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Roberto Jiménez (footballer, born 1986)

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Jiménez and the second or maternal family name is Gago.

Roberto
Roberto playing for West Ham United in 2019
Personal information
Full name Roberto Jiménez Gago[1]
Date of birth (1986-02-10) 10 February 1986 (age 38)[1]
Place of birth Madrid, Spain[2]
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1996–2005 Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Atlético Madrid B 40 (0)
2005–2008 Atlético Madrid 1 (0)
2007–2008 → Gimnàstic (loan) 28 (0)
2008–2009 Recreativo 0 (0)
2009–2010 Atlético Madrid 3 (0)
2010 → Zaragoza (loan) 15 (0)
2010–2011 Benfica 25 (0)
2011–2013 Zaragoza 71 (0)
2013–2014 Atlético Madrid 0 (0)
2013–2014 → Olympiacos (loan) 23 (0)
2014–2016 Olympiacos 66 (0)
2016–2019 Espanyol 4 (0)
2017–2018 → Málaga (loan) 34 (0)
2019–2020 West Ham United 8 (0)
2020 → Alavés (loan) 9 (0)
2020–2022 Valladolid 32 (0)
Total 359 (0)
International career
2003 Spain U17 7 (0)
2004–2005 Spain U18 3 (0)
2006 Spain U19 2 (0)
2007 Spain U20 1 (0)
2007–2008 Spain U21 6 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Spain
Men's football
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Runner-up 2003 Portugal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roberto Jiménez Gago (Spanish pronunciation: [roˈβeɾto xiˈmeneθ ˈɣaɣo]; born 10 February 1986), known simply as Roberto, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He appeared in 150 La Liga matches over eight seasons, for Atlético Madrid (two spells), Zaragoza (twice), Espanyol, Málaga, Alavés and Valladolid. Abroad, he spent three years with Olympiacos where he won the Super League Greece in three consecutive seasons, and also played in Portugal with Benfica and England with West Ham United.

Roberto represented Spain at youth level.

Club career

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Atlético Madrid

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An Atlético Madrid youth graduate, Madrid-born Roberto played mainly for the reserves, only receiving the occasional call-up due to suspensions or injuries. After a plague of the latter he made his first-team debut on 22 December 2005, in a 2–1 away loss against CA Osasuna.[3]

In early July 2008, following a Segunda División loan at Gimnàstic de Tarragona,[4] Roberto was deemed surplus to requirements and sold to fellow La Liga club Recreativo de Huelva as part of the deal that sent Florent Sinama Pongolle in the opposite direction – Atlético, however, had an option to rebuy.[5][6] During his only season, which ended in relegation, he was restricted solely to appearances in the Copa del Rey.[7]

Roberto returned to Atlético on 13 July 2009 after a payment of €1,250,000 to the Andalusians, penning a three-year contract. This happened after the simultaneous departures of Grégory Coupet and Leo Franco.[8][9]

As first-choice Sergio Asenjo was summoned for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Roberto was promoted to the starting XI,[10] his first game being a 5–2 loss at FC Barcelona on 19 September.[11] He got injured shortly after,[12] and when he returned found himself third-choice behind Asenjo and youngster David de Gea; thus, in late January 2010, a loan to struggling Real Zaragoza was arranged until the end of the campaign[13]– he relegated Juan Pablo Carrizo to the bench, helping the Aragonese finally escape relegation.[14]

Benfica

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On 25 June 2010, it was confirmed that S.L. Benfica signed Roberto for a fee of €8.5 million.[15][16] In his first three official matches – the first against FC Porto in the season's Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira – his performances were poor overall, as the Lisbon club suffered three defeats and he conceded six goals; he was benched for the third Primeira Liga game of the season, at home against Vitória de Setúbal, but had to be brought in after Júlio César was sent off for a foul in the box at the 20-minute mark, and saved the ensuing penalty from Hugo Leal in a 3–0 win.[17]

Subsequently, Roberto fell out of favour at Benfica after the off-season signings of Artur and Eduardo.[18]

Zaragoza return

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On 1 August 2011, Roberto returned to Zaragoza, being transferred for a fee of €8.6 million in a purchase which was almost totally funded by a parent company of Zaragoza, who retained 99% of the player's economic rights.[19] However, it was later reported that a football investment fund was involved in that deal.[20]

