page_title: Raúl Albiol
section_title: Real Madrid
hierarchical_section_title: Raúl Albiol / Club career / Real Madrid
caption_attribution_description: Champions League Real Madrid 3 - O.Marsella 0 30/09/09 Raul Albiol (Madrid) v Lucho Gonzalez (Marseille)
context_page_description: Raúl Albiol Tortajada is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Villarreal and the Spain national team.
  A reliable and physically strong player who excels in the air, his main asset is his versatility, as he can play as a central defender, right back or defensive midfielder. He spent most of his career with Valencia and Real Madrid, winning five major titles with both teams combined; he amassed La Liga totals of 229 matches and seven goals over ten seasons, and also played several years in the Italian Serie A with Napoli.
  A Spanish international since 2007, Albiol represented the country in two World Cups and as many European Championships, winning three tournaments including the 2010 World Cup.
context_section_description: On 25 June 2009, Albiol joined Real Madrid for a fee thought to be in the region of €15 million, becoming the first Spanish player signed by Florentino Pérez upon his return to the presidency. On 2 July, he was officially presented at the Santiago Bernabéu, receiving the number 18 jersey from Rubén de la Red who was absent for the season due to unresolved heart problems.
  Albiol scored his first goal for the Merengues on 8 December 2009, in a 3–1 Champions League win at Olympique de Marseille. He was an undisputed starter during the league campaign, mainly due to Pepe's serious knee injury.
  In 2010–11, Albiol was relegated to the bench as Real Madrid brought in another player for his position, Ricardo Carvalho (a compatriot of newly appointed manager José Mourinho), only appearing in the league through injury or suspension to teammates (Pepe again missed several matches due to physical problems). He did start, however, in the club's domestic cup campaign, helping it reach the final. On 26 January 2011, in the semi-final first leg against Sevilla FC (1–0 away win), he cleared a Luís Fabiano shot just before it crossed the goal line; on 16 April, he was sent off for fouling former Valencia teammate David Villa inside the box during El Clásico, which resulted in the first goal in a 1–1 home draw, going on to miss the Spanish Cup final four days later – through suspension – a 1–0 win against the same opponent.
  On 6 August 2012, Albiol renewed his contract with Real Madrid until June 2017. On 27 November, in his first game as team captain, at home against CD Alcoyano for the Spanish Cup, he had to be stretchered off after only one minute, being sidelined for approximately one month with an ankle injury.
  Albiol scored his second official goal for Real Madrid on 8 May 2013, heading from a corner kick for his team's first in an eventual 6–2 home win against Málaga CF.
caption: Albiol taking on Lucho González of Marseille in the Champions League in 2009
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