Pablo Ibáñez facts for kids

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Pablo Ibáñez

Pablo playing for Atlético Madrid in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Pablo Ibáñez Tébar
Date of birth	(1981-08-03) 3 August 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	Madrigueras, Spain
Height	1.92 m
Playing position	Centre-back
Youth career
1997–1999	Albacete
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2002	Albacete B
2000–2001	→ Caravaca (loan)
2002–2004	Albacete	75	(2)
2004–2010	Atlético Madrid	156	(9)
2010–2011	West Bromwich Albion	10	(1)
2011–2013	Birmingham City	19	(0)
Total		260	(12)
National team
2002–2003	Spain U21	10	(0)
2004–2008	Spain	23	(0)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Pablo Ibáñez Tébar (born 3 August 1981), often called just Pablo, is a Spanish former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back, which is a defender in the middle of the field.

Pablo started his football journey in his hometown of Madrigueras, Spain. He joined the youth teams of Albacete, a professional club. In 2003, he helped Albacete get promoted from the Segunda División to La Liga, which is Spain's top football league.

A year later, he moved to Atlético Madrid, a big club where he played almost 200 games over six seasons. Later in his career, he moved to England. He played for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for one season. After that, he spent two seasons with Football League Championship (second-tier) club Birmingham City.

Pablo also played for his country, Spain. He played 10 times for Spain's under-21 team. Then, in 2004, he made his first appearance for the senior national team. He played 23 games for Spain and represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Pablo's Football Journey

Early Life and Club Beginnings

Pablo was born in Madrigueras, a town in Spain. His father was a police officer. Pablo grew up in Leganés, near Madrid, where his father was working. When he was younger, he played football as a midfielder or sometimes a forward.

At 14, Pablo joined the youth teams of Albacete Balompié. There, he changed his position to play as a central defender. He moved up through the junior teams. Instead of going straight to Albacete's B team, he was loaned to Caravaca CF, a team in the fourth division.

After his loan, he played for Albacete B in the 2001–02 season. He was a regular player and helped the team reach the play-offs to try and get promoted, but they didn't succeed that time.

Playing for Albacete

After seeing Pablo train, Albacete's coach, César Ferrando, was very impressed. He said he would pick Pablo for the main team. Pablo made his Segunda División debut on 31 August 2002. He played in 38 of Albacete's 42 matches that season. The team finished third and were promoted to La Liga, Spain's top league!

Pablo's strong performances quickly caught the eye of other clubs. He even got called up to the Spanish under-21 team for a friendly game.

In January 2003, Albacete tried to transfer him to Celta de Vigo. The deal didn't work out because Albacete needed a lot of the transfer money upfront. A few weeks later, a sports agent bought half of Pablo's player rights. This helped the club pay wages and finish the season well.

Pablo played almost every game in the 2003–04 La Liga season. Albacete finished 14th, staying in the top league. During this time, it became clear that Pablo would move to an even bigger club. Many famous teams like Manchester City, Arsenal, Roma, and Internazionale were interested in him.

Finally, Pablo signed a four-year contract with Atlético Madrid for about €3.5 million. He was happy to join Atlético, where his former coach, César Ferrando, had also recently become the coach.

Time at Atlético Madrid

At Atlético Madrid, Pablo played in central defense with Luis Amaranto Perea. They helped Atlético have one of the best defensive records in the 2004–05 La Liga season. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid let in fewer goals. Pablo even scored three goals, making him one of their top scorers that season.

His great playing led to him being chosen for the senior national team in November. Both Pablo and Perea got pay raises and new contracts until 2009. In the 2005–06 season, Pablo was a key player for both his club and country. He played alongside Carles Puyol at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In 2006, there was a bit of a stir during the Real Madrid presidential elections. A candidate for Real Madrid (Atlético's big rivals) said he had a deal to sign Pablo if he won. The candidate lost, so Pablo stayed with Atlético. His agent said Pablo never asked to leave. Pablo apologized to the fans, saying he wanted to stay at Atlético and admitting he made a mistake by considering Real's offer.

Pablo continued to play for Atlético. In November, he got an injury that kept him out for several weeks. In January 2007, he played his 100th game for the club and scored a rare goal. He helped Atlético qualify for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. He kept his regular spot as Atlético finished fourth in the league and qualified for the Champions League.