In his first season in his second spell, he played all 38 league games as the team again avoided top-flight relegation in the last round. He again started in the 2012–13 campaign, but they returned to the second tier after a four-year stay.[21][22]

Olympiacos

[edit]
Roberto with Olympiacos in 2015

Roberto returned to Atlético Madrid on 26 July 2013, signing a four-year contract after an arrangement with Benfica and being immediately loaned to Greek side Olympiacos FC.[23] The transfer was questioned by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission, with Benfica explaining that BE Plan, the parent company who originally funded his transfer, defaulted on its obligations, so Zaragoza and Benfica agreed to revert the player's sporting and economic rights, with the latter immediately selling him to Atlético Madrid for €6 million.[24][25][26]

On 5 November 2013, Roberto put on a player of the match performance against his former club Benfica, in a 1–0 win in Piraeus in the season's UEFA Champions League.[27] In February of the following year, Olympiacos and Atlético reached an agreement for a permanent €2.5 million transfer, and he signed a four-year contract with the former;[28] prior the official announcement, news regarding the move were announced through the Karaiskakis Stadium loudspeakers during a match against Panionios FC.[29]

Roberto saved several shots in a 1–0 home win over Juventus FC in the Champions League on 22 October 2014,[30] but his team eventually did not progress from the group stage.

Espanyol

[edit]

On 22 June 2016, Roberto became new manager Quique Sánchez Flores' first signing at RCD Espanyol, penning a three-year contract for €3 million.[31] On 5 July of the following year, after playing second-fiddle to Diego López,[32] he moved to fellow league club Málaga CF on loan.[33]

Upon his return to the RCDE Stadium, Roberto did not take part in any more league games as López was present in all 38 fixtures.[34]

West Ham United

[edit]

On 31 May 2019, Roberto signed for West Ham United on a two-year deal for a free transfer commencing on 1 July.[35] He made his full debut on 27 August, in a 2–0 win against Newport County in the second round of the EFL Cup.[36] His maiden Premier League appearance took place on 28 September, when he replaced the injured Łukasz Fabiański 34 minutes into an eventual 2–2 away draw to AFC Bournemouth.[37] He retained his place in goal with Fabianski's injury predicted to keep him out for up to two months,[38] and several of his performances attracted criticism after he was deemed to be at fault for goals by Everton, Sheffield United, Newcastle United and Burnley, the latter where he pushed the ball into his own net for the opposition's third goal in a 3–0 victory.[39][40][41][42] Following yet more poor form he was dropped to the bench, with third-choice David Martin playing the fixture against Chelsea on 30 November.[43] In February 2020, former team manager Manuel Pellegrini blamed the player's form as part of the reason for his sacking the previous December.[44]

After only ten competitive games for West Ham, on 20 January 2020 Roberto joined Deportivo Alavés on loan until the end of the season.[45] During his brief tenure, in which he was praised for his professional approach even though he played second-fiddle to Fernando Pacheco, he conceded 19 goals.[46]

Valladolid

[edit]

In late August 2020, Roberto joined Real Valladolid on a free transfer and a three-year contract.[47][48] He made his debut on 20 September in a 2–0 loss at Real Betis after Jordi Masip tested positive for COVID-19,[49] and played roughly a third of the season's fixtures despite contracting the same virus in March.[50] In 2021–22, with Pucela in the second division, new manager Pacheta played him for the first 19 games before switching to Masip.[51]

Roberto announced his retirement on 5 September 2022 at the age of 36, through his social media.[52]

International career

[edit]

Roberto won the first of his six caps for Spain at under-21 level on 5 June 2007, in a 1–0 away victory over Georgia for the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.[53]

