Jesús Rueda (footballer)

Jesús Rueda Ambrosio (born 19 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender or defensive midfielder for Gimnàstic de Tarragona.

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

Jesús Rueda

Rueda lining up for Beitar in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Jesús Rueda Ambrosio
Date of birth	(1987-02-19) 19 February 1987
Place of birth	Corte de Peleas, Spain
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s)	Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Gimnàstic
Number	18
Youth career
2002–2005	Valladolid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2009	Valladolid B	114	(11)
2008–2015	Valladolid	148	(3)
2009–2010	→ Córdoba (loan)	30	(2)
2015–2017	Beitar Jerusalem	62	(7)
2017–2019	APOEL	12	(0)
2019–2020	Extremadura	4	(0)
2020–	Gimnàstic	6	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 March 2020

He spent most of his career with Valladolid, playing 163 competitive matches mostly in Segunda División.

Club career

Born in Corte de Peleas, Badajoz, Extremadura, Rueda played youth football with Real Valladolid. He made his senior debut with the reserve team, spending four full seasons with the side in Segunda División B; on 12 November 2008 he made his first official appearance with the main squad, against Hércules CF for the Copa del Rey (34 minutes played, 2–2 home draw),[1] and his first La Liga match was on 26 April of the following year also at the Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla, a 0–0 draw to CA Osasuna where he came on as a late substitute.[2]

After spending the 2009–10 campaign on loan to Córdoba CF, in Segunda División,[3] Rueda returned to Valladolid which were now in the same level. He totalled 3,867 minutes of action in his second year in his second spell – playoffs included – scoring in a 1–1 draw at Recreativo de Huelva on 15 October 2011 as the Castile and León side went on to return to the top flight.[4]

On 13 August 2015, after appearing regularly as the club fluctuated between the first and second levels, Rueda terminated his contract with the Blanquivioletas.[5] He subsequently moved abroad for the first time, receiving offers from teams in Bulgaria and Israel,[6] eventually signing for Beitar Jerusalem F.C. and becoming a regular in the Holy Land team alongside compatriot Pablo de Lucas;[7] manager Slobodan Drapić stated "I wish I had eleven like Rueda", and he was among a growing contingent of Spaniards playing in the relatively obscure Israeli Premier League, gaining media attention back home.[6][8][9]

In June 2017, Rueda moved countries again when he signed a two-year deal for APOEL FC of the Cypriot First Division, a club whose director Juanjo Lorenzo was from Valladolid.[10] His debut season in Nicosia ended at the halfway point when he suffered a knee injury in training, ruling him out for six months.[11]

On 21 July 2019, free agent Rueda returned to Spain and joined second division team Extremadura UD.[12] The following 25 January, after only five official games, he cut ties with the club[13] and signed a 18-month contract with third-tier Gimnàstic de Tarragona four days later.[14]

Club statistics

As of match played on 11 December 2017

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Valladolid B	2005–06[15]	Segunda División B	21	0	—		—		10	2
	2006–07[15]	Segunda División B	36	5	—		2[lower-alpha 1]	0	38	5
	2007–08[15]	Segunda División B	30	4	—		—		30	4
	2008–09[15]	Segunda División B	18	2	—		—		18	2
	Total		114	11	—		2	0	116	11
Valladolid	2006–07[15]	Segunda División	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2008–09[15]	La Liga	3	0	2	0	—		5	0
	2010–11[15]	Segunda División	11	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	14	0
	2011–12[15]	Segunda División	39	1	1	0	4[lower-alpha 2]	0	44	1
	2012–13[15]	La Liga	28	0	2	0	—		30	0
	2013–14[15]	La Liga	35	1	1	0	—		36	1
	2014–15[15]	Segunda División	32	1	0	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	34	1
	Total		148	3	8	0	7	0	163	3
Córdoba (loan)	2009–10[15]	Segunda División	30	2	2	0	—		32	2
Beitar Jerusalem	2015–16[16]	Israeli Premier League	29	1	4	0	—		33	1
	2016–17[16]	Israeli Premier League	33	6	7	0	7[lower-alpha 3]	0	47	6
	Total		62	7	11	0	7	0	80	7
APOEL	2017–18[16]	Cypriot First Division	11	0	1	0	11[lower-alpha 4]	0	23	0
Career total			365	23	22	0	27	0	414	23

1. Appearances in Relegation Play-offs
2. Appearances in Promotion Play-offs
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

References

1. El Valladolid cumple el trámite ante el Hércules (Valladolid go with the flow against Hércules); Marca, 12 November 2008 (in Spanish)
2. Valladolid 0–0 Osasuna Archived 28 February 2014 at Archive.today; ESPN FC, 26 April 2009
3. Jesús Rueda llega cedido al Córdoba (Jesús Rueda arrives on loan at Córdoba); ABC, 16 July 2009 (in Spanish)
4. El Valladolid rescata un valioso punto en Huelva (Valladolid rescue a valuable point in Huesca); Marca, 15 October 2011 (in Spanish)
5. Jesús Rueda y el Pucela separan sus caminos (Jesús Rueda and Pucela split ways); Real Valladolid, 13 August 2015 (in Spanish)
6. Baeza, Lourdes (1 February 2016). "Futbolistas en zona de conflicto" [Footballers in conflict zone] (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
7. Prada, Jon (13 October 2015). "Jesús Rueda: "Los aficionados son muy apasionados en Israel"" [Jesús Rueda: "The fans are very passionate in Israel"] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
8. Emergui, Sal (18 February 2016). "El central español triunfa en Israel" [The Spanish stopper makes it in Israel] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
9. Benarroch, Elías L. (6 January 2016). "La casi desconocida Liga israelí atrae cada vez más a jugadores españoles" [The almost unknown Israeli league keeps attracting Spanish players] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
10. "Un vallisoletano lleva a Jesús Rueda a Chipre" [A man from Valladolid brings Jesús Rueda to Cyprus] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
11. Morán, Rodrigo (29 December 2017). "Jesús Rueda se lesiona el cruzado de la rodilla y despide la temporada" [Jesús Rueda injures knee cruciate and is out for the season] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Extremadura. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
12. "Jesús Rueda es azulgrana" [Jesús Rueda is blue-and-red] (in Spanish). Extremadura UD. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
13. "¡Gracias, Jesús!" [Thank you, Jesús!] (in Spanish). Extremadura UD. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
14. "Jesús Rueda se incorpora al Nàstic" [Jesús Rueda joins Nàstic] (in Spanish). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
15. "Jesús Rueda: Jesús Rueda Ambrosio". BDFutbol. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
16. "Jesús Rueda". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 November 2017.

External links

• Jesús Rueda at BDFutbol
• Jesús Rueda at Futbolme (in Spanish)