Pablo Estífer Armero (born 2 November 1986) is a Colombian former

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 played as a left back. He is known in Colombia by the nickname "Miñía", reportedly after a phrase commonly used to call infants in his hometown.

Club career

Palmeiras

After his performance with Colombia, and having helped América de Cali win their 13th championship, Armero was loaned to

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

, his agent Turbo Sports holding the registration rights through Poços de Caldas. He was signed in early 2009, and was the first choice for

left-back position. He helped Palmeiras reach the São Paulo State Championship semi-finals before losing to

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...

. He was noticed for his speed and crossing abilities and played many matches helping Palmeiras lead in the

Brazilian Série A Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may als ...

. His only goal for Palmeiras came in a 4–1 win against Náutico in July 2009. Having signed a pre-contract, Armero almost joined the

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 ...

side

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

in July 2010, but the deal collapsed on 3 July. Parma's lack of non-EU registration quota, reflected in the new ruling announced on 2 July, forced the contract to be terminated and obligated the club to pay a sum to the player. Instead, Parma signed Zé Eduardo. It was reported that Palmeiras bought 20% economic rights, (date unknown) and the non-dividable registration rights in June 2010. made Palmeiras would receive 20% transfer fee.

Udinese

On 28 August 2010,

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

signed Armero. He became a left wingback ahead

Giovanni Pasquale Giovanni Pasquale (born 5 January 1982) is an Italian football coach and former professional player who plays as a full-back. He is the manager-player for the amateur side ASD Venaria Reale. Career Inter Pasquale started his career at Intern ...

in Udinese's 3–5–2 formation (or a 5–3–2 formation). That season Udinese finished fourth and returned to 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 ...

. Due to Udinese's

UEFA coefficient In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in w ...

, Udinese paired with seeded team Arsenal of the English

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 Fo ...

. The team changed tactics, and Armero played as a left-sided wingback in its 4–4–1–1 formation, with new-signing

Neuton Neuton Sérgio Piccoli (born 14 March 1990), simply known as Neuton, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Ypiranga. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left back. Club career Grêmio Born in Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Neuton ...

playing new left-back. After his successful Serie A debut and following his appearances in European football, Armero was selected into the

Serie A Team of the Year The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best during the previous c ...

for the 2010–11 season. Armero was rested for the first round of

2011–12 Serie A The 2011–12 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM after its headline sponsors) was the 110th season of top-tier Italian football, the 80th in a round-robin tournament, and the second since its organization under a league committee separate from S ...

and started in his first

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

match on 15 September. With the team changing its tactics back to 3–5–2, Armero remained left wing-back, also scoring the winning goal.

Napoli

On 9 January 2013, Armero joined

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on loan until the end of the season, with the option to make a permanent switch in the summer. He mostly made his appearances coming off the bench for the remainder of the

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 ...

season. During the 2013 summer transfer window, Napoli made the permanent move for a reported €4 million.

West Ham United (loan)

On 31 January 2014, Armero completed his loan move to

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 ...

until the end of the season. He made his West Ham debut on 15 March in a 3–1 away defeat to Stoke City. With West Ham already losing 3–1, he was an 83rd-minute substitute for

Andy Carroll Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship side Reading. He has played in the Premier League and English Football League for Newcastle United, Preston North End, Liv ...

. He played five league games for West Ham before his loan ended. His final game came on 19 April 2014 in a 1–0 home defeat by

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. The only goal of the game was a penalty conceded by Armero whose performance was criticised by manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

Return to Udinese and loan to Milan

On 20 June 2014,

announced they had signed back Armero, a season after he left to

. On 11 August 2014, the club announced his loan move to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

for the 2014–15 season.

Back to Brazil and loan to Flamengo

On 9 April 2015, he was loaned again, this time to

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

, until the end of the year. He debuted in a match against

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in 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 milli ...

for the third round of the Brasileirão 2015.

Return to Udinese

Armero rejoined Italian club Udinese for the 2015–16 season, where he has mostly appeared as a substitute

CSA

Armero joined Brazilian club CSA on 17 March 2019, but was released only two months later after being spotted on a nightclub in the eve of a league match.

International career

Armero played for the Colombian under-17 team in the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship and was promoted to the senior team in 2008 for his form with América de Cali. He received his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

in Colombia's 5–2 win over

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and has won the spot of starting

left-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 ...

for the national team. In March 2013, he scored his first goal for Colombia in a 5–0 victory over Bolivia. In June 2014, he was named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. Armero scored Colombia's first goal in a 3–0 win against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

in the team's opening group game.

International goals

:''Scores and results lists Colombia's goal tally first.''

Style of play

Described as a " box-to-box player" ("tuttocampista," in Italian) in the media, Armero is known for his versatility, team–play, and work-rate, and is capable of playing in several

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

positions; he has been used as a left–sided midfielder, as an

attacking 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 ...

, or as an offensive–minded

central 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 ...

, known as the '' mezzala'' role, in Italian football jargon, and has even been used as a left-back.

Honours

Club

;América de Cali * Categoría Primera A: 2008–II ;Bahia * Copa do Nordeste:

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Individual

: 2010–11

References

External links

* *
CBF Contract Record
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armero, Pablo 1986 births Living people Association football wingers Association football fullbacks Colombian footballers Colombia international footballers América de Cali footballers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Udinese Calcio players A.C. Milan players S.S.C. Napoli players West Ham United F.C. players CR Flamengo footballers Esporte Clube Bahia players Centro Sportivo Alagoano players Guarani FC players Categoría Primera A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Serie A players Premier League players Colombian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Brazil Expatriate footballers in Italy 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Expatriate footballers in England Colombian expatriate sportspeople in England People from Tumaco Colombian people of African descent Sportspeople from Nariño Department