Adrián Ripa Cruz (born 12 August 1985) is a Spanish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
left back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
SD Tarazona
Sociedad Deportiva Tarazona is a Spanish football team based in Tarazona, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1969, it plays in , holding home games at ''Municipal'', with a 1,500-seat capacity.
History
The club was founded in 1 ...
.
He played 211 matches in
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Numancia.
Club career
Born in
Épila
Épila is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. Its population in 2005 was approximately 4,100.
The Santuario de la Virgen de Rodanas is located in the Sierra de Nava Alta, west of Épila town. The road to the sanctuary fro ...
,
Province of Zaragoza
Zaragoza (), also called Saragossa in English,''Encyclopædia Britannica''Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)/ref> is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon.
Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also th ...
,
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
, Ripa started his career with
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
Tercera División
Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
in first position.
In 2007, Ripa signed with
Segunda División B
Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...
club SD Huesca on loan. He won promotion in his first year, then made his professional debut in
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
, however, he returned to the division above after Elche CF paid his
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
30.000
buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...
. He played 25 matches in
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, helping his team to the fourth position in the standings and the subsequent playoffs.
On 20 June 2011, Ripa signed a two-year deal at
CD Numancia
Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...
as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. He made 11 second-tier appearances in his first season, as understudy to Nano.
Ripa left the
Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos
Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos is a multi-purpose stadium in Soria, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of CD Numancia. The stadium holds 8,261 seats and was built in 1999. It is notoriously cold and over ...
in June 2019, as the 34-year-old's contract expired. He then returned to his native region, joining amateurs
SD Tarazona
Sociedad Deportiva Tarazona is a Spanish football team based in Tarazona, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1969, it plays in , holding home games at ''Municipal'', with a 1,500-seat capacity.
History
The club was founded in 1 ...