Pablo Andrés Contreras Fica (; born 11 September 1978) is a Chilean retired

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 ...

who last played for

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victor ...

and the

Chile national football team Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

or even as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Contreras began his career at

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has pla ...

. He earned his first senior honours in 1997, winning the Chilean Primera División title. He also won an Olympic bronze medal with

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in the Sydney Games. Contreras moved to Europe in 1999, signing with French side

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, where he won the Ligue 1 in his first season. After his spell in France, he was loaned to Argentine Primera División club Racing Club in 2001, and the next season Contreras joined Spain's

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' ...

side

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

in a €4.2 million transfer deal. He was immediately loaned to

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

and then to

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

, playing in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

, before returning after to Celta. He played over 100 matches with the Galician club until the 2006–07 season, after Celta's relegation to the Segunda División, after which he decided to leave the club. He signed a six-month contract with

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

in January 2008 before moving in June of that year to Superleague Greece side PAOK. In the middle of the 2011–12 season, Conteras left the club due to the Greek government debt-crisis and opted to return to Colo-Colo, coached by

Ivo Basay Ivo Alexie Basay Hatibović (born 13 April 1966) is a Chilean football manager and former player who played as a striker. Apart from being a regular choice for the Chile national football team in the late 1980s and early 1990s (24 caps, six g ...

at the time. A Chilean international on 66 occasions, Contreras was part of squad that earned the bronze medal in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

at Sydney. In his country, Pablo is nicknamed

Esparta Esparta is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''muni ...

co by

Chilevisión Chilevisión (often abbreviated as CHV) is a Chilean free-to-air television channel. It is the third oldest Chilean television network, owned by Paramount Networks Americas, being founded by the University of Chile on November 4, 1960. Histo ...

relator Paulo Flores specifically, referred him as the

Spartan Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...

hero of his national team during the matches, when Contreras was under the orders of Claudio Borghi in Chile.

Club career

Colo-Colo

Born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, Contreras made his way through

's youth ranks, alongside fellow stopper David Henríquez, as the club was then managed by former international – also a defender – Pedro Reyes. He made his professional debuts in 1997, helping the club to two first division titles and appearing in 37 first-team matches in the next two seasons.

Monaco

Afterwards, Contreras made a move to

of France. At the young age of 21, he was an important element in Monaco's league and Supercup victories of 2000. He also appeared for the club in both the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

and

. In January 2001, however, it was discovered that Contreras was using a fake Italian passport in order to gain European Union status. A

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

court fined the player

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

30,000, and he received a two-year ban. Monaco was then forced to loan Contreras out to another team, and he moved to Argentina with Racing Club. Shortly after, in July 2001, he was sold to

for €4.2 million.

Osasuna

Contreras did not join Celta immediately, being loaned to fellow

side

. Immediately cast into the Navarrese's starting XI, he made 31 league appearances, but the club could only finish 17th, narrowly avoiding relegation.

Sporting CP

For the following season, another loan ensued, now to Portugal with giants

, where he once again started throughout the season, with the ''Lions'' winning no silverware at all; they were also eliminated in the Champions League qualifying rounds by

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

Celta

In the summer of 2003, 25-year old Contreras finally moved to Celta. He appeared rarely in his debut season, as the

Galicians Galicians ( gl, galegos, es, gallegos, link=no) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group from Spain that is closely related to the Portuguese people and has its historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance la ...

were participating for the first time ever in the Champions League. He appeared in seven games as Celta eventually lost in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

to Arsenal, but also saw his team relegate to Segunda División, after a 19th-place finish in the league. Contreras became first-choice for Celta in the following seasons but, after another relegation, in 2006–07, was deemed surplus to requirements by the coaching staff (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n Hristo Stoichkov was one of four during the unsuccessful campaign in division two), and left the club in January 2008, after being released from his contract.

Braga

Contreras returned to Portugal after four years, joining

on a six-month contract, and was regularly used during his spell, helping his team finish seventh.

PAOK

In June 2008, Contreras agreed to a two-year link with Greek club PAOK, citing his trust in former Celta teammate

Zisis Vryzas Zisis Vryzas ( el, Ζήσης Βρύζας; born 9 November 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward for various teams in Greece and abroad, as well as for the Greece national football team, when they won the Euro ...

– and the club's chairman

Theodoros Zagorakis Theodoros Zagorakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης ; born 27 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also presid ...

– as the main factors for his move, refusing also the opportunity of return to Colo-Colo, because the club offered him a very high salary. He made his official debut for the team on 30 August in a 2–0 away win over

OFI Crete OFI may refer to: * Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses * OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the islan ...

and his first goal came in an important 1–0 home victory in the

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

against

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

. On 24 December, was reported that Contreras would join Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

during New Year's Eve, though the move never materialized. On 21 February, he scored his second official goal for PAOK against another traditional derby of the club, Iraklis, that PAOK won thanks to him. He was promoted to

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

in his second season, alongside

Sérgio Conceição Sérgio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceição (; born 15 November 1974) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who mostly played as a right winger. He is the current manager of Porto. Throughout his career, he played for ...

, who retired shortly after. In late January 2011, shortly before a match against Aris, he was informed of the loss of his father, but opted to leave for his country only after the game. On 2 January 2012, Contreras mutually terminated his contract with PAOK.

Return to Colo-Colo

On 7 January 2012, it was confirmed that Contreras was returning to Chilean club Colo-Colo, after several rumours of a possible move to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

's Colón and also other European and American clubs. On 19 January, he made his unofficial debut in an

exhibition match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Unión Temuco Club Deportivo Unión Temuco was a Chilean professional football club based in Temuco, La Araucanía Region. The club played at the Chilean Primera División B, Primera B, the second tier of the Chilean football, until 2013 when it was folded. The ...

