Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC announced the signing of experienced Spanish forward Braulio Nóbrega Rodríguez on a one-year deal, the club announced on Monday. The 31-year-old La Liga veteran becomes the fourth Spaniard at the club joining fellow countrymen Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Antonio Dovale.
The former Spain Under-20 international joins the Blues after netting an impressive ten goals in 15 league games along with two in the cup for Doxa Katokopias FC in the 2016-17 Cypriot First Division league while helping his side survive relegation.
Born in Puerto del Rosario on the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, Braulio, who came through the ranks at Atlético Madrid, turned professional in 2004 joining the reserve side of the Rojiblancos. He scored 17 goals in 26 games for the ‘B’ side while also playing frequently with the main team in the La Liga. During the second half of 2005-06 season, he joined fellow La Liga side Mallorca on loan before having another loan spell with UD Salamanca where he scored 14 times in the Segunda Division.
Braulio was then signed by La Liga side Getafe CF for the 2007-08 season where he not only featured regularly during the league campaign but even starred at the continental level scoring thrice in the UEFA Cup – the highlight being a fantastic back-heel goal against Tottenham Hotspur, along with a game-levelling strike past Oliver Kahn of Bayern Munich in the competition’s quarterfinal.
Thereafter, the striker had spells with a number of Spanish teams in Real Zaragoza (2008-11, La Liga & Segunda Division), Recreativo del Huelva (2010, 2014-15), FC Cartagena (2012, Segunda Division), Hércules CF (2012–13, Segunda Division), Caudal Deportivo (2016, Segunda ‘B’), apart from stints with Malaysian Super League’s Johor Darul Ta’zim (2013–14) and Greek Super League side AEL Kalloni F.C. (2015-16) before joining Doxa.
Braulio, who joined up with his teammates at the pre-season tour of Spain, was excited about his latest stint, “I’ve heard all I needed to about the club from the Spanish boys in the side and all I can say is that I’m thrilled to be part of it. I even heard a lot about the club when I was with Johor Darul Ta’zim.”
“I’ve already put in a couple of sessions with the team and I feel very comfortable. It feels like I’ve been training and playing with this bunch for a while now. I will be doing all I can to help the club achieve its goals,” he added further.
Bengaluru FC Head Coach Albert Roca welcomed Braulio to the Blues fold and said, “Braulio is an experienced player who fits into our style of play. He’ll provide the muscle up front and hopefully with the support that we have, he can contribute at the business end of the pitch.”
