Raúl Baena


José Raúl Baena Urdiales is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Greek club Atromitos F.C. as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Espanyol

Born in Torrox, Málaga, Andalusia, and after starting his footballing career at local Málaga CF and later coming through the FC Barcelona's youth ranks, Baena switched to Catalonia neighbours RCD Espanyol in 2007, at the age of 18. He made his debut with its first team on 4 October 2009 in a La Liga match against Villarreal CF, playing the second half as the ten-man side eventually held off the hosts to a 0–0 draw.
Baena quickly became an integral part of the main squad, alternating starts with appearances from the bench in his debut season. On 12 December 2009, his penalty offense on FC Barcelona's Xavi supposed the game's only goal, in a derby defeat.
Baena was regularly used by manager Mauricio Pochettino in the following campaigns, often partnering another club youth graduate, Javi Márquez, in central midfield. On 21 January 2012 he scored his first goal in the top flight, opening the scoresheet in a 3–0 home victory over Granada CF.

Rayo Vallecano

On 26 June 2013, Baena signed a two-year contract with Rayo Vallecano. In the 2014–15 campaign he scored twice in 28 matches to help his team finish 11th in the top tier and, at its closure, agreed to a two-year extension.

Granada

Baena joined Granada of the Segunda División in the summer of 2017, agreeing to a three-year deal. During his only season at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, he acted as team captain.
In September 2018, Baena signed with Melbourne Victory FC on a one-year loan. He scored his only goal in the A-League on 1 December in a 4–0 home defeat of Western Sydney Wanderers FC, and left the following May.

International career

Baena won his only cap for the Spanish under-21 side on 28 March 2011 as a member of Espanyol, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Athletic Bilbao's Ander Herrera in the 1–1 friendly draw to Belarus held in Alcalá de Henares.

Career statistics

Club