Bruno Soriano

Bruno Soriano Llido (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbɾuno soˈɾjano ˈʎiðo]; born 12 June 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Soriano and the second or maternal family name is Llido.

Bruno Soriano

Bruno with Villarreal in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Bruno Soriano Llido
Date of birth	(1984-06-12) 12 June 1984
Place of birth	Artana, Spain
Height	1.84 m (6 ft ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
	Artana
	Villarreal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2007	Villarreal B	57	(0)
2006–2020	Villarreal	324	(25)
Total		381	(25)
National team
2010–2016	Spain	10	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent his entire career with Villarreal since making his first appearance with the first team in 2006, and played 424 official games for them. He missed nearly three whole seasons in his later career, due to injury.

Soriano made his debut for Spain in 2010, and represented the nation at Euro 2016.

Club career

Born in Artana, Castellón, Valencian Community, Soriano was a product of Villarreal CF's youth system. He made his debut for the first team on 15 July 2006 in a 1–2 home loss to NK Maribor in the UEFA Intertoto Cup[1] and, on 1 October, his La Liga bow in a 2–1 away win against RCD Mallorca;[2] his first appearances as a senior were made with the reserve side, which operated in Tercera División.

Soriano made a permanent switch to the main squad in 2007–08, and was a regular fixture in the side's callups throughout the season, though not an undisputed starter. On 14 November 2007, he scored his first professional goal, in a 4–2 victory at UD Las Palmas in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey;[3] he had the same status the following year as the Yellow Submarine qualified for the UEFA Europa League, in fifth place.[4]

In 2009–10, Soriano became an automatic first-choice for Villarreal, finally winning the battle for starting duties over Uruguayan Sebastián Eguren. He only missed one game in 38 the following campaign, with the club finishing fourth and returning to the UEFA Champions League.

In the 2012 off-season, shortly after suffering relegation, Soriano received a €9 million offer from neighbouring Valencia CF, which he rejected in order to stay and help achieve promotion,[5] also signing a new four-year contract until 2020.[6] In 2013–14, with Villarreal back in the top flight, he scored a career-best six goals – three through penalty kicks – to help his team finish in sixth position and qualify to the Europa League.[7]

On 31 December 2015, Soriano netted through a superbly taken free kick to help defeat Valencia 1–0 at the Estadio El Madrigal.[8] The following matchday, he scored both of his team's goals in 2–1 away win against Deportivo de La Coruña, the second coming through an injury-time penalty.[9]

Soriano spent the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons and most of 2019–20 on the sidelines, due to a knee injury.[10][11][12] He finally made his return against Sevilla FC, on 22 June 2020.[13][14]

On 19 July 2020, aged 36, Bruno retired from football.[15]

International career

On 5 August 2010, Vicente del Bosque named Soriano as one of the three new players for the Spanish team after the victorious FIFA World Cup in South Africa, for a friendly with Mexico.[16] He made his debut on the 11th, playing 61 minutes in the 1–1 draw in Mexico City.[17]

On 17 May 2016, Soriano was included in a provisional squad of 25 for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament,[18] and also made the final list.[19] He made his debut in the competition on 17 June at the age of 32, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for David Silva in a 3–0 group stage win against Turkey at the Allianz Riviera.[20]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[21]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Villarreal	2006–07	La Liga	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
	2007–08		21	0	4	1	6	0	31	1
	2008–09		25	0	2	0	7	0	34	0
	2009–10		33	0	4	0	6	0	43	0
	2010–11		37	0	4	0	15	0	56	0
	2011–12		37	3	2	0	7	0	46	3
	2012–13	Segunda División	36	4	1	0	–		37	4
	2013–14	La Liga	36	6	3	0	–		39	6
	2014–15		24	2	5	1	8	2	37	5
	2015–16		31	5	2	0	12	2	45	7
	2016–17		34	5	1	0	10	1	45	6
	2017–18		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2019–20		7	0	0	0	–		7	0
Career total			324	25	28	2	72	5	424	32

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[22]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Spain	2010	1	0
	2011	1	0
	2012	2	0
	2014	2	0
	2016	4	0
	Total	10	0

See also

• List of one-club men

References

1. "El Villarreal pierde contra el Maribor y se complica en Europa" [Villarreal lose against Maribor and are in European hot waters]. Marca (in Spanish). 15 July 2006. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
2. García, Gregorio (1 October 2006). "Forlán hace que el Villarreal olvide la crisis" [Forlán makes Villarreal forget about crisis]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 April 2014.
3. "Zaragoza beaten by lowly Pontevedra in Copa". ESPN FC. 14 November 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
4. Andrés, A. (6 August 2008). "Bruno, listo para ser el 'comodín' de Pellegrini" [Bruno, ready to be Pellegrini's 'joker']. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 January 2016.
5. Ballester, Nacho (17 July 2012). "El Villarreal rechaza 9 'kilos' del Valencia por Bruno Soriano" [Villarreal reject 9 'kilos' from Valencia for Bruno Soriano] (in Spanish). Deporte Valenciano. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
6. "Bruno Soriano, hasta 2020" [Bruno Soriano, until 2020]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). 29 August 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
7. "La Liga 2013/14 se cierra con Cristiano Ronaldo como máximo artillero" [Curtain call to La Liga 2013/14 with Cristiano Ronaldo as top gunner]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 18 May 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
8. "Villarreal 1–0 Valencia". BBC Sport. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
9. Chova, Edu (3 January 2016). "Bruno, principio y fin en el Villarreal" [Bruno, beginning and end in Villarreal]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 February 2016.
10. "Bruno, sin fecha de regreso" [Bruno, no return date] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
11. Pérez, Javier (2 January 2019). "La orfandad del Villarreal sin Bruno y Rodri" [Villarreal lacking without Bruno and Rodri]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2019.
12. "El coronavirus frena la recuperación de Bruno Soriano" [Coronavirus halts Bruno Soriano's recovery]. Sport (in Spanish). 5 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
13. Millar, Colin (18 June 2020). "Villarreal captain Bruno Soriano returns after three-year injury layoff". Football España. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
14. "Sevilla fight back to draw at Villarreal and move into third spot". Reuters. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
15. "Villarreal to part ways with club favourites Cazorla and Bruno". The Hindu. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
16. "Bruno: "Esto es lo máximo"" [Bruno: "It does not get any better than this"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 5 August 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
17. "Crónica del México-España, 1–1" [Mexico-Spain match report, 1–1] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
18. "Euro 2016: Diego Costa, Juan Mata & Fernando Torres not in Spain squad". BBC Sport. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
19. Martín, Luis (31 May 2016). "Isco y Saúl fuera de la lista de Del Bosque para la Eurocopa 2016" [Isco and Saúl out of Del Bosque's list for 2016 European Championship]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 June 2016.
20. "Spain cruise past Turkey to advance to knockout stage". ESPN FC. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
21. "Bruno". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
22. "Bruno Soriano". European Football. Retrieved 2 January 2016.

External links

• Villarreal official profile (in Spanish)
• Bruno Soriano at BDFutbol
• Bruno Soriano at National-Football-Teams.com