Raul
Albiol, defense of Villarreal, will fulfill this Thursday, in case of playing against Dynamo in Kiev in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League, one hundred European matches.
The footballer, born in the Valencian town of Villamarchante 35 years ago, made his debut in European competition in the 2003 UEFA Cup when, in the ranks of Valencia, he participated in the confrontation against the Swedish AIK Solna and later became champion of said competition, his only title in this competition.
Albiol, who debuted when he was just 18 years old, has accumulated 17 years competing at the highest European level and in this time he has added 99 games with the four teams in which he has played: Valencia, Real Madrid, Naples and Villarreal.
He played a total of 30 games with Valencia, between the 2003-2004 and 2008-2009 campaigns, with the hiatus from his time in Getafe, and also scored his first goal in Europe, beating the Olympiakos goal in the Valencian victory. 2-4 in the 2006-2007 Champions League.
With Real Madrid he played 21 games
Later he was transferred to Real Madrid, in the 2009-2010 season, where he remained until 2012-2013 and where he played 21 games and scored his second European goal.
His career continued in the Italian Naples – 2013-2014 to 2018-2019 – shirt that he defended 44 times in European competitions but with which he failed to score.
After his Italian experience, he returned to Spain last season to join the ranks of Villarreal.
Last year he did not play in European competition and this season he has participated in four commitments: two in the first phase and two in the round of 32 tie against Salzburg.