Pablo Ballesteros Lago (born 31 August 1974) is a Spanish 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 le ...

who played as a winger, and a current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He amassed

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 ...

totals of 74 matches and seven goals over four seasons, in representation of Las Palmas and

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

(two years apiece). He added 180 appearances and 12 goals in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

, in a 14-year professional career. In 2011, Lago started working as a manager.

Playing career

Lago was born in Vegadeo, Asturias, and played amateur football well into his 20s. In 1997, after scoring a career-best 15 goals with

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Anxo Carro''. History The new board of directors was o ...

, he joined

side Atlético Madrid B. Lago made his professional debut on 31 August 1997, starting in a 1–1 home draw against

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at the ...

. He scored his first goal in the second level the following 15 February, netting his team's second in a 3–0 home win over Elche CF. In 1998, Lago moved to

club

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

, being immediately loaned to division two's Rayo Vallecano. He achieved promotion at the end of the season during his spell at the latter, being a regular starter and being sent off for the first time (of only two) in his career. Lago subsequently enjoyed a two-season loan deal at Las Palmas, before signing permanently for them in 2001. His maiden appearance in the top tier took place on 10 September 2000 when he started in a 0–3 home defeat to

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...

, and scored his first goal in the competition seven days later in a 2–2 away draw against

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city: ''Real Stadium Club Ovetense'' and ''Real Club De ...

. Lago agreed to a four-year contract at

in late July 2002 after Las Palmas'

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

, but featured sparingly during his two-year stint. He then signed a deal with second division side

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

, being mainly used as a substitute. After one second-tier season with

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

, Lago moved to the lower leagues with

Marino de Luanco Club Marino de Luanco is a Spanish football team based in Luanco, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1931 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Miramar'', with a capacity of 3,500 seats. ...

in 2007, retiring two years later at the age of 34.

Coaching career

Lago began working as a manager immediately after retiring, being in charge of Astur CF's youth teams before being appointed at the helm of Luarca CF in 2011. He remained at the latter club for two seasons, before being named

UP Langreo Unión Popular de Langreo is a Spanish football team based in Langreo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1961, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding its home games at ''Estadio Ganzábal'' in La Felguera, with ...

coach on 4 June 2013. On 26 June 2014, four days after achieving promotion to the third division with Langreo, Lago signed with

Caudal Deportivo Caudal Deportivo is a Spanish football team based in Mieres, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1918 it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home matches at ''Estadio Hermanos Antuña'' (built in 1951), with a c ...

. He left the following 2 June as his contract was due to expire, and joined

Real Avilés Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

on 6 July. Lago was sacked by Avilés on 25 April 2017, and took over

Gimnástica de Torrelavega Real Sociedad Gimnástica de Torrelavega is a Spanish football team based in Torrelavega, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded on 28 September 1907 it is the oldest football club in the region, and currently plays in Tercera Divisi ...

on 16 October.

References

External links

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Veteranos Real Oviedo profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lago, Pablo 1974 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Asturias Men's association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Oviedo Vetusta players CD Lugo players Atlético Madrid B players RCD Mallorca players Rayo Vallecano players UD Las Palmas players Racing de Santander players Sporting de Gijón players CD Numancia players Marino de Luanco footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División B managers Real Avilés CF managers Gimnástica de Torrelavega managers