Ruben Garabaya Arenas has been appointed as the new coach of Eurofarm Pelister, following the mutual termination of Raul Alonso’s contract. Alonso led the club from Bitola to a league title.

The 46-year-old Garabaya brings a wealth of experience from his playing career. He represented the Spanish national team 168 times as a pivot, scoring 318 goals. His achievements include a world title in 2005 in Tunisia, a silver medal at the 2006 European Championship in Switzerland, and bronze medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2011 World Cup in Sweden.

Hailing from Asturias, Garabaya’s career began at Ademar Leon, where he won the Copa del Rey and the EHF Cup Winners’ Cup. He subsequently played for Frigorificos de Morazo and Valladolid before joining Barcelona in 2007.

During his time with Barcelona, he secured three ASOBAL league titles and two Copa del Rey titles, and he also competed in the Champions League final in the 2009/10 season.

From 2010 to 2018, Garabaya played for Naturhouse La Rioja in Logroño, where he concluded his playing career and transitioned into coaching.

He began his coaching journey in Logroño as an assistant coach in 2018, spending three years at Naturhouse La Rioja before taking on his first international role as the coach of the Chinese women’s national team.

In 2021, at the invitation of Roberto Garcia Parrondo, the former coach of Vardar, Garabaya became an assistant coach for the Egyptian national team. During his two-year tenure, the team won gold at the African Championship and silver at the Mediterranean Games.

In 2022, Garabaya commenced his independent coaching career at the Spanish club Sinfín Santander, where he remained until receiving the offer from Eurofarm Pelister.