Álvaro Arbeloa is a defender who plays for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. Arbeloa joined Real Madrid as a seventeen year old in 2000. To get more chances to play first team football he moved to Deportivo de La Coruña ahead of the 2006-07 season. He played most matches for Deportivo but then made a surprise transfer to Liverpool in January 2007. He finished that season and the next season with many strong performances for the club. He showed his versatility by shifting from right to left back to deal with Lionel Messi, against Barcelona in the Champions League. In July 2009 Arbeloa was signed back to Real Madrid, where he in fact has been playing mainly as a left back. Arbeloa made his debut for Spain in 2008 and was in their winning squad of both the 2008 UEFA European Championship and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.