Pablo Álvarez (footballer, born 1980)
![]() Álvarez in 2012 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Pablo Álvarez Núñez | ||
Date of birth | 14 May 1980 | ||
Place of birth | Oviedo, Spain | ||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1989–1998 | Lugo | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1998–2001 | Sporting Gijón B | 52 | (6) |
2001–2006 | Sporting Gijón | 161 | (25) |
2006–2012 | Deportivo La Coruña | 85 | (5) |
2008 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 18 | (1) |
2012–2014 | Lugo | 47 | (4) |
2014 | Langreo | 12 | (0) |
2015 | New York City | 8 | (0) |
2015 | → Wilmington Hammerheads (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2016 | Langreo | 5 | (2) |
2016–2018 | Llanera | 20 | (10) |
Total | 411 | (53) | |
International career | |||
2005–2008 | Galicia | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Pablo Álvarez Núñez (born 14 May 1980) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder.
Club career
[edit]Born in Oviedo, Asturias, Álvarez started his professional career at neighbouring Sporting de Gijón, making his first-team debut on 19 May 2001 in a 1–2 home defeat against Real Betis in the Segunda División[1] and going on to appear in 168 games in all competitions.[2] At Gijón, he earned the nickname Tibu (diminutive of Tiburón, shark in Spanish) for his goal celebrations, in which he pretended to have a shark's fin in his head.[3]
Álvarez signed for Deportivo de La Coruña on a Bosman transfer in August 2006. On 3 February 2007, he played his first league match for Depor, making his La Liga debut against RCD Mallorca aged nearly 27.[4] He had suffered a serious leg injury while still at the service of Sporting in April 2006,[5] and was eventually loaned to Racing de Santander in December of the following year until the end of the season.[6]
Having been relatively used in a Cantabria side that achieved a first-ever qualification for the UEFA Cup – netting in a 2–0 away victory over CA Osasuna on 13 January 2008[7]– Álvarez returned to Galicia and Deportivo. Scarcely played during 2008–09, he profited from a rare start to score the game's only goal at Athletic Bilbao, on 18 April 2009;[8] he made his debut in European competition on 18 February that year, featuring the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 away loss against AaB Fodbold in the UEFA Cup,[9] and was sent off in the second leg in a 6–1 aggregate score.[10]
In summer 2012, aged 32, Álvarez joined second-division CD Lugo on a two-year contract, returning to the club after playing youth football there for nearly a decade.[11] On 2 September 2014, he signed with UP Langreo in the third tier;[12] however, only six months later, he moved abroad for the first time in his career, agreeing to a deal at New York City FC following a trial period.[13]
International career
[edit]Álvarez participated in the resurrection of the unofficial Galician national team in December 2005, playing their first game after 75 years against Uruguay.[14]
Honours
[edit]Deportivo
References
[edit]- ^ Díaz, Mario (20 May 2001). "El Betis gana con comodidad" [Betis win easily]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Zautúa, Israel (19 November 2024). "Pablo Álvarez: "Veo al Dépor como un equipo en pleno crecimiento"" [Pablo Álvarez: "I see Dépor as a team in full growth"] (in Spanish). DxT Campeón. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ^ Pichel, Marcos (6 February 2013). "El "tiburón", corazón rojiblanco" [The "shark", red-and-white heart]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ "El Depor hace daño de penalti" [Depor hurt from the penalty spot]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 3 February 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Gómez, Pablo (23 April 2006). "Pablo Álvarez se rompe la pierna y estará ocho meses de baja" [Pablo Álvarez breaks leg and will miss eight months]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Pablo Álvarez ya entrenó con el Racing" [Pablo Álvarez already trained with Racing]. El Diario Montañés (in Spanish). 28 December 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Osasuna 0–2 Racing Santander". ESPN Soccernet. 13 January 2008. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Athletic Bilbao 0–1 Deportivo La Coruña". ESPN Soccernet. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Aldunate, Ramiro (18 February 2009). "El Deportivo se inmola" [Deportivo set themselves on fire]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Ni rastro de la remontada" [Not a trace of a comeback]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Pichel, Marcos (18 July 2012). "Pablo Álvarez firma dos cursos por el Lugo" [Pablo Álvarez signs for two campaigns with Lugo]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Martínez, G.; Menor, Santy (2 September 2014). "Pablo Álvarez jugará en el Langreo, el Marino ficha a Pastor y el Avilés, a Berna" [Pablo Álvarez will play in Langreo, Marino sign Pastor and Avilés, Berna]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ^ "New York City FC sign veteran midfielder Pablo Alvarez". New York City. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ Bernardo, Julio (30 December 2005). "Apoteosis en San Lázaro" [Apotheosis at San Lázaro]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "El Deportivo campeón histórico de Segunda" [Deportivo historic Segunda champions]. La Opinión A Coruña (in Spanish). 3 June 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
External links
[edit]- Deportivo official profile (in Spanish)
- Pablo Álvarez at BDFutbol
- Pablo Álvarez at Futbolme (in Spanish)
- Pablo Álvarez at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- Pablo Álvarez at Soccerway
- 1980 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Spanish sportsmen
- Spanish men's footballers
- Footballers from Oviedo
- Men's association football midfielders
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Segunda División B players
- Tercera División players
- CD Lugo players
- Sporting de Gijón B players
- Sporting de Gijón players
- Deportivo de La Coruña players
- Racing de Santander players
- UP Langreo footballers
- Major League Soccer players
- USL Championship players
- New York City FC players
- Wilmington Hammerheads FC players
- Spanish expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States