Rubén de la Red

Spanish footballer (born 1985)

Rubén de la Red Gutiérrez (born 5 June 1985) is a Spanish football manager and former central midfielder. He made a name for himself at Getafe after emerging through Real Madrid's La Fábrica. Returning to his first club in 2008, he suffered a serious heart ailment which put his career on hold for two years, until he retired in late 2010. De la Red was part of Spain's victorious squad at the Euro 2008 tournament.

Born in Móstoles, Community of Madrid, de la Red arrived at the Real Madrid youth system when he was 14. At one point he was transferred to CD Móstoles after being told he was not good enough, but was soon re signed by Madrid; after his fourth season youth coach Quique Sánchez Flores, who was moving to Getafe CF, wanted the player to join him at his new club, but Madrid turned him down. De la Red made his first team debut on 10 November 2004, in a 2–1 away win against CD Tenerife for the Copa del Rey. His first La Liga appearance came on 22 September 2005, playing two minutes in a 3–1 home triumph over Athletic Bilbao, and he appeared in two more games as a late substitute during that campaign. In 2006–07, de la Red was called up to the main squad by manager Fabio Capello along with teammates Miguel Torres and Miguel Ángel Nieto, and made seven appearances during the league winning season. On 9 November 2006 he scored his first goal with the main squad, closing the scoresheet against Écija Balompié for the domestic cup (5–1 home win, 6–2 aggregate); in July 2007, he renewed his contract until 2011.

On 31 August 2007, de la Red was transferred to Madrid based Getafe, with Real Madrid having an option to re buy the next two years. There, he established himself as an important player, usually assuming the role of playmaker and being joined at the team by another Real Madrid canterano, Esteban Granero, who arrived on loan. During the season, de la Red was forced due to injuries to teammates to perform as centre back, notably in the UEFA Cup quarter final tie against FC Bayern Munich, in which second leg he was sent off in the sixth minute; in the continental competition he netted three times in 11 matches, notably in a 2–1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on 25 October 2007, equalizing after a set piece combination with Granero.

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón confirmed in May 2008 that, along with Granero and Javi García, de la Red would return to the Santiago Bernabéu for 2008–09. On 24 August 2008 he scored his first goal for the club since returning, netting from a long range effort in the second leg of the Supercopa de España against Valencia CF. He scored his first goal for Real in league play on 21 September, in a 2–0 away win against Racing de Santander. On 30 October 2008, de la Red was hospitalized after fainting during a Spanish Cup game against Real Unión. On 12 December, the club announced the player would miss the rest of the season as a precaution, and subsequent media reports claimed he may never recover from his heart condition. Spanish national daily sports newspaper Marca reported on 30 June 2009 that after new tests had been inconclusive, De la Red's heart condition would force him to sit out the entire 2009–10 season and he'd be subjected to further evaluations every two months to reassess his health. The club officially announced the news on 2 July 2009, on the same day that new arrival Raúl Albiol was announced and given De la Red's former number 18 shirt, vowing to return it to him if he were to ever return. In January 2010, several Madrid based media reported Real Madrid were looking to declare de la Red's heart problem to be "a common condition" in order to trigger an annulment clause in his contract. This would have meant the player would only receive a €1,500 monthly disability benefit, rather than the full wages due from the remaining two years of his professional contract. On 3 November 2010, de la Red announced his retirement from football at only 25. Prior to this announcement, he stated he would remain at the club as a youth coach. Director of football Jorge Valdano said that he would remain as part of José Mourinho's coaching staff.

De la Red played for Spain under 21s before being called up by the senior team for a friendly with Italy on 26 March 2008, but did not make his debut. Uncapped, he was named in the nation's squad of 23 for UEFA Euro 2008 by coach Luis Aragonés, but would appear in two exhibition games against Peru and the United States prior to the continental competition. During the tournament's final group stage match, de la Red scored his only international goal with a powerful strike against Greece on 18 June, for a 2–1 win.

On 20 October 2015, de la Red was appointed manager of Getafe's reserves in the third tier. The team were relegated in his first season, and he left shortly afterwards.