Emanuel Mariano Insúa Zapata (born 10 April 1991) is an Argentine 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 lea ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for Spanish club

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing de Ferrol, is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in , holding home games at '' E ...

Career

Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Insúa was a

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

youth graduate. He made his professional debut on 25 April 2012, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Olimpo, for the season's

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

. Insúa made his league debut on 20 May, starting in a 2–0 away win against Racing Club. In July 2012 he was loaned to fellow league team Godoy Cruz, appearing in 33 matches; he also scored his first professional goal for the club, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against

Atlético Rafaela Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

on 19 August. Insúa returned to Boca in June 2013, and was assigned to the main squad. He appeared more regularly with the club in the following campaigns. He scored his first goal for the ''Azul y Oro'' on 18 August, against the same opponent. On 20 January 2015, Insúa signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

, for a transfer fee estimated in the region of €2.5 million. He made his debut in the competition five days later, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 away draw against

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. On 22 August 2015 Insúa was loaned to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

for one year, with a buyout clause, but eventually joined

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football league system, Italian fo ...

, for the kick off of the 2015-16 season. He managed to play only once with the club for

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

. On 23 August 2017, Insúa left

after one season and a half, mostly spent playing as loanee first for

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

, then for Racing Avellaneda, and officially signed over to

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

, on a 3-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The Argentine left back is another who has failed to have an impact in the club. He has struggled to dislodge

Niklas Hult Bo Niklas Hult (born 13 February 1990) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left back for IF Elfsborg. Beginning his career with IFK Värnamo in 2008, he went on to represent IF Elfsborg, Nice, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens, and Hann ...

from the starting side. He has found playing minutes hard to come by and his red card at

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

will not win over any fans. If, as rumoured, Hult departs, the club will find itself in a sticky situation at left back. On 24 February 2018, Insúa changed direction skillfully with a cheeky backheel before sending a superb curling shot with the outside of his left foot past a hopeless

Nikos Melissas Nikos Melissas (; born 24 February 1993) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper for Cypriot First Division club Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, Nea Salamina. Career PAOK Loan moves On ...

, sealing the score in a 2–0 home win game. It was his first goal with the club. On 24 November 2018, Insúa scored after playing a neat one-two with Federico Macheda, in a hammering 5–1 home win game against struggling

Apollon Smyrnis Apollon Smyrnis Football Club () is a professional football club based in Athens, Greece, which competes in the Athens FCA first division. It is part of GS Apollon Smyrnis (Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης), ...

. On 6 April 2019, Insúa produced a magical goal as Panathinaikos moved to within five points of fifth-placed

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 Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

after claiming a solid 2–0 home win over the Thessaloniki club at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

. The Argentine met Omri Altman’s low cross perfectly and lofted the ball up and over Aris goalkeeper

Julián Cuesta Julián Cuesta Díaz (born 28 March 1991), known simply as Julián, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League Greece club Aris Thessaloniki. Club career Sevilla Julián was born in Campotéjar, Province of ...

and into the net in stylish fashion. On 13 August 2020, Insúa signed a three-year contract with

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

. Overall, Insúa made 60 appearances in the Super League for Panathinaikos, contributing with four goals and three assists while impressing with his energetic, passionate approach on the left flank. Insúa has been signed as a direct replacement for fellow attacking full-back

. On 16 February 2021, he returned to Argentina and joined Primera División side Aldosivi on loan until June, where his brother Emiliano had also recently moved to. On 25 January 2022, after he solved his contract with

, he signed a year contract with

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

club Vélez Sarsfield for an undisclosed fee. On 3 February 2025, Insúa signed with

in the Spanish second tier.

Personal life

Insúa is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer

Emiliano Insúa Emiliano Adrián Insúa Zapata (born 7 January 1989) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Insúa is a citizen of the European Union through one of his grandparents, who is Spanish. Career Early career Ins ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Insua, Emanuel 1991 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Men's association football defenders Argentine Primera División players Super League Greece players Granada CF footballers Boca Juniors footballers Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba footballers La Liga players Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Newell's Old Boys footballers Panathinaikos F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Club Atlético Aldosivi footballers Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers Club Atlético Banfield footballers Racing de Ferrol footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece 21st-century Argentine sportsmen