Alexis Ruano Delgado (born 4 August 1985), known simply as Alexis, is a Spanish former 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 ...

. Mainly a

central defender 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 ...

, he could also operate as a full-back. He amassed

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

totals of 321 matches and 17 goals over 15 seasons, representing in the competition

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, Getafe (two spells),

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Sevilla and Alavés. He also competed professionally in Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Club career

Málaga and Getafe

Born in

, Alexis joined

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

from

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

for 2006–07, for

€ 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 ...

2.5 million; he had spent three years at the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

club, alternating between the first team and

the second ''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the origin ...

. He would first appear for the main squad of the latter on 15 February 2004, playing eight minutes in a 5–2 home win over

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

. Alexis scored the winning goal for Getafe against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, in a 1–0 home victory on 14 October 2006. He was part of the league's best defence that season (only 33 goals in 38 games).

Valencia

In April 2007, Valencia signed Alexis to a €6.5 million deal at the Mestalla Stadium that ran until 2013, beating off competition from Real Madrid. After spending most of the campaign sidelined with a severe knee injury, he helped the team win the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

, netting the second goal in a 3–1 victory over former club Getafe in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

after

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing. A grad ...

had scored the first. Alexis, who started the season as

Raúl Albiol Raúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team. A reliable and physically strong player who excels in the air, his main asset is his versati ...

centre-back partner, netted in a 2–2 draw at UD Almería on 14 September 2008, but also spent two months in the sidelines due to a

pubalgia Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia, core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption is a medical condition of the pubic joint affecting athletes. It is a syndrome characterized by chronic groin pain in a ...

ailment. He played 24 matches the following campaign, helping the ''Che'' to a third place in

and former side Málaga avoid relegation as he headed home in the last-minute of the home fixture against CD Tenerife, which dropped down a level instead with that 0–1 loss.

Sevilla and Getafe return

On 24 August 2010, Alexis joined

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

for €5 million, signing a six-year contract as a replacement for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

-bound

Sébastien Squillaci Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci (born 11 August 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. From 2004 to 2010, he played 21 matches for the France national team while also making three appearances for the ...

. He made 21 league appearances in his first year (26 overall) as the team finished fifth and qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. In the third game of 2011–12 – his first – Alexis salvaged a point for Sevilla with an 86th-minute header away against

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...

(2–2); he would only be fourth of fifth-choice stopper for new manager

Marcelino García Toral Marcelino García Toral (; born 14 August 1965), known simply as Marcelino in his playing days, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. During a ten-year senior career, he amassed La Liga totals o ...

, however. In late February 2012, even though the winter

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 ...

had already closed, he was allowed to join former club Getafe on loan until the end of the season, as the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

outskirts side was immerse in a deep injury crisis to their defensive sector. The move was extended for the entire

2012–13 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 ...

. Alexis agreed to a permanent four-year deal in the summer of 2013. He continued to be an undisputed starter when healthy, but missed several games due to suspension.

Beşiktaş

On 21 January 2016, aged 30, Alexis moved abroad for the first time, joining

Beşiktaş J.K. Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (), also known simply as Beşiktaş (), is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most ...

in the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

for €2 million. After a 3–3 away draw against

Akhisar Belediyespor Akhisarspor Kulübü (Akhisar Sports Club), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

on 23 April, his poor performance led to criticism and accusations of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

Alavés

Alexis returned to Spain and its top tier on 29 July 2016, signing for newly promoted club

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...

. He scored twice from 24 appearances in his first season, in an eventual ninth-place finish.

Later years

Alexis moved abroad again on 22 June 2018, joining Al-Ahli in the Saudi Professional League on a two-year contract. He returned to his country on 7 August 2019, however, agreeing to a two-year deal at newly promoted second division side

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

Honours

Getafe *

runner-up: 2006–07 Valencia *Copa del Rey: 2007–08 Beşiktaş *

: 2015–16 Alavés *Copa del Rey runner-up: 2016–17 Spain * UEFA European Under-19 Championship:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

* FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up:

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Individual * La Liga Breakthrough Player: 2006–07

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexis 1985 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Málaga Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players Getafe CF footballers Valencia CF players Sevilla FC players Deportivo Alavés players Racing de Santander players Süper Lig players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Saudi Professional League players Al Ahli Saudi FC players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia