Pablo Edson Barrera Acosta (born 21 June 1987) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

club

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

. Barrera spent the early part of his career playing for

Club Universidad Nacional Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Fo ...

in Mexico, before transferring to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. He has also spent a loan period with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

club

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

Club career

Club Universidad Nacional

Born in

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla de Baz is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlalli'' (land) ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Barrera began his career as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

-based club

Universidad Nacional A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

, also known as Pumas. He joined Pumas youth system at the age of 11 and worked his way through the ranks to make his debut in the

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

in 2005. He was involved in all the plays in Pumas' 8–0 victory over

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. In July 2008, Barrera had surgery to repair a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee that would sideline him for six months. In early January, Barrera came back from his injury and in his very first game back he scored a goal against

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

. He was a starter until manager Ricardo Ferreti put him on the bench. He scored another goal that same season against

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

. He would help Pumas reach the final in which they faced

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

and scored the winning goal that gave Pumas the win in the second half of overtime. Barrera enjoyed his finest season in the Torneo Bicentenario 2010 scoring six goals in 13 games, though his season was cut short as he was called up to the

Mexico national football team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

pre-World Cup training camp.

West Ham United

On 16 July 2010 Barrera signed for West Ham United on a four-year contract, with a one-year option, for fee of £4m. He became West Ham's second summer signing of 2010. He made his Premier League debut, on 14 August, in a 3–0 loss to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Luis Boa Morte Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

. After making only six Premier League starts, scoring no goals and having zero assists, and not being able to help keep West Ham out of relegation, Barrera's first season in England was considered a "flop". It was reported during the summer 2011 transfer window that

club

wanted to sign Barrera, which would have re-united him with ex-Mexico national team coach

Javier Aguirre Javier Aguirre Onaindía (; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed ''El Vasco'' (The Basque), is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager who is currently in charge of Spanish team RCD Mallorca. Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 Wo ...

Real Zaragoza (loan)

On 25 August 2011, Barrera joined Spanish club

on a season-long loan, which would reunite him with former Mexico national team manager

and teammate

Efraín Juárez Efraín Juárez Valdez (born 22 February 1988) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and current assistant Manager (association football), manager of Standard Liege. He is the younger brother of former FC Barcelona g ...

. He scored his first La Liga goal for Zaragoza in a 2–2 draw against

Villareal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

. After the sacking of Aguirre, and the appointment of Manolo Jiménez as new manager, Barrera was slowly relegated to the bench.

Cruz Azul

On 3 July 2012,

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

announced the signing of Barrera who returned to Mexico after a two-year stint in Europe.

International career

Youth

Barrera participated at the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...

in Canada, where he scored two goals.

Senior

Debut, 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Barrera has appeared for the senior national team, making his debut in a friendly against Guatemala on 17 October 2007.
He scored his first international goal against

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

on 5 July 2009 at the

2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United States ...

. He scored his second goal with "El Tri" in a game against

Haiti national football team The Haiti national football team (french: Équipe d'Haïti de football, Haitian Creole: ''Ekip foutbòl Ayiti'') represents Haiti in international football. Haiti is administered by the Fédération Haïtienne de Football (FHF), the governing b ...

at the Gold Cup.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Barrera appeared in three matches at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

for Mexico. Barrera made his debut in the second match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, coming on in the 31st minute for an injured

Carlos Vela Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (born 1 March 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer who captains and plays for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Described as a versatile player who can play as a forward, winger, and attacking midfield ...

. Barrera caused the second goal for Mexico when French defender

Eric Abidal Eric Sylvain Abidal (; born 11 September 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. In his career, he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 18 trophies with both teams combined, including t ...

knocked him down in the penalty area and was given a penalty which

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican politician and former professional footballer who is the current Governor of Morelos under the coalition '' Juntos Haremos Historia''. He formerly served as the municipal president ...

scored and Mexico ended up winning the match 2–0.

2011 Gold Cup

He was called up to participate in the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on June ...

. He scored the fourth goal in the 4–1 win against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. On 25 June Barerra scored a brace against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

where Mexico won 4–2.

Career statistics

Club

''Updated 17 August 2012''

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.''

Honours

UNAM *

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

: Clausura 2009 Cruz Azul *

Copa MX The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it wa ...

: Clausura 2013 *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

: 2013–14 Mexico *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Individual *

Rookie of the Tournament: Apertura 2007

References

External links

* * * * *
Premier League profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrera, Pablo 1987 births Living people People from Tlalnepantla de Baz Footballers from the State of Mexico Association football wingers Mexican footballers Liga MX players Club Universidad Nacional footballers Premier League players English Football League players West Ham United F.C. players La Liga players Real Zaragoza players Cruz Azul footballers C.F. Monterrey players Mexico international footballers Mexico youth international footballers Mexico under-20 international footballers 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in England Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Spain