Àngel Rangel

Àngel Rangel

Rangel playing for Swansea in 2011
Personal information
Full name Àngel Rangel Zaragoza
Date of birth (1982-10-28) 28 October 1982
Place of birth Sant Carles, Spain
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position Right back
Club information
Current team
 Swansea City
Number 22
Youth career
1991–1998 Rapitenca
1998–2001 Gimnàstic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Tortosa
2003–2004 Reus
2004–2005 Girona 24 (0)
2005–2006 Sant Andreu 33 (5)
2006–2007 Terrassa 34 (2)
2007– Swansea City 315 (8)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 November2016.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rangel and the second or maternal family name is Zaragoza.

Àngel Rangel Zaragoza (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈanʒəɫ rənˈʒɛɫ]; born 28 October 1982) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Welsh club Swansea City as a right back.

After playing lower league football in his native country for six years, he has gone on to spend most of his professional career with Swansea City, winning promotion to the Premier League in 2011.

Club career

Born in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Catalonia, Rangel represented CD Tortosa, CF Reus Deportiu, Girona FC, UE Sant Andreu and Terrassa FC in his homeland, never in higher than Segunda División B. In summer 2007, he signed for Swansea City in the English League One on a one-year performance-related deal, for an undisclosed fee – countryman Roberto Martínez was the team's manager.[2]

In his first season with Swansea, Rangel played a massive role as the Welsh returned to the Championship after a 24-year absence, as league champions. On 27 November 2007, he scored his first goal as a Swan, netting eight minutes from time in a 1–0 home win against Hartlepool United;[3] only two weeks later, again at the Liberty Stadium, he netted in a 3–0 success over Southend United;[4] in April 2008, he was one of five team players to make the PFA League One Team of the Year, alongside Ferrie Bodde, Garry Monk, Andy Robinson and the league's top scorer Jason Scotland.[5]

On 5 September 2008, Rangel signed a new contract until June 2010.[6] He continued to feature prominently in the following years and, in mid-February 2010, agreed to an extension until June 2011.[7]

2010–11 was a successful one for both Swansea and Rangel, as the former were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history following a 4–2 victory over Reading in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.[8] In spite of missing several weeks at the start of the campaign with a thigh muscle tear,[9] he contributed to the feat with two goals from 41 appearances, scoring against Doncaster Rovers (1–1, away)[10] and Millwall (1–1);[11] in late June 2011, he put pen to paper to a new three-year deal.[12]

Rangel defending against Kieran Gibbs of Arsenal in September 2011

In November 2011, Rangel was voted best defender in the Premier League.[13] He played 34 games during the season, helping the team retain their league status.

Rangel scored his first goal in the English top flight on 25 August 2012, in a 3–0 home win against West Ham United.[14] On 8 March 2013, he signed a new contract with Swansea, keeping him at the club until 2016.[15]

On 19 April 2015, one month after again extending his link, now until 2017,[16] Rangel was selected in the The Football Manager Team of the Decade at the Football League Awards.[17]

International career

Rangel was believed to qualify to represent Wales on residency grounds,[18][19] but was ruled ineligible in July 2012 as he had not had five years of continuous education in the country.[20]

Personal life

On 18 January 2013, Rangel drove round Swansea with his wife Nikki to distribute food to the homeless. He told CNN: "We went for something to eat in a local sandwich chain and overheard the manager saying they had to throw out food as they were about to close for the night. My wife, Nikki, who is a very caring and charitable person, asked if we could have them for the homeless rather than see them thrown in the bin. They agreed and we drove around Swansea for over an hour, but couldn't find any homeless people as it was so cold out on the streets with all the snow. We decided to tweet a plea and we were guided to a local charity shelter who looked after the homeless." He was so pleased with the reaction to his gesture he confirmed that he would be helping out again.[21]

On 5 April 2013, Rangel announced plans to hold charity auctions with his wife and teammates Chico Flores, Ben Davies, Jonathan de Guzmán, Pablo Hernández, Michu and Itay Shechter, to raise money for the Severn Hospice in Telford, Maggie’s Cancer Centre in Swansea and The Christian Lewis Trust Kids Cancer Charity – among the top prizes on offer at one of the auctions were Rangel’s personal box for the game against Manchester City, and a visit to a Formula One garage during qualifying of the German Grand Prix. He was inspired to do this by Nikki, who has had three family members diagnosed with cancer.[22]

Club statistics

As of 2 February 2016[23][24]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Girona 2004–05 Segunda División B 24010—250
Total 24010—250
Sant Andreu 2005–06 Segunda División B 33500—335
Total 33500—335
Terrassa 2006–07 Segunda División B 34210—352
Total 34210—352
Swansea City 2007–08 League One 432504[lower-alpha 1]0522
2008–09 Championship 40160—461
2009–10 Championship 38020—400
2010–11 Championship 382203[lower-alpha 2]0432
2011–12 Premier League 34011—351
2012–13 Premier League 33340—373
2013–14 Premier League 300009[lower-alpha 3]0390
2014–15 Premier League 2702000290
2015–16 Premier League 902000110
Total 27582211603329
Career total 3661524116042516
  1. ↑ Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearances in the Football League play-offs
  3. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

Honours

Club

Swansea City

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Angel Rangel". Premier League. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Swans make second Spanish swoop; BBC Sport, 29 June 2007
  3. ↑ Swansea 1–0 Hartlepool; BBC Sport, 27 November 2007
  4. ↑ Swansea 3–0 Southend; BBC Sport, 15 December 2007
  5. ↑ Swans players dominate PFA team; BBC Sport, 28 April 2008
  6. ↑ "Rangel signs fresh Swansea deal". BBC Sport. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  7. ↑ Angel Rangel extends Swansea contract until 2011; BBC Sport, 19 February 2010
  8. ↑ "Reading 2–4 Swansea". BBC Sport. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  9. ↑ Angel Rangel facing up to six weeks out injured; BBC Sport, 21 August 2010
  10. ↑ "Doncaster 1–1 Swansea". BBC Sport. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Swansea 1–1 Millwall". BBC Sport. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Angel Rangel signs three-year extension deal at Swansea". BBC Sport. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  13. ↑ Àngel Rangel, mejor defensa de la Premier (Àngel Rangel, best Premier defender); Diari de Tarragona, 14 November 2011 (Spanish)
  14. ↑ Swans FLY high with win over under-par Hammers; Wales Online, 26 August 2012
  15. ↑ "Defender Angel Rangel extends Swansea City contract until 2016". BBC Sport. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "Angel Rangel signs contract extension". BBC Sport. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Winners announced for The Football League Awards 2015". The Football League. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Swansea's Angel Rangel would consider representing Wales; BBC Sport, 14 May 2012
  19. ↑ Wales sensitive to Aaron Ramsey 'issues' over Ryan Shawcross call; BBC Sport, 11 July 2012
  20. ↑ Swansea City defender Angel Rangel ineligible for Wales; BBC Sport, 13 July 2012
  21. ↑ "Swansea's Angel Rangel helps homeless in the city". BBC Sport. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "After giving food to the homeless, Angel the angel raises money for cancer charities". Wales Online. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  23. ↑ "Rangel: Ángel Rangel Zaragoza". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Àngel Rangel". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "The Football League announces its Team of the Decade". The Football League. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
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