Career statistics

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[54]
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Madrid 2004–05 La Liga 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2005–06 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2006–07 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Gimnàstic (loan) 2007–08 Segunda División 28 0 0 0 — — 28 0
Recreativo 2008–09 La Liga 0 0 2 0 — — 2 0
Atlético Madrid 2009–10 La Liga 3 0 0 0 — 1 0 4 0
Zaragoza (loan) 2009–10 La Liga 15 0 0 0 — — 15 0
Benfica 2010–11 Primeira Liga 25 0 0 0 1 0 14 0 40 0
Zaragoza 2011–12 La Liga 38 0 2 0 — — 40 0
2012–13 33 0 0 0 — — 33 0
Total 71 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 73 0
Olympiacos (loan) 2013–14 Super League Greece 32 0 0 0 — 8 0 40 0
Olympiacos 2014–15 Super League Greece 29 0 3 0 — 8 0 40 0
2015–16 28 0 0 0 — 8 0 36 0
Total 57 0 3 0 0 0 16 0 76 0
Espanyol 2016–17 La Liga 4 0 2 0 — — 6 0
2018–19 0 0 6 0 — — 6 0
Total 4 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
Málaga (loan) 2017–18 La Liga 34 0 0 0 — — 34 0
West Ham United 2019–20 Premier League 8 0 0 0 2 0 — 10 0
Alavés (loan) 2019–20 La Liga 9 0 0 0 — — 9 0
Valladolid 2020–21 La Liga 13 0 4 0 — — 17 0
2021–22 Segunda División 19 0 2 0 — — 21 0
Total 32 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 38 0
Career total 320 0 19 0 3 0 39 0 382 0

Honours

[edit]

