Former Players
Real Valladolid are a club who have had some famous alumni grace the hallowed turf of the Estadio Jose Zorrilla. Below are literally the best ones, I couldn’t find anymore, but these are impressive nonetheless.
Carlos Valderrama — Former Colombian centreback (i.e. he used to be a centreback, however he remains, to this day, Colombian). He’s probably best known for his massive blonde (see ginger) afro. He played for Valladolid during the 91-92 season making 17 appearances.
Gabriel Heinze — The former Manchester United and Real Madrid left back’s first port of call – when making his move to Europe from Argentina – was at Valladolid, where he made 54 appearances between 1997-2001 including a year-long loan spell at Sporting Lisbon in the 98-99 season.
Fernando Hierro — Made enough of an impact at Real Valladolid to pique the interest of Real Madrid. He made 58 appearances between 1987 and 1989 before moving to the country’s capital and making 439 appearances for Madrid and 89 appearances for the national team subsequently cementing his status as legend for both club and country. The boy done good.
Rene Higuita — One of the quirkiest characters in football history best known for his outrageous scorpion kick during a friendly against England at Wembley. He played for Valladolid in the 92-93 season making 15 appearances. He also took the job of goalkeeping coach in 2008. As you can see, he is Valladolid through and through.
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Cuauhtemoc Blanco – Mexican legend Blanco, who has made 121 internaional appearances and scored 39 goals, spent two seasons on loan at Valladolid between 2000 and 2002, however a serious injury restricted him to only 23 appearances and he scored a disappointing 3 goals.
Ivan Campo — He spent the 95-96 season on loan at Valladolid where he made 24 appearances. Campo went on to play for Real Madrid as well as have spells in England with both Bolton Wanderers and Ipswich Town.
Ruben Baraja — The former Valencia stalwart played for Valladolid between 1993 and 1996 making 41 appearances. One of the better players to come through Valladolid’s academy, he was part of Rafa Benitez’s title winning Valencia team.
Pedro Leon — Now a registered Real Madrid player, Leon played for Valladolid in the 08-09 season making 33 appearances. Farmed out to Getafe on loan this season to gain experience, he is a player with bags of ability but a questionable temperament. Look out for his goal against Malaga at the beginning of this season.
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Justo Villar — Justo Villar was Paraguay’s first choice goalkeeper during the 2010 World Cup, most notably saving a Xabi Alonso penalty in their match against Spain. He was always a solid enough shot stopper but prone to the occasional mistake. However the fans adored him. He made 44 appearances between 2008 and 2011.
Sergio Asenjo — A perfect example of how cruel football can be. Had it not been for some horrendous long term injuries, there is no doubt in my mind that Asenjo would be one of the World’s elite goalkeepers right now. In the summer of 2009, his signature was coveted by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, however Asenjo opted to join Atletico de Madrid for the simple reason he didn’t want to move to a club where he had little chance of ousting the number 1 goalkeeper. A serious knee injury brought about the emergence of David De Gea who kept him out of the side and since then Asenjo has had one long injury battle. He made 47 appearances for Valladolid between 2007 and 2009.
Asier Del Horno — The former Chelsea and Valencia man spent the 2010 season on loan with Valladolid where he made 13 appearances. I’d like to be able to say more but he was a bit rubbish.
