Iván Helguera

Iván Helguera

Helguera playing for Real Madrid
Personal information
Full name	Iván Helguera Bujía
Date of birth	28 March 1975 (1975-03-28)
Place of birth	Santander, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1996	Manchego	13	(2)
1996–1997	Albacete	14	(2)
1997–1998	Roma	8	(0)
1998–1999	Espanyol	37	(2)
1999–2007	Real Madrid	229	(18)
2007–2008	Valencia	31	(1)
Total		332	(25)
National team
1998–2004	Spain	47	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Helguera and the second or maternal family name is Bujía.

Iván Helguera Bujía (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈβan elˈɣera βuˈxija], born 28 March 1975) is a retired Spanish footballer.

Playing as either a central defender or defensive midfielder, he represented five clubs during his professional career, namely Real Madrid - achieving great team success as an important player - and Valencia; during his early 20's, he also had an unassuming abroad spell, with Roma.

A Spanish international on nearly 50 occasions, Helguera represented the country at the 2002 World Cup and in two European Championships.

Club career

Born in Santander, Cantabria, Helguera started playing for Manchego CF and Albacete Balompié, appearing in 14 second division matches in 1996–97 for the latter.

He would be snapped by Serie A side A.S. Roma after that, alongside compatriot César Gómez, but left after one disappointing campaign, joining RCD Espanyol, where his stellar performances led to a Real Madrid deal, even before the 1998–99 season had finished.

With Real Madrid from July 1999, Helguera was an instant first-choice, and netted five and six La Liga goals in his second and fourth campaigns - both seasons ended with the national championship conquest - alternating between defender and midfielder. He was also instrumental in the capital side's two UEFA Champions League conquests. In the 1999–2000 final, against fellow first-divisioner Valencia CF, he started the match as a sweeper, in a 3–0 win, appearing as stopper two years later, against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2–1).

Not an undisputed starter in his final two seasons, Helguera still managed 42 appearances combined (netting once, in a 3–1 win at Gimnàstic de Tarragona, on October 28, 2006). At the start of his last season, he was surprisingly stripped of his #6 jersey (which went to new signing Mahamadou Diarra), given #21 and made to train with the youth team, in anticipation of his leaving the club, even though his contract ended in June 2009. However, he later managed to fight his way back into the starting eleven, being somewhat influential in helping the club to the 2007 domestic league.

Subsequently, on July 20, 2007, Helguera signed for Valencia on a three-year contract. Upon joining, Helguera stated that he had wanted to come to Valencia for a "long time" and was "delighted" to arrive at the club. During his first season, he was relatively important, also helping the Che to the 2008 Copa del Rey. However, after having appeared very rarely in the first part of the second season, his contract was cancelled on December 12, 2008. Both FC Dinamo Bucureşti and Los Angeles Galaxy declared interest in signing the player, but nothing came of it, and he retired from football later into 2009.

International career

For Spain, Helguera was capped 47 times, the first coming on November 18, 1998, in an away friendly with Italy (2–2).

He played for his country at UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004, missing the 2006 World Cup after being omitted from the squad in the months before the tournament, by national team coach Luis Aragonés.

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Total
1995/96	Manchego		0	0
1996/97			13	2
1996/97	Albacete	Segunda División	14	2
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1997/98	Roma	Serie A	8	0
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Total
1998/99	Espanyol	La Liga	37	2	3	0	0	0	40	2
1999/00	Real Madrid	La Liga	33	0	6	0	15	2	54	2
2000/01			32	5	1	0	16	6	49	11
2001/02			26	3	6	0	12	3	44	6
2002/03			33	6	1	0	17	0	51	6
2003/04			29	1	6	0	8	2	43	3
2004/05			34	3	1	0	10	1	45	4
2005/06			19	0	4	0	4	1	27	1
2006/07			23	1	2	0	5	0	30	1
2007/08	Valencia	La Liga	24	1	6	0	7	1	37	1
2008/09			1	0	2	0	3	0	6	0
Country	Spain		318	26	48	0	97	16	426	37
	Italy		8	0
Total			326	26

International

Spain national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1998	1	0
1999	2	0
2000	10	0
2001	6	2
2002	11	0
2003	8	1
2004	9	0
Total	47	3

Honours

• UEFA Champions League: 1999–2000, 2001–02
• UEFA Super Cup: 2002
• Intercontinental Cup: 2002
• Spanish League: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07
• Spanish Cup: 2007–08
• Spanish Supercup: 2001, 2003

Personal

Helguera's younger brother, Luis, is also a professional footballer (a midfielder, he played in the first division for Real Zaragoza and Deportivo Alavés, and also in Italy).

He married his longtime girlfriend Lorena, and welcomed his first baby, a boy named Luca on November 30, 2005. He was father again in 2008, to Enzo.

External links

• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Iván Helguera at National-Football-Teams.com