Manuel Pablo

Manuel Pablo

M. Pablo playing for Deportivo
Personal information
Full name	Manuel Pablo García Díaz
Date of birth	25 January 1976 (1976-01-25)
Place of birth	Arucas, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current club	Deportivo La Coruña
Number	2
Youth career
	Las Palmas
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1996	Las Palmas B
1996–1998	Las Palmas	58	(1)
1998–	Deportivo La Coruña	321	(1)
National team
1997	Spain U21	1	(0)
1997	Spain U23	1	(0)
2000–2004	Spain	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is García and the second or maternal family name is Díaz.

Manuel Pablo García Díaz, known as Manuel Pablo (born January 25, 1976 in Arucas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Deportivo de La Coruña as a right defender.

With incredible speed and stamina as his main assets, he also represented Spain on 13 occasions.

Football career

Canarian Manuel Pablo was only 22, when he joined Deportivo de La Coruña from hometown UD Las Palmas in the summer of 1998. He was signed together with Argentine striker Turu Flores, but was more or less considered a ‘bonus’ in this package deal. Pablo made his La Liga debut on 15 November 1998, a 2–2 draw at home against Deportivo Alavés, but faced serious competition from Armando that season. He played a total of 14 league matches, but displayed enough promise to prompt Deportivo to release Armando at the end of 1998–99.

He played 74 league matches from 1999–2001 and was a vital part of Depor's defense, as the Galicians were crowned league champions for the first time in their history. His performances earned him a debut in the Spanish national team on 16 August 2000, in a 1–4 away friendly defeat to Germany.

In his fourth season at La Coruña, disaster struck: on 30 September 2001, Pablo sustained an horrific tibia injury during the Galician derby against Celta de Vigo, in a televised match, after an unlucky tackle by Brazilian Everton Giovanella. Eventually, he missed the rest of that season.

One year later, he returned, playing 90 minutes against CD Corralejo in a Copa del Rey outing. On 6 October 2002, Pablo was offered a league return by then-coach Javier Irureta, playing the dying minutes of a 0–2 home loss against Racing de Santander.

In 2003–04's closing stages, Pablo proved he was fully recovered, as displayed in an excellent individual display on 7 April 2004, in a 4–0 second leg quarterfinal crushing of A.C. Milan in the UEFA Champions League. From 2004–05 on, he was the undisputed right-back at Riazor (although he faced stiff competition from Álvaro Arbeloa in 2006–07, until the latter departed for Liverpool in January 2007).

In the following two seasons, Pablo remained first-choice at his position, although he faced stiff competition from Laure in 2008–09. After lengthy negotiations, the 33-year old renewed his Depor link in a 2+1 deal, in mid-May 2009.

Honours

Deportivo

• Spanish League: 1999–2000
• Spanish Cup: 2001–02
• Spanish Supercup: 2000, 2002
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008

External links

• Deportivo official profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Manuel Pablo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Manuel Pablo – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile