Iván Helguera

Iván Helguera Bujía ( born March 28, 1975 in Santander, Cantabria ) is a former Spanish footballer.

Career

Helguera fell for the first time in Albacete Balompié during the 1996/97 season in footballing and was committed in 1997 by AS Roma.

Then finally he moved to Espanyol Barcelona ( 1999) and 1999 to Real Madrid, where he celebrated his greatest successes: Champions League title in 2000 and 2002, Spanish champion 2001, 2003 and 2007.

At Real Madrid, he has been used both in central defense and defensive midfield. In the season 2006/ 07 Helguera counted no more to the root formation under then coach Fabio Capello. In the summer of 2007 he went to Valencia.

On 12 December 2008, he released his contract on at Valencia, as he was hardly used from new coach Unai Emery. Since then, he was looking for a new club, but there was no obligation more.

National

From 1998 to 2004 he played in the Spanish national team, and participated in the European Championships in 2000 and 2004 and at the 2002 World Cup. He played in central defense or as a defensive midfielder.

Achievements

• Spanish Cup: 2001, 2003, 2007
• UEFA Champions League: 2000, 2002
• Spanish Supercup: 2001, 2003
• UEFA Super Cup: 2002
• World Cup: 2002
• Participation at Euro 2000 in Belgium and The Netherlands (4 inserts)
• Participation in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea ( 5 bets )
• Participation in the 2004 European Cup in Portugal ( 3 inserts)

Others

His younger brother Luis Helguera also plays football, he played for Real Zaragoza and Fiorentina.