Borja Valero

Borja Valero

Valero in action with Fiorentina (2012)
Personal information
Full name	Borja Valero Iglesias
Date of birth	(1985-01-12) 12 January 1985
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Fiorentina
Number	20
Youth career
1995–2004	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2005	Real Madrid C	0	(0)
2005–2007	Real Madrid B	76	(4)
2007–2008	Mallorca	34	(4)
2008–2011	West Bromwich Albion	31	(0)
2009–2010	→ Mallorca (loan)	33	(5)
2010–2011	→ Villarreal (loan)	35	(3)
2011–2012	Villarreal	36	(5)
2012–	Fiorentina	114	(11)
International career
2002–2003	Spain U17	15	(3)
2003	Spain U18	3	(1)
2004	Spain U19	4	(2)
2010–2011	Spain	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:08, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Valero and the second or maternal family name is Iglesias.

Borja Valero Iglesias (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈborxa βaˈleɾo]; born 12 January 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Italian club Fiorentina as a central midfielder.

Best known for his technique and passing ability, he began his career with Real Madrid but did not have any impact with its first team, and played for Mallorca and in England for West Bromwich Albion before joining Villarreal in 2010.

Over the course of five seasons, Valero amassed La Liga totals of 139 games and 16 goals.

Club career

Real Madrid

Valero was born in Madrid, and began his football career as a youngster in the ranks of Real Madrid. He made his first appearance for the B-side in Segunda División B as a second-half substitute, took part in the playoffs to earn promotion and played two full seasons in Segunda División.

Valero played only twice for the first team: given his debut by Fabio Capello against Écija on 25 October 2006, replacing Javi García after 60 minutes of a match for the Copa del Rey, he also featured once in the UEFA Champions League, substituting Miguel Ángel Nieto in a 2–2 away draw with Dynamo Kyiv in the group stage.

Mallorca

In August 2007 Valero signed a five-year contract with Mallorca, following his release from Real Madrid. He scored his first La Liga goals in a 7–1 home win over Recreativo on 9 March 2008, and added another a month later, against his former team in a 1–1 home draw.

On 11 May, Valero scored the first goal for Mallorca as they came back from 2–0 down to beat Barcelona in Frank Rijkaard's last home game as the latter's manager. He made 17 starts and played a total of 1,892 minutes during the season to help the club finish in seventh position.

In mid-August 2008, Mallorca's president stated that the club had rejected bids from English club West Bromwich Albion for Valero and Óscar Trejo, but a week later, Valero signed for the club – newly promoted to the Premier League – for a club record fee of €7 million (£4.7 million). He agreed a four-year contract with the option of a further year in the club's favour.

West Bromwich Albion

Valero made his debut four days later in Albion's 1–3 League Cup defeat away to Hartlepool United. Manager Tony Mowbray said that he would have benefited from his first game in English football, only hours after receiving international clearance, despite the defeat.

Following Albion's relegation to the Championship after just one season, Valero said that he intended to remain at the club: "I still have a three-year contract here and would like to be true to that. For sure playing in the second division is not ideal. But if I have to put up with it then I am going to put up with it." By the beginning of the next campaign, however, he had changed his mind: "I prefer to play in Mallorca and not to be in the second division in England. This is clear. I am disposed for a loan return but it is necessary for an accord between the clubs".

Just hours before the close of the transfer window, Valero returned to Mallorca on loan for the 2009–10 season. On 13 September, in the first match in his second spell, he scored the club's 1000th top level goal in a 1–1 draw at Villarreal. In another away fixture, he netted in the last minute for nine-man Mallorca to clinch a 1–1 draw against Atlético Madrid in October, and was ever-present as Mallorca finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League; he also won the prestigious Don Balón Award for the best Spanish player in La Liga.

At the end of the season, Valero returned to his parent club after Mallorca confirmed they could not afford to take up the agreed fee of £2.5 million to make the move permanent.

Villarreal

For 2010–11, it was reported that Valero was joining Villarreal on a five-year contract, but the clubs eventually agreed on a season-long loan, with the move to be made permanent at the end of the season. He scored on his home debut for the team, a 4–0 win against Espanyol on 12 September 2010, and featured heavily throughout the season as the club finished in fourth position and qualified for the Champions League.

On 1 July 2011, Villarreal signed Valero on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. Villarreal were relegated at the end of the season, and it was reported that he was among a number of players expected to leave.

Fiorentina

On 1 August 2012, Fiorentina agreed with Villarreal for the transfer of Valero. The move was confirmed three days later, and he joined the Serie A team alongside teammate Gonzalo Rodríguez; after joining he said leaving his previous club was not easy, and that he still had not come to terms with its relegation.

Valero made an immediate impact at the Viola, scoring five league goals in 37 games in his first season and providing 11 assists as the team qualified to the Europa League. He scored his first goal in 2013–14 on 15 September in a 1–1 home draw against Cagliari, and, on 2 November, contributed to a 2–0 success at Milan; subsequently, he was named in Goal.com's Serie A Team of the Season.

International career

Valero represented the Spain under-19 team at the 2004 European championships. In the final, against Turkey, he entered the match as an 85th-minute substitute and, two minutes into stoppage time, scored the only goal of the game.

On 4 June 2011 Valero made his debut for the full side, against the United States in Foxborough, Massachusetts. He replaced David Silva in the second half, and assisted Fernando Torres in the last goal.

Club statistics

As of 26 May 2015

Club	Season	League			Cup1			Continental			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Real Madrid B	2005–06	39	2	–	—			—			39	2	—
	2006–07	37	2	–	—			—			37	2	—
	Total	76	4	–	—			—			76	4	—
Real Madrid	2006–07	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
	Total	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
Mallorca	2007–08	34	4	7	6	0	1	—			40	4	8
	Total	34	4	7	6	0	1	—			40	4	8
West Bromwich Albion	2008–09	30	0	3	4	0	0	—			34	0	3
	2009–10	1	0	0	1	0	0	—			2	0	0
	Total	31	0	3	5	0	0	—			36	0	3
Mallorca	2009–10	33	5	8	5	0	0	—			38	5	8
	Total	33	5	8	5	0	0	—			38	5	8
Villarreal	2010–11	35	3	8	5	0	0	13	2	3	53	5	11
	2011–12	36	5	6	2	1	0	6	0	0	44	6	6
	Total	71	8	14	7	1	0	19	2	3	97	11	17
Fiorentina	2012–13	37	1	11	4	1	0	—			41	2	11
	2013–14	32	6	9	4	0	0	11	1	2	47	7	11
	2014–15	27	2	3	3	0	0	11	0	0	41	2	3
	Total	96	9	23	11	1	0	22	1	2	129	11	25
Career totals		341	30	55	35	2	1	42	3	5	418	35	61

¹In West Bromwich Albion, includes FA Cup and Football League Cup.

Honours

Club

Fiorentina

• Coppa Italia: Runner-up 2013–14

Country

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2004

Individual

• Spanish Player of the Year: 2010
• Serie A Team of the Year: 2012–13
• UEFA Europa League: Squad of the season 2013–14, 2014–15

External links

• Fiorentina official profile
• Borja Valero profile at BDFutbol
• National team data (Spanish)
• Borja Valero career statistics at Soccerbase
• Borja Valero at National-Football-Teams.com