Pablo Asensio (born 3 January 1973) is an Argentinian former professional footballer, most recently first team manager at

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side Whitehawk.

Playing career

Asensio was an attacking midfield player who played in Argentina, Brazil, Greece and Spain. He began his career with

Gimnasia Gimnasia may refer to: * Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, an Argentine football club * Club Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza, an Argentine football club *Gimnasia Esgrima Comodoro Rivadavia, an Argentine football club *Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodo ...

before moving to Racing Club de Avellaneda in his home country. He retired from playing in 2002 due to ankle injuries.

Coaching and management

Asensio moved to England in September 2002 to study for coaching qualifications. He was an observer under his mentor and friend Gus Poyet at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, Leeds United and Spurs as well as working as a scout for Poyet when the latter was managing Brighton & Hove Albion. Between 2007 and 2009 Asensio joined the management team at Droylsden and coached at Accrington Stanley. In July 2009 he was appointed manager at the Menorcan team Atlètic de Ciutadella who play in the Spanish

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

but left in September 2009, as he did not hold the correct UEFA Pro license. Asensio subsequently received his UEFA Pro Licence 'A' in 2011 and then coached at Southport under manager Liam Watson, where he was credited with being a major influence behind the team's push for the play-offs in 2012. From August 2012 he assisted with coaching at

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

under manager Steve King before being officially appointed first team coach on 17 October 2012. He was sacked along with King on 3 April 2013. On 10 February 2014, Asensio was appointed Assistant Manager at Whitehawk under his former manager at

, Steve King. When King left his post in February 2016, Asensio took over from him as Caretaker Manager, reorganising the squad and playing style to such an extent that after drifting down towards the relegation zone, Whitehawk finished the season in style and reached the playoffs. Asensio was named

manager of the month for April and was rewarded by being appointed in May 2016 as permanent manager on a two year contract. He then undertook a complete overhaul of the playing staff for the start of the new season. After a poor start to the 2016–2017 season, with only one win in eight games, The Hawks replaced Asensio with former Eastleigh manager Richard Hill.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asensio, Pablo 1973 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Argentine football managers National League (English football) managers Whitehawk F.C. managers Men's association football midfielders Accrington Stanley F.C. non-playing staff Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. non-playing staff Macclesfield Town F.C. non-playing staff