Rodolfo Arruabarrena

Rodolfo Martin Arruabarrena is a professional footballer from Argentina who plays as a left back. Arruabarrena has had the opportunity of playing for some big clubs in Europe and South America and has had the privilege of locking horns with some of the best in the business. Known as "El Vasco" Arruabarrena, Rodolfo also has a Spanish passport on account of playing for a number of years in the country.

In 1992, he was part of the youth team structure at Boca Juniors. He moved up to the senior team a year later and was part of the team until 1996 when he was sent out on loan to Rosario Central. Arruabarrena had struggled to get into the side till now but after his return from the loan spell, there was permanent place for him in the team.

Arruabarrena won the 1998 Apertura title as well as the 1999 Clausura title and was part of the team up until 2000. In all, he played almost 180 games with Boca, scoring 7 goals before moving onto Spain. Before moving to Spain however, he did help the side win the 2000 Copa Libertadores title.

In the middle of 2000, Arruabarrena moved to Villarreal and became an integral part of the team know as "El Submarina Amarillo" or "The Yellow Submarine". Arruabarrena went onto play over 200 matches for Villarreal and set a new club record in the process. Some of his most memorable moments with the club came when he scored to eliminate Scottish side Rangers FC and Italian powerhouse Internazionale Milan to send Villarreal to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2005-06.

He was often designated as the team captain due to his stability and capability of reading the game. He guided Villarreal to two consecutive UEFA Intertoto Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2004.

In 2007, Arruabarrena decided to sign up with AEK Athens, the runners-up in the Greek Superleague. Arruabarrena played alongside the great Rivaldo and also helped him score on his debut by setting up a beautiful heading opportunity. Unfortunately, his tryst with the Greek side was injury plagued and Arruabarrena barely managed to complete the 25 games he played, in all competitions.

Arruabarrena returned to Argentina and joined Club Atletico Tigre after the AEK Athens coach mentioned that he was no longer a part of the club's plans moving forth.

At the International level, Arruabarrena has represented his country at all levels. He made his international debut against Paraguay and has been part of the team on many occasions. However, the likes of Diego Placente and lately, Gabriele Heinze have ensured that there is no place in the side for another left back.