The 35-year-old announced his retirement shortly after, having appeared in 338 first division games over 15 seasons and scored 47 goals. Baraja made his debut for Spain on 7 October 2000, in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2–0 win over Israel. Consequently, he was picked for the final stages, where the team reached the quarter-finals before being sent out by co-hosts South Korea on penalties, though the player, as the year before with Valencia, once again scored on his attempt; he scored from a header during regulation time, but saw his goal disallowed for alleged shirt pulling and pushing in the Korean penalty area. Baraja also took part in the disappointing UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, where Spain was eliminated in the group stage by eventual finalists Portugal and Greece. He was left out of the 2006 World Cup squad, as his club presence was also diminished due to recurrent injuries. In June 2011, Baraja returned to former team Atlético Madrid as part of newly appointed manager Gregorio Manzano's coaching staff. In the summer of 2013 he returned to main club Valencia, first coaching the youths then the reserves. Baraja was appointed manager of Elche CF, newly relegated to the second tier, on 12 July 2015. On 6 June of the following year, he resigned after failing to agree new terms. On 8 November 2016, Baraja took the reins at fellow league team Rayo Vallecano. After only three wins from 13 games, he was sacked on 20 February 2017 as they sat a point above the relegation places. Baraja was appointed at Sporting de Gijón on 12 December 2017. Towards the end of the season, he received a four-match ban and a €3,005 fine for preventing FC Barcelona B's Sergi Palencia from taking a throw-in; this included the first game of the play-offs, in which eventual champions Valladolid eliminated the Asturians 5–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals. On 18 November 2018, Baraja was dismissed after losing the Asturian derby against Real Oviedo, leaving the team in 14th position with a streak of only one win from 11 matches. In December of the following year, he became coach of CD Tenerife in the same league. Baraja's younger brother, Javier, was also a professional footballer. A defender, he too graduated at Valladolid, and went on to spend most of his senior career there. Valencia