one of the top scorers in the Segunda División (Spain's second division). In 2006, he went on loan to Osasuna for a season. He wanted to play more and score goals in the first division. He scored 13 goals for Osasuna, becoming their top scorer that season.
Soldado returned to Real Madrid in 2007. He hoped to play more for the main team. However, he only made five league appearances that season.
Time at Getafe
In July 2008, Soldado moved to Getafe for €4 million. He signed a four-year contract with the club. He scored his first goal for Getafe in October against Málaga.
On 25 January 2009, Soldado scored three goals (a hat-trick) in a 5–1 win against Sporting de Gijón. He continued to score important goals for Getafe. In the 2009–10 season, he scored another hat-trick against Racing de Santander.
By December 2009, Soldado had scored ten league goals. This made him Getafe's best ever scorer in the top division. He scored a total of 16 league goals that season. This helped Getafe qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Success with Valencia
In June 2010, Soldado returned to his hometown club, Valencia. He joined them for €10 million. He quickly started scoring goals for Valencia. In his first game, he scored in a 4–0 Champions League win against Bursaspor. He scored two more goals against them in a later match.
On 2 April 2011, Soldado scored all four goals for Valencia in a 4–2 win against his former club Getafe. In the next game, he scored two more goals against Villarreal. He finished the 2010–11 season as one of the top scorers in the league. Valencia finished third and qualified for the Champions League.
In the 2011–12 season, Soldado scored four goals in one game against Racing Santander. He also scored five goals in two home games in November 2011. This included three goals in a 7–0 Champions League win against Genk. He scored 25 goals in all competitions that season. In June, he extended his contract with Valencia until 2017.
On 23 October 2012, Soldado scored another hat-trick in the Champions League. This was against BATE Borisov in a 3–0 away victory.
Playing for Tottenham Hotspur
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On 1 August 2013, Soldado moved to Tottenham Hotspur in England. The transfer fee was £26 million. This was a record fee for the English club at the time. He scored a penalty goal in his first Premier League game against Crystal Palace. A few days later, he scored two goals in a Europa League match against Dinamo Tbilisi.
On 20 October 2013, Soldado scored his first Premier League goal from open play. This was in a 2–0 win against Aston Villa. Two months later, he scored his first hat-trick for Tottenham. This happened in a Europa League group stage game against Anzhi Makhachkala.
In his first season with Tottenham, Soldado scored only six goals in the league. Only two of these goals were from open play. He scored the winning goal against Cardiff City on 2 March 2014. In the 2014–15 season, his first league goal came on 30 November against Everton.
Later Career in Spain and Turkey
On 14 August 2015, Soldado returned to Spain. He signed a three-year contract with Villarreal for about £10 million. He scored in his very first game for them, a 1–1 draw against Real Betis. On 13 December 2015, he scored the only goal in a win against his former club Real Madrid. He missed most of the 2016–17 season due to a knee injury.
On 11 August 2017, Soldado joined Fenerbahçe in Turkey. After not scoring in his first ten games, he scored a hat-trick on 19 November. This was in a 4–1 home win against Sivasspor. He left Fenerbahçe in June 2019.
On 15 July 2019, Soldado signed a one-year contract with Granada. This club had recently been promoted to La Liga. He scored in his first game for Granada, a 4–4 draw against Villarreal. He helped Granada qualify for European competition for the first time in their history. In April 2020, his contract was extended for another season. On 17 September 2020, Soldado scored Granada's first ever goal in a European competition. This was in a 4–0 win against Teuta Durrës in the Europa League. He scored two more goals as Granada reached the quarter-finals.
Soldado joined Levante on 28 June 2021. He played for two seasons, scoring 11 goals. He also played in the 2023 promotion play-offs, but Levante did not get promoted. On 3 August 2023, Roberto Soldado announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38.
International Career
Roberto Soldado played for Spain at all youth levels. He scored a total of 26 goals for the youth teams. He was first called up to the senior national team in June 2007. He played in two UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying matches. However, he was not part of the squad that won the Euro 2008 tournament.
On 29 February 2012, Soldado returned to the national team after almost five years. He scored two goals in a friendly match against Venezuela. He later scored a third goal in the same game, helping Spain win 5–0.
The national team manager, Vicente del Bosque, chose Soldado for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squad. He scored in Spain's first game of the tournament on 16 June. This goal helped Spain win 2–1 against Uruguay.
Honours
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2007–08
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2014–15
Spain U19
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2004
Spain
- FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2013
Individual
- Zarra Trophy (Segunda División): 2005–06
- Zarra Trophy (La Liga): 2011–12
Images for kids
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Soldado lining up for Spain in 2013
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Soldado playing for Valencia in 2011
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Soldado playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Roberto Soldado para niños
