Right back who has been at Deportivo for over 10 years has enjoyed the highs and lows of Spanish football
Born in the Canary Islands co-capital Las Palmas, right-back Manuel Pablo first played at first-team level for his hometown club Las Palmas during the 1996-97 season. A speedy presence on the flanks, Pablo was sent to Deportivo La Coruna in 1998 as a makeweight in the transfer of Jose Oscar ‘Turu’ Flores.
Despite this, Pablo made 19 appearances in his first season and impressed with his propensity to get forward. After the sale of Armando Alvarez to Real Mallorca in 1999, Pablo became the club’s premier right-back and played in all but one of the team’s league games during the 1999-2000 season, in which Deportivo finished champions and qualified for the European Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
After Depor progressed to the Champions League quarter final and finished runners-up to a marvellous Real Madrid side during 2000-01, Pablo’s career looked set to reach dizzy heights. However, after significant interest from Real Madrid during the summer of 2001, Pablo suffered a tragic injury only one month into the 2001-02 campaign, with fears that he would never play football in Spain’s top division again.
Pablo would return only one year later, making a number of starts in cup competitions and appearing as a substitute during 10 league games. The following season saw Pablo struggle to firmly regain his place, because the good form of his replacement Hector and another frustrating injury setback.
During 2004-05, Pablo finally began to recall his earlier form, though Deportivo struggled to replicate the triumphs of recent years, finishing eighth in the league and making little impact in Europe. Depor continued to struggle under new manager Joaquin Caparros, as the team that had prospered so well in the early years of the decade began to break apart. Pablo managed to keep his place, he rarely showed the ability associated with his early years.
The 5-3-2 formation preferred by coach Miguel Angel Lotina has given Pablo more licence to join in attacks and he has enjoyed a minor renaissance, though his contract expires in 2009 and he will almost certainly leave Depor at the end of the 2008-09 season. Pablo has appeared 13 times for Spain, though his injury understandably interrupted his international career. Despite making his debut in 2000, he has not featured since a 1-1 draw against Italy in 2004.