Marco Gastón Ruben Rodríguez (born 26 October 1986) is an Argentine 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 ...

who played as striker. He spent the better part of his 18-year career with

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English- ...

, scoring 105 goals in all competitions. He also played in Spain, Ukraine, France, Mexico and Brazil. Ruben won one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the Argentina national team, in 2011.

Club career

Born in

Capitán Bermúdez Capitán Bermúdez is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, (north of Rosario, immediately north of Granadero Baigorria), on the western shore of the Paraná River. It had a popula ...

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 28th ...

, Ruben started his career with

in 2004. In the 2006 Apertura tournament he scored seven goals in 17 matches to be the team's top scorer, and this brought him to the attention of several major clubs in Argentina and Europe, with

Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez, Buenos Aires, Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city ...

eventually winning the battle and paying

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

7.5 million for his signature, alongside teammates Juan Ojeda and Cristian Villagra. After a short spell,

Manuel Pellegrini Manuel Lúis Pellegrini Ripamonti (; ; born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed teams in Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China and Ecuador. ...

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 ...

purchased Ruben for $7 million in January 2008, immediately loaning him to fellow

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 ...

side

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

until 30 June. He made his league debut in Spain on the 27th, appearing as a substitute and being booked in the 3–1 home loss against

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 ...

. The loan was renewed for the 2008–09 season, but Ruben scored just three times as 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 ...

ns were relegated. After returning to Villarreal, he spent the vast majority of the year with the reserves, which were having their first experience in the

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 ...

. In mid-January 2010, Villarreal agreed to sell Ruben to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

after the player had helped the reserves to the fourth place with nine league goals, good enough for joint-third. Although the player agreed personal terms with Wigan, the clubs could not reach an agreement and the deal fell through. Ruben played his first league game with Villarreal's main squad on 7 February 2010, more than two years after his purchase, appearing six minutes at

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

(1–0 loss). On 9 January of the following year, while starting in the place of injured

Nilmar Nilmar Honorato da Silva (born 14 July 1984), commonly known as Nilmar, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He won club and personal honours with Internacional and Corinthians in Brazil, and also played in ...

, he scored 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 ...

to make it 2–1 for the

Valencians Valencians ( va, valencians) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Legally, Valencians are the inhabitants of the community. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Au ...

(his first goal for the first team), who were eventually defeated at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...

(4–2). On 13 July 2012, Ruben signed a five-year contract with Ukrainian club

FC Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offici ...

for a

€ 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 ...

14 million fee. He scored his first goal for his new team on 3 November, netting the first in a 2–0 home win over SC Tavriya Simferopol. After a spell in the French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

with Thonon Évian F.C. where he failed to meet expectations as that particular type of football did not suit his style, Ruben joined

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

side

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

on 18 June 2014 on a one-year loan from Dynamo. He made his competitive debut on 9 July, playing the whole of a 4–1 defeat to Monarcas Morelia in the

Supercopa MX The Supercopa MX ( en, Supercup MX) was a Mexican football championship contested by the winners of the Apertura and Clausura Copa MX. History In June 2013 Liga MX president Decio De María announced the winners of Apertura and Clausura Copa MX w ...

. Ruben returned to Rosario Central on 24 December 2014, initially on a temporary deal. He scored a career-best 21 goals in his first year (24 in all competitions) and was named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. On 11 January 2019, Ruben joined Brazil's

Club Athletico Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

on a year-long loan. He retired on 7 May 2022 at the age of 35 after scoring for Rosario in the 3–1 win over

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...

Estadio Gigante de Arroyito The Estadio Gigante de Arroyito () is a stadium in the city of Rosario, Argentina. It is owned by club Rosario Central, serving as home venue for football matches. The Argentina national football team has played there several times. The stadium wa ...

, as the club's third all-time scorer with 105 goals.

International career

Ruben made his debut for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in an unofficial pre-

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

preparation match against

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

in February 2008, scoring once in a 5–0 win. His first official appearance took place on 5 June 2011 in a friendly with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and he netted the 1–1 equaliser in an eventual 2–1 loss.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ruben goal.''

Honours

Rosario Central *

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...

: 2017–18 Athletico Paranaense *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruben, Marco 1986 births Living people People from San Lorenzo Department Argentine people of Spanish descent Sportspeople from Santa Fe Province Argentine footballers Association football forwards Argentine Primera División players Rosario Central footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Villarreal CF players Villarreal CF B players Recreativo de Huelva players Ukrainian Premier League players FC Dynamo Kyiv players Ligue 1 players Thonon Evian Grand Genève F.C. players Liga MX players Tigres UANL footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Club Athletico Paranaense players Argentina international footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil