Raúl Gaitán

Raúl Gaitán
Personal information
Full name	Raúl Gaitán Ballesteros
Date of birth	10 September 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Málaga, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Right back
Youth career
1995–1997	Málaga
Senior career*
Years	Team
1997–1998	Málaga B
1998–1999	Valladolid B
1999	Los Barrios
1999–2000	Juventud Torremolinos
2000–2001	Lucena
2001–2002	Andalucía
2002–2003	Toledo
2003–2004	Fuengirola
2004–2005	Alhaurino
2005–2007	Marbella
2007–2008	Málaga
2008–2010	Poli Ejido
2010–2011	Estepona
2011–2015	Jaén
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Raúl Gaitán Ballesteros (born 10 September 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right back.

Football career

Born in Málaga, Andalusia, Gaitán finished his youth career with local Málaga CF, but played lower league and amateur football until the age of nearly 23, successively representing Atlético Malagueño, Real Valladolid B, UD Los Barrios, Juventud de Torremolinos CF, Lucena CF and Andalucía CF. In the 2002–03 season he first arrived in Segunda División B, signing for CD Toledo.

In summer 2007, after four years with three clubs which included UD Marbella, Gaitán returned to Málaga, with the first team competing in Segunda División. He made his professional debut on 5 September, scoring in a 2–1 home win against Celta de Vigo for the campaign's Copa del Rey;^[2] on 17 November he first appeared in the league, netting in his own goal in a 4–2 triumph over Racing de Ferrol also at La Rosaleda Stadium.^[3]

Gaitán played in the third level in the following years, with Polideportivo Ejido,^[4] Unión Estepona CF^[5] and Real Jaén.^[6] The 33-year-old helped the latter side achieve promotion at the end of 2012–13, scoring twice in 35 games.