Víctor Valdés

Early career

Valdés was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, and raised in nearby Gavà, while his family was originally from Puebla de Sanabria in the Province of Zamora. Valdés started his career with Peña Cinco Copas in 1992. That September, he moved with his family to Tenerife, where he joined UD Ibarra, and he returned to Catalonia in 1995 to join FC Barcelona's La Masia academy.

Barcelona

Valdés made his first team debut against Legia Warsaw in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League on 14 August 2002. It was the first game of manager Louis van Gaal's second spell at the club, and Valdés was a surprise pick over Argentine international Roberto Bonano in the 3–0 win at the Camp Nou. On 1 September, he played his first La Liga game as the season began with a 2–2 draw at home to Atlético Madrid. Van Gaal dropped Valdés to the B-team and he considered leaving the club before being convinced to stay by president Joan Gaspart; in all competitions he played 20 games in his first season. In the 2003–04 season, new manager Frank Rijkaard chose Valdés as first-choice goalkeeper over veteran Turkish international Rüştü Reçber, due to concerns over the latter's Spanish language ability. In 2004–05, Barcelona won their first league title since 1999, and Valdés won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for conceding the fewest goals; he was rested for the final games of the season in favour of fellow academy player Albert Jorquera, so that…

On 16 August 2005, Valdés was called up for a friendly game against Uruguay, but did not take the field. After being overlooked by various coaches of the Spanish national side for several years, on 20 May 2010, he was included by Vicente del Bosque in Spain's final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa as the third-choice goalkeeper behind captain Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina wearing the number 12 shirt. On 3 June 2010, Valdés earned his first cap, starting in a friendly match between Spain and South Korea at Tivoli-Neu in Innsbruck, Austria. Valdés was part of the Spanish squads that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, despite not playing in either tournament. He was also in the Spanish squad which reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, losing out 3–0 to the hosts. His sole appearance in a major tournament came in their last group game, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 win over Nigeria at the Estádio Castelão in Fortaleza.

Valdés was considered fiercely competitive and demanding, demonstrating great mental strength and concentration to be alert during long spells of ball domination, and was superb at one-on-ones. In his prime, Valdés was considered to be a successful and generally high quality goalkeeper, albeit somewhat inconsistent, and is regarded as one of Barcelona's best ever goalkeepers. An authoritative presence in the area, with good reflexes, handling, positioning, and shot-stopping abilities, he was known for his agility and composure in goal, as well as his ability to produce decisive saves, in particular after not being tested for long stretches of time; however, he was also prone to errors on occasion, in particular in his early career. In addition to his goalkeeping abilities, he was known in particular for his vision, footwork, distribution, control and skill with the ball at his feet, which enabled him to play the ball out on the ground or launch an attack from the back; throughout his career, he also stood out for his intelligence, ability to read the game, and his speed and bravery when coming off his line to claim the ball on the ground in one on one situations, and also excelled at anticipating opponents outside his area who had beaten the offside trap, and often functioned as a sweeper-keeper.

On 1 June 2018, Valdés returned to football as a manager by acquiring his UEFA Pro Licence alongside compatriots such as Xavi, Raúl and Xabi Alonso. Valdés started coaching amateur side ED Moratalaz's youth ranks, where he achieved two regional titles. On 19 July 2019, Valdés returned to Barcelona to coach its Juvenil A side. He was sacked on 7 October due to disagreements with La Masia director Patrick Kluivert. Valdés returned to the touchline in May 2020, when he was appointed the manager of UA Horta in the fourth-tier Tercera División. He left in January 2021 in order to 'focus on Joan Laporta's presidential project' as reported by Mundo Deportivo, with Laporta wanting to make Valdes part of the new board if he won the presidential election in March 2021. On 24 April 2025, Valdés was appointed by Real Ávila CF with two games left of the fourth-tier Segunda Federación season on a contract until the end of the following campaign; Miguel de la Fuente had already qualified the team for the promotion playoffs. On 19 May, after semi-final elimination to CP Cacereño, he resigned; his four-game record was split between wins and losses.