Fabián Alberto Cubero (born 21 December 1978) is an Argentine former 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 ...
. A
versatile player, Cubero started as a
defensive midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
but spent most of his career playing as a
right 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 ...
.
During his professional career that spanned more than twenty years, Cubero played predominantly for
Vélez Sarsfield, winning five league titles with the team (spread over three different decades) and becoming the most capped player in the club's history (counting both domestic and international competitions). With seven, Cubero is the player with most local titles in the history of Vélez Sarsfield.
Club career
Cubero started his professional career with
Vélez Sarsfield in 1996. Under
Marcelo Bielsa
Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...
's coaching, he helped the team to win the
1998 Clausura league title, although he was not a regular in the first team. He was however a regular starter (mainly as right back, but sometimes also as defensive midfielder) in his team's
2005 Clausura winning campaign, where he also scored the first goal against
Estudiantes de La Plata
( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...
in a 3–0 victory that confirmed Vélez as champions. In 2007, Cubero was purchased by
Tigres de la UANL
Tigre ("Tiger" in various languages), Tigres or El Tigre may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Le Tigre, an American rock band
** ''Le Tigre'' (album)
* '' El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera'', a Nickelodeon animated TV series
** ''El Ti ...
of the
Mexican Primera División
Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...
.
After one year playing in Mexico, Cubero returned to Vélez Sarsfield for the
2008–09 Argentine Primera División season
The 2008-09 Primera División season was the 118th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina and the nineteenth season in which the Apertura and Clausura system is used.
Boca Juniors won the Apertura championship for their 29th na ...
. He established as a starter as defensive midfielder during the
Apertura tournament (first half of the season). However, when
Ricardo Gareca
Ricardo Alberto Gareca Nardi (; born 10 February 1958), nicknamed ''el Tigre'' and ''el Flaco'' ("Tiger " and "Slim"), is an Argentine football manager and former player. He was recently the manager of the Chile national team.
During his play ...
took the manager position in Vélez for the
Clausura tournament (second half of the season), Cubero started playing as right back. After
Nicolás Cabrera and
Darío Ocampo
Ramón Darío Ocampo (born 21 June 1986) is an Argentina, Argentine former Association football, football midfielder.
Career
Ocampo made his debut for Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield, Vélez Sársfield on November 19, 2004. In 2009, he was part ...
's injuries, Cubero played the last games of the season as right winger. He played a total of 17 games during Vélez' championship winning campaign,
captaining the team during most of them.
On August 15, 2010, Cubero reached 300 professional games with Vélez (counting league and international competitions) during the
2010 Apertura second fixture win against
All Boys
Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Arge ...
. After winning his fourth Primera División title with Vélez in the
2011 Clausura, Cubero (already 32 years old) renewed his contract for another 3 years. During the
2012 Inicial, Cubero played his 457th official game with Vélez, equating
Pedro Larraquy as the most capped player in the club's history, a record that he later surpassed. During that tournament, he also won his 5th league title with the team. Cubero was also a starter in Vélez's victories against
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 ...
in the
2012–13 Superfinal (in which he was sent off) and against
Arsenal de Sarandí
Arsenal Fútbol Club (), usually referred as Arsenal de Sarandí , or simply Arsenal, is an Argentine sports club from the Sarandí district of Avellaneda Partido, Greater Buenos Aires.
The football team currently plays in Primera Nacional, t ...
in the
2013 Supercopa Argentina.
In 2014 Cubero reached his 22nd
red card
A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
, achieving the record of being the player with most red cards in Argentina since short tournaments (starting in 1990).
On 9 September 2019, 41-year old Cubero announced that he would retire at the end of the year.
International career
Cubero played with the
Argentina national under-17 football team
The Argentina national U-17 football team is the representative of Argentina within all FIFA sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level.
Argentina has participated in 15 of the 19 FIFA U-17 World Cups, finishing in third place three t ...
the
1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship
The 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship was the sixth edition of the FIFA U-17 World Championship which was held in the cities of Guayaquil, Portoviejo, Quito, Ibarra, Cuenca, and Riobamba in Ecuador from 3 to 20 August 1995. Players born after ...
, achieving a third-place finish, and was part of the
under-20 squad that won the
1997 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1997 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 11th staging of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held from 16 June to 5 July 1997 i ...
held in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, both under
José Pekerman's coaching.
Personal life
Since 2006, Cubero is in a relationship with Argentine model Nicole Neumann.
They later married and had three daughters, named Indiana, Allegra and Sienna.
He is also recognized for his high-pitched voice.
Cubero is nicknamed ''Poroto'' (in English: "
bean
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...
").
[
Cubero and his wife are separated as of May 2017.
]
Honours
;Vélez Sarsfield
*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 ...
(6): 1998 Clausura, 2005 Clausura, 2009 Clausura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Inicial, 2012–13 Superfinal
*Supercopa Argentina
The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official national association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being con ...
(1): 2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
;Argentina U-20
*FIFA U-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
(1): 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
References
External links
Profile
at Vélez Sársfield official website
*
*
Statistics
at Guardian Stats Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cubero, Fabian
Living people
1978 births
Footballers from Mar del Plata
Argentine men's footballers
Argentine expatriate men's footballers
Argentina men's youth international footballers
Argentina men's under-20 international footballers
Men's association football utility players
Argentine Primera División players
Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers
Liga MX players
Tigres UANL footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Men's association football central defenders
Men's association football fullbacks
Men's association football midfielders
Men's association football wingers
Cadetes de San Martín players