Rafael Bado

Early career in Spain

Born and raised in Spain, Bado spent the majority of his career playing in the lower divisions of Spanish football, beginning his career at UD Tesorillo. Spending the majority of his time at amateur clubs on the border between Spain and Gibraltar such as Atlético Zabal in 2008, he most notably spent time at Xerez's B team along with two spells with UD Los Barrios, once on loan from his first club UD Tesorillo in 2005, and again returning to them in 2009 as they finished third in the 2009–10 Tercera División, scoring twice in 29 games as they narrowly missed out on promotion to the third tier of Spanish football. After leaving Los Barrios at the end of the season, he spent a few months out of football before returning for UD Castellar towards the end of the 2010–11 season. He ended his journeyman career in Spain after playing for 8 clubs in 6 years, moving to Gibraltar, where his family came from, to work as a store clerk and revive his football career.

Lynx

In 2011, he moved to Lynx, at the time in the Gibraltar Second Division, helping them gain promotion to the Gibraltar Premier Division in his first season. Once in the Gibraltar top flight, he remained a key figure as Lynx finished 4th in Gibraltar's final season as a 6 team league before expanding to 8 teams, in order to match requirements for the territory's UEFA entry in 2013 and subsequent qualification to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Even with Lynx's…

On 7 September 2014, Bado made his international début for Gibraltar in a UEFA Euro 2016 Group D qualifying match against Poland with Gibraltar losing 7–0.

International statistics

As of 7 September 2014.

Towards the end of the 2015-16 Gibraltar Premier Division season, Bado was appointed interim coach at Lions Gibraltar alongside David Wilson. Although Wilson went on to get the job full-time at the end of the season, he resigned in September 2016, leaving Bado to take control of the club. After a difficult start to the 2016–17 season saw Lions only win one game in 4 months, a number of new signings in January 2017 saw significant improvement and allowed Bado to steer the club clear of relegation, eventually finishing 4 points clear of the relegation playoff in 8th place. Further changes to the squad over the summer saw him lead Lions to an impressive start to the next season, with a victory over reigning champions Europa FC putting them in the race for a position in next season's UEFA Europa League. However, a collapse in form after the winter break dragged the club into a relegation battle, eventually finishing a disappointing 8th and narrowly avoiding the relegation play-off. Bado left his post as manager at the end of the season.

Bado works as a storeman in Gibraltar.