Benfica

Olympiacos

Spain U17

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Roberto (Roberto Jiménez Gago)". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Roberto Jimenez Gago". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  3. ^ Llamas, Fernando (22 December 2005). "Osasuna mantiene intocable El Sadar" [Osasuna keep El Sadar untouched]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Roberto Jiménez jugará cedido la próxima temporada en el Nastic" [Roberto Jiménez will play next season on loan in Nastic]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 12 July 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  5. ^ "El Atlético de Madrid traspasa a Roberto Jiménez al Recreativo" [Atlético de Madrid transfer Roberto Jiménez to Recreativo] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  6. ^ "El Recreativo de Huelva ficha al portero Roberto" [Recreativo de Huelva sign goalkeeper Roberto]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 5 July 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Dificultades en la portería" [Problems in goal]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 22 January 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Asenjo set for Atlético switch". UEFA. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Roberto Jiménez acompañará a Sergio Asenjo" [Roberto Jiménez to accompany Sergio Asenjo]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  10. ^ Marcos, José (19 September 2009). "Un novato en el Camp Nou" [A rookie at the Camp Nou]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Barca rout Atletico". ESPN Soccernet. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Roberto se rompe y debuta De Gea" [Roberto breaks and De Gea makes debut]. Marca (in Spanish). 30 September 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  13. ^ "El Zaragoza consigue la cesión del portero Roberto" [Zaragoza get loan of goalkeeper Roberto]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 25 January 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  14. ^ "La portería está vacía" [The goal is empty]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 28 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Securities Market Commission. 25 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  16. ^ Fryer, Rupert (25 June 2010). "Official: Roberto leaves Atletico Madrid for Benfica". Goal. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  17. ^ Kundert, Tom (28 August 2010). "Ten-man Benfica bounce back – Roberto redeemed?". PortuGOAL. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  18. ^ "Roberto mais perto do At. Madrid" [Roberto closer to At. Madrid] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 18 July 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Securities Market Commission. 3 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  20. ^ Scott, Matt (11 August 2011). "Transfer dynamics could be on the brink of change". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  21. ^ "El Zaragoza destituye a Manolo Jiménez" [Zaragoza dismiss Manolo Jiménez]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 June 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  22. ^ Gaudioso, Sonia (25 July 2013). "Roberto: "Siempre estaré orgulloso de haber jugado en el Zaragoza"" [Roberto: "I'll always be proud of having played in Zaragoza"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Acuerdo con el Benfica para el traspaso de Roberto" [Agreement with Benfica for transfer of Roberto] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  24. ^ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Securities Market Commission. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  25. ^ "Benfica explica 'negócio' de Roberto" [Benfica explain Roberto 'deal']. Expresso (in Portuguese). 30 July 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  26. ^ Santos Guerreiro, Pedro (30 July 2013). "CMVM avalia se resposta do Benfica sobre Roberto trai informação de há dois anos" [PSMC assesses if Benfica reply on Roberto belies two-year old information]. Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Olympiacos win as Roberto keeps Benfica at bay". UEFA. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  28. ^ ΠΑΕ Ολυμπιακός – Ανακοίνωση [Olympiacos – announcement] (in Greek). Olympiacos F.C. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  29. ^ Mpratsos, Kostas (29 April 2016). ΑΝΑΛΥΣΗ Ρομπέρτο: Τόσο τον πήρε ο Ολυμπιακός, τόσα παίρνει ο Ισπανός, τόσο θα πωληθεί [Roberto analysis: This is how much Olympiakos spent, the player's salary, for how much he will be sold!] (in Greek). Contra. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  30. ^ "Champions League: Olympiacos edge out Juventus to level on points with Atletico". Sky Sports. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  31. ^ "Roberto Jiménez, nou jugador de l'Espanyol" [Roberto Jiménez, new Espanyol player] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  32. ^ Navarro, Cristina (31 July 2018). "El Espanyol se pone duro con Roberto" [Espanyol get hard with Roberto]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Roberto será el nuevo portero del Málaga CF" [Roberto will be the new goalkeeper of Málaga CF] (in Spanish). Málaga CF. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  34. ^ Miserachs, Jaume (20 May 2019). "Diego López y Roberto, los 'intocables' de LaLiga" [Diego López and Roberto, the LaLiga ‘untouchables’]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  35. ^ "West Ham United to sign experienced goalkeeper Roberto". West Ham United F.C. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  36. ^ Candy, James (27 August 2019). "Jack Wilshere scores first West Ham goal as they edge into Carabao Cup third round with victory over Newport". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  37. ^ Collins, Ben (28 September 2019). "AFC Bournemouth 2–2 West Ham United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  38. ^ "Lukasz Fabianski: West Ham goalkeeper out for two months with hip injury". BBC Sport. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  39. ^ Williams, Jay (20 October 2019). "West Ham fans react to Roberto's performance against Everton". Hammers News. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  40. ^ Heffernan, Brian (29 October 2019). "Fuming West Ham fans slate Roberto Jimenez over costly mistake". West Ham World. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  41. ^ Callaghan, Shane (2 November 2019). "West Ham fans react to Roberto error". HITC. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  42. ^ "Roberto's gaffe ensures Burnley end poor run with win against West Ham". The Guardian. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  43. ^ Krishnan, Joe (30 November 2019). "Roberto dropped: West Ham goalkeeper David Martin makes debut vs Chelsea". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  44. ^ "Manuel Pellegrini: Roberto form aided West Ham sacking". Sky Sports. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  45. ^ "Roberto: West Ham goalkeeper joins Alaves on loan for rest of season". BBC Sport. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  46. ^ Pancorbo, R.O. (22 July 2020). "El Alavés se plantea contar con Roberto Jiménez" [Alavés thinking about having Roberto Jiménez]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  47. ^ "Roberto Jiménez completa la portería" [Roberto Jiménez completes the goal] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  48. ^ "Roberto: West Ham goalkeeper joins Real Valladolid". BBC Sport. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  49. ^ "El Betis gana al Valladolid y suma su segunda victoria en La Liga" [Betis win against Valladolid and rack up their second victory in La Liga]. El Español (in Spanish). 20 September 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  50. ^ Galindo, Nuria (17 April 2021). "¿Masip o Roberto en Elche?" [Masip or Roberto at Elche?] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  51. ^ Velasco B., Ángel (27 January 2022). "Los números avalan la apuesta por Jordi Masip" [The numbers justify the bet on Jordi Masip] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  52. ^ Fernández, Jonathan (5 September 2022). "Roberto cuelga los guantes" [Roberto hangs up gloves]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  53. ^ "La sub'21 gana a Georgia con un gol de José Enrique" [The under'21s beat Georgia with José Enrique goal] (in Spanish). La Rioja. 6 June 2007. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  54. ^ a b c d e "Roberto". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  55. ^ Lianos, Konstantinos (19 April 2015). "Olympiakos win Greek league for the fifth straight year". The Independent. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  56. ^ "Roberto Jiménez é tricampeão Grego com o Olympiacos FC" [Roberto Jiménez is back-to-back-to-back Greek champion with Olympiacos FC] (in Portuguese). Mundo dos Guarda-redes. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  57. ^ "Forward to Finland". UEFA. Archived from the original on 24 May 2003. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  58. ^ "Αυτοί είναι οι κορυφαίοι" [Meet the top of the top] (in Greek). Sport FM. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  59. ^ "Η βράβευση των κορυφαίων από τον ΠΣΑΠ" [Top guns get their PSAP award] (in Greek). PSAPP. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  60. ^ "ΠΣΑΠ: Η κορυφαία ενδεκάδα" [PSAP: The top eleven] (in Greek). Onsports. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  61. ^ "Αυτή είναι η κορυφαία ενδεκάδα της σεζόν 2015–16" [This is the top eleven of the 2015–16 season] (in Greek). Sport 24. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
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