, where he played very well despite a 2–1 defeat. After the pre-season in

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The city ...

, Contreras played well for his team, now in the Noche Alba against Peruvian side Alianza Lima at the Estadio Monumental. On 29 January, Contreras played his first competitive match of the season against

Deportes Iquique Club de Deportes Iquique S.A.D.P. is a Chilean football club based in Iquique that is a current member of the Primera B. Founded in 1978, the club's home stadium is the Estadio Tierra de Campeones, which has a 13,171 capacity. Iquique has spent ...

in a 0–0 home draw, thus being his first competitive match for Colo-Colo since his return. He instantly became an irreplaceable player for coach

, helping the team win important games during his tenure, for example against

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a Chilean football professional club based in Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. That competes in the Primera B. The club's home ground is the Estadio Zorros del ...

at Calama and O'Higgins in the capital, thus becoming a mainstay

for Basay's team. On 14 April, his assist to

Rodrigo Millar Rodrigo Javier Millar Carvajal (born 3 November 1981) is a Chilean footballer who last played as a midfielder for Primera B de Chile club Coquimbo Unido. He played for Chile in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He also holds Mexican citizenship. Clu ...

for the first goal in the derby against Universidad Católica, salvaged a 1–1 draw at the Estadio Monumental for the first match under new head coach Luis Pérez after Basay's departure, who abandoned the club after a 4–2 away loss against

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile. They currently participate in the Primera División de Chile. It has a branch of women's football, and competes ...

. After

Esteban Paredes Esteban Efraín Paredes Quintanilla (born 1 August 1980) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a forward. Paredes is the first player to be five-time Primera División de Chile top goalscorer and has scored 286 league goals in his caree ...

moved to Atlante, Pablo became Colo-Colo's captain due to his experience and tenure.

Olympiacos

On 16 August 2012, Contreras returned to Greece, signing a contract with

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. On 27 August, he made his debut with in an away win against

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

. On 27 January, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against

Panthrakikos Panthrakikos Football Club ( el, Α.Π.Σ. Πανθρακικός) is a Greek football club based in Komotini, Thrace in North Eastern Greece founded in 1963. The club competed in Super League Greece during the 2008–09 season for the first tim ...

Melbourne Victory

On 22 September 2013, it was confirmed Contreras signed for Australian club

. Contreras made his debut in Round 1 against

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...

, playing the full 90 minutes. He was, however, suspended after the match for two games due to an off-the-ball incident where he blocked an opponent in the derby match. In January 2014, Contreras announced on Chilean radio that he would retire at the end of the season. Strong performances near the end of the season, however, prompted speculation that Contreras might play on with the Victory for the 2014–15 season, albeit on reduced wages. Shortly after Melbourne Victory's semi-loss against eventual A-League champions

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

, however, he confirmed his retirement.

International career

As a youth player, Contreras represented Chile at under-17 level in the and at under-20 level in the 1997 South American Championship. Contreras made his debut for

team on 17 February 1999 against Guatemala. He was then picked for that year's Copa América in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, helping the national side finish in fourth position. In 2000, Contreras participated at the

, where Chile won the bronze medal, and the player was named one of the best defenders in the tournament. He also featured prominently in qualification for the 2002 and 2006

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, with Chile failing to make the final stages on both occasions. One of the darkest moments in Contreras' career happened during the 2007 Copa América. Alongside Reinaldo Navia, Jorge Valdivia, Rodrigo Tello, Jorge Vargas and Álvaro Ormeño, he was involved in an incident at the team's hotel involving the staff. The employees claimed the team players were celebrating drunk, throwing food, and destroying hotel property after qualifying for the second round of the tournament – Chile lost the next game 6–1 against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Afterwards, national coach

Nelson Acosta Nelson Bonifacio Acosta López, nicknamed ''Pelado Acosta'' (''Bald'' Acosta), (born 12 June 1944 in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay) is a former Uruguayan-born Chilean football manager and footballer. He became a naturalized Chilean citizen in 1984 ...

resigned and all the players involved were suspended for 20 games by the ANFP. After serving ten games, Contreras, as well as the other players involved – with the exception of Ormeño – signed a letter admitting their involvement and apologizing for the incident, and the punishment was lifted. After being reinstated, Contreras became an important member under

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

, as Chile qualified for the World Cup in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, the nation's first in 12 years. Contreras became the second-captain, after goalkeeper

Claudio Bravo Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Betis and captains the Chile national team. He started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad ...

, when the team was managed by Claudio Borghi.

International goals

Honours

Club

;Colo-Colo *

Primera División de Chile 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 Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

: 1997 Clausura,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

;Monaco * Ligue 1: 1999–2000 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

: 2000 ;Sporting CP *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

: 2002 ;Olympiacos * Superleague Greece:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most imp ...

International

* Summer Olympic Games: Bronze medal

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Individual

;PAOK *MVP 2008–09

References

External links

* * *
FootballDatabase profile and stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Pablo 1978 births Living people Footballers from Santiago Chilean footballers Association football defenders Chilean Primera División players Colo-Colo footballers Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players Argentine Primera División players Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers La Liga players Segunda División players CA Osasuna players RC Celta de Vigo players Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers S.C. Braga players Super League Greece players PAOK FC players Olympiacos F.C. players A-League Men players Marquee players (A-League Men) Melbourne Victory FC players Chile international footballers 2007 Copa América players 2011 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers of Chile Olympic bronze medalists for Chile Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Chile youth international footballers Chile under-20 international footballers Chilean expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Monaco Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate soccer players in Australia Chilean expatriate sportspeople in France Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Greece Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Australia