New defenders joined the team, which meant Pablo played less often. However, he still made 21 league appearances in the 2008–09 season. He said he was happy to finish his contract with Atlético. In his final season, he played very rarely. His last game for the club was on 20 December 2009.

Moving to England: West Bromwich Albion

In 2010, Pablo moved to England. He signed a three-year deal with West Bromwich Albion, a team that had just returned to the Premier League. His debut was on the first day of the season, where Albion lost 6–0 to Chelsea.

Ten days later, he scored his first goal for West Brom in a 2–0 win against Leyton Orient in the League Cup. He played only ten Premier League games that season. His teammate, Jonas Olsson, said it takes at least a season to get used to English football, especially if you don't speak much English.

Playing for Birmingham City

In August 2011, Pablo signed a two-year contract with Birmingham City, a club in the Football League Championship (the second division). He made his debut in a 3–1 home loss to Braga in the UEFA Europa League.

In another Europa League game against Club Brugge, Pablo was knocked unconscious after a clash of heads. He received a lot of medical attention. He had replaced an injured teammate, but his concussion gave that player time to recover and get his starting spot back. Pablo returned for the last few games of the season, including a play-off semi-final, and played 17 games in total that season.

In the 2012–13 season, Pablo got an early chance to play when another teammate got injured. He kept his place for a while but then chipped a bone in his foot. This injury kept him out for about a month. Other injuries and new players meant Pablo only played two more times. He was released by the club at the end of his contract.

International Career for Spain

After playing only a few games in the Segunda División, Pablo was called up to the Spanish under-21 team. This was for a friendly match against Bulgaria on 19 November 2002. Even though many thought he would be a substitute, he played the whole game, and Spain won 7–1. He played regularly for the under-21 team over the next year, earning ten caps (appearances).

His first call-up to the senior national squad came in October 2004. This was for World Cup qualifying games. He made his international debut on 17 November 2004 in a friendly match against England in Madrid. He came on as a substitute at half-time.

In his next game, a friendly against China in March, he seemed to score with a header, but the goal was disallowed. A few days later, he played his first competitive international game in a World Cup qualifier against Serbia & Montenegro.

During the World Cup qualification process, Pablo became a regular starter for Spain alongside Carles Puyol. Even though he scored an own goal in a warm-up game, he and Puyol played in the first two group games at the 2006 World Cup finals. Spain won both games and qualified for the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals against France, Spain took the lead. France equalized and then scored again near the end. It was the first time Pablo had played in a Spain team that lost.

He kept his place for the rest of 2006 but played less often after that. He was named in the provisional squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals but didn't make the final team. His last international appearance was as a substitute in a 1–0 friendly win against France in February 2008.

How Pablo Played

Pablo is a tall player, standing at 1.92 meters (about 6 feet 3 inches). He was very good at heading the ball and was known for his speed when he was younger. A teammate once said that Pablo's skills made him "the worst thing that could happen to a forward" because he was so hard to play against.

His coach at both Albacete and Atlético, César Ferrando, said Pablo had all the qualities needed for a defender. This included being able to predict what would happen and keeping his play simple. Ferrando also said Pablo rarely fouled opponents because he didn't need to. He had many ways to defend without committing fouls.

A profile from the 2006 World Cup mentioned that he was "much happier on the ball than first impressions may suggest." He could sometimes look a bit awkward when running, which some reports say discouraged Real Madrid from trying to sign him early on.

In his later years, Pablo used his experience more. In 2012, the Birmingham Mail newspaper said that Pablo was "subtle in his positioning and tackling." He liked to "read the game" and predict what would happen, rather than just directly challenging opponents.

Personal Life

Pablo married Maika in Albacete Cathedral in 2007. As of December 2010, they had a son named Adrián and a daughter named Paula.

In 2008, the government of Albacete province gave Pablo, Santi Denia, and Andrés Iniesta a special award called the Medalla de Oro de Honor y Gratitud (Gold Medal of Honour and Gratitude). They received this award not only for their football skills, as they were the only three players from the province to play for the senior national team, but also for their good personal qualities that made them role models for young people in the region.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Honours

Albacete

• Segunda División promotion: 2002–03

Atlético Madrid

• Copa del Rey: runner-up 2009–10

See also

In Spanish: Pablo Ibáñez para niños