Rubén Maldonado

{{short description|Paraguayan footballer (born 1979)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Rubén Maldonado

| image = Rubén Darío Maldonado Brizuela.jpg

| image_size = 200

| fullname = Rubén Dario Maldonado Brizuela

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|4|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = Asunción, Paraguay

| height = {{height|m=1.80}}

| position = Central Defender

| currentclub = Nacional

| clubnumber = 29

| years1 = 1997–1999 |clubs1 = Olimpia |caps1 = 64 |goals1 = 10

| years2 = 2000–2005 |clubs2 = Venezia |caps2 = 94 |goals2 = 6

| years3 = 2001–2002 |clubs3 = → Cosenza (loan) |caps3 = 12 |goals3 = 0

| years4 = 2005–2008 |clubs4 = Napoli |caps4 = 67 |goals4 = 2

| years5 = 2008 |clubs5 = → Chievo (loan) |caps5 = 3 |goals5 = 0

| years6 = 2008–2010 |clubs6 = Gimnasia La Plata |caps6 = 67 |goals6 = 4

| years7 = 2010–2011 |clubs7 = Olimpia |caps7 = 39 |goals7 = 2

| years8 = 2012–2013 |clubs8 = Sportivo Carapeguá |caps8 = 44 |goals8 = 4

| years9 = 2013–2014 |clubs9 = Boca Unidos |caps9 = 54 |goals9 = 0

| years10 = 2015 |clubs10 = Guarani |caps10 = 34 |goals10 = 1

| years11 = 2016– |clubs11 = Nacional |caps11 = 2 |goals11 = 0

| nationalyears1 = 1999 |nationalteam1 = Paraguay U20 |nationalcaps1 = 4 |nationalgoals1 = 1

| nationalyears2 = 1999– |nationalteam2 = Paraguay |nationalcaps2 = 12 |nationalgoals2 = 0

| pcupdate = 15 February 2016 (UTC)

| ntupdate =

}}

Rubén Dario Maldonado Brizuela (born 29 April 1979 in Asunción) is a former Paraguayan football defender who last played for Nacional in the Paraguayan Primera División.

He made his Italian Serie A debut on 11 March 2000, against Bologna F.C. 1909.

Maldonado was part of the Paraguay national under-20 football team that participated in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship he has since gone on to represent Paraguay at senior international level.

Maldonado signed for the team where he was "born in soccer", Club Olimpia. He took part of the squad in the second half of the 2010 season, the Clausura 2010 in Paraguay.