Álvaro Arbeloa facts for kids
_(cropped).jpg)
Arbeloa in 2018
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Álvaro Arbeloa Coca | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 17 January 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Salamanca, Spain | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Full-back | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Current team
|
Real Madrid B (manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2001 | Zaragoza | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Real Madrid | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Real Madrid C | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Real Madrid B | 84 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Real Madrid | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Deportivo La Coruña | 20 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Liverpool | 66 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2016 | Real Madrid | 153 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | West Ham United | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 344 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Spain U17 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Spain U19 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2013 | Spain | 56 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2025 | Real Madrid (youth) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Real Madrid B | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (born on January 17, 1983) is a Spanish former footballer. He is currently the manager of Real Madrid Castilla. Arbeloa mostly played as a right-back, but sometimes played on the left side of the defense.
He began his professional football journey with Real Madrid. He played mostly for their reserve teams. In 2006, he moved to Deportivo. After half a season, he joined Liverpool. He played 98 official matches for Liverpool over three seasons in the Premier League. In 2009, he returned to Real Madrid. He spent seven years there and won eight major titles. These included the 2011–12 La Liga title and two Champions League titles.
Arbeloa played 56 games for the Spanish national team. He represented Spain at the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2008, and Euro 2012. He helped Spain win all three of these big tournaments.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting at Real Madrid
Arbeloa was born in Salamanca, Spain. His family moved to Zaragoza when he was four years old. He started playing football at a local club there. At 18, he joined Real Madrid's youth system.
He spent three full seasons with Real Madrid Castilla, which is the club's reserve team. On October 16, 2004, he played his first game in La Liga for the main Real Madrid team. He came on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Real Betis.
Time with Deportivo
On July 24, 2006, Arbeloa signed with Deportivo de La Coruña. Real Madrid kept the right to 50% of any future transfer fee. He played 21 official games for Deportivo in about six months.
Playing for Liverpool
Arbeloa joined the English club Liverpool on January 31, 2007. The team was managed by his fellow countryman, Rafael Benítez. He made his Premier League debut on February 10.
Arbeloa's first start for Liverpool was against FC Barcelona in the Champions League. He played as a left-back at the Camp Nou stadium. His team won 2–1. Liverpool won the overall match 2-2 on aggregate goals. He also played the full 90 minutes in the return game at Anfield.
Arbeloa scored his first goal for Liverpool on April 7, 2007, against Reading. He played in the last few minutes of the Champions League final against A.C. Milan, which Liverpool lost 2–1.
For the 2007–08 season, Arbeloa changed his jersey number from 2 to 17. He became a regular starter that season. He played 41 games and helped Liverpool finish fourth in the league.
In May 2009, during a match against West Bromwich Albion, Arbeloa had a disagreement with his teammate Jamie Carragher. Other players had to separate them. Carragher later explained that he was upset because a defensive mistake by Arbeloa threatened their team's clean sheet.
Returning to Real Madrid
On July 29, 2009, Real Madrid and Liverpool agreed on Arbeloa's transfer back to Real Madrid. He signed a five-year contract. He was given the number 2 jersey.
In his first season back, 2009–10, Arbeloa mostly played as a left-back. He scored his first goal on February 13, 2010. His second goal came in the Madrid Derby against Atlético Madrid. Under new manager José Mourinho, he scored his first Champions League goal. This was in a 4–0 win against AFC Ajax.
In the 2011–12 season, Arbeloa started playing almost always as a right-back. On August 1, 2012, he extended his contract with Real Madrid until June 2016.
Later in his career, Arbeloa played less often. In the 2015–16 season, he played only nine matches. Two of these were in the Champions League, which Real Madrid won. On May 8, 2016, he confirmed he would leave the club.
Time with West Ham United
On August 31, 2016, Arbeloa returned to the Premier League. He signed with West Ham United for one season. He made his debut on September 21. He played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup.
West Ham United released Arbeloa at the end of the season. He had played only four matches for them. He retired from professional football in June 2017, at the age of 34. His professional career lasted 15 years.
International Career for Spain
On February 1, 2008, Arbeloa was called up to the Spanish national team for the first time. This was for a friendly match against France. However, he had to withdraw due to an injury. He made his debut on March 26 against Italy. He was chosen for the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. He played in one match as Spain went on to win the championship.
Arbeloa's ability to play in different defensive positions led to him being called up for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup, which Spain also won, he played 14 minutes in a 2–0 victory over Honduras.
Vicente del Bosque, the national team coach, selected Arbeloa for the Euro 2012 tournament. Because Carles Puyol was injured, Arbeloa became a starting player. He played alongside Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, and Jordi Alba. Spain only let in one goal in six games and won the tournament.
Coaching Career
Arbeloa returned to Real Madrid in September 2020. He was appointed manager of the club's under-14 team. Two years later, in 2022, he moved up to coach the Juvenil A team, which is a youth team.
On May 28, 2025, Arbeloa took over as the manager of Real Madrid Castilla, replacing Raúl.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup1 | Europe2 | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid C | 2002–03 | Tercera División | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Real Madrid B | 2003–04 | Segunda División B | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Segunda División B | 28 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | Segunda División | 34 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 84 | 0 | — | — | — | 84 | 0 | |||||
| Real Madrid | 2004–05 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Deportivo | 2006–07 | La Liga | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Liverpool | 2006–07 | Premier League | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 43 | 1 | |
| Total | 66 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 98 | 2 | ||
| Real Madrid | 2009–10 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 2 | |
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 153 | 3 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 233 | 6 | ||
| West Ham United | 2016–17 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 344 | 5 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 73 | 3 | 459 | 8 | ||
- 1 Includes League Cup and Supercopa de España.
- 2 Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
International Appearances
| Spain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2008 | 4 | 0 |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 |
| 2011 | 12 | 0 |
| 2012 | 13 | 0 |
| 2013 | 11 | 0 |
| Total | 56 | 0 |
Football Achievements
Liverpool
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2006–07
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2011–12
- Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14
- Supercopa de España: 2012
- UEFA Champions League: 2013–14, 2015–16
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2014
- UEFA Super Cup: 2014
Spain National Team
See also
In Spanish: Álvaro Arbeloa para niños
