Osmar Ibáñez Barba (; born 5 June 1988), known simply as Osmar, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a central defender. He is currently playing for Seoul E-Land FC.

Club career

Racing Santander

Born in Santoña, Osmar was a product of local Racing de Santander's youth system. After a successful loan stint with CD Salmantino in

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

he returned to his first club for 2008–09, making his senior debut with the reserves in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

and being his team's top scorer;Osmar Barba, el capitán cántabro del Seoul surcoreano (Osmar Barba, the Cantabrian captain of South Korea's Seoul)
Marca, 22 June 2017 (in Spanish) he suffered relegation in the following season. On 8 November 2009, Osmar made his debut with the

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

ns' first-team, starting in a 2–0

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 ...

home loss against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. He was definitely promoted to the main squad for the 2010–11 campaign, but appeared in only 12 more games in two seasons combined, with the second ending in relegation. Osmar Barba

Buriram United

On 25 July 2012, Osmar signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Thai club Buriram United F.C. for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 1 August, appearing in a Thai FA Cup match against Chonburi F.C. and going on to win both that tournament and the Toyota League Cup in his first year. On 26 February 2013, Osmar made his debut in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

, in a match against Vegalta Sendai, acting as team captain and scoring a goal in the 1–1 away draw. On 1 May, Buriram became the first team from the nation in a decade to reach the knockout rounds of the

, and he topped his side's scorers list at three.

FC Seoul

On 31 December 2013, Osmar moved teams and countries again, joining

FC Seoul FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...

on a three-year deal and becoming the first Spanish footballer to ever play in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Ahead of the 2015 season he was appointed vice-captain, appearing in the all matches and minutes to set a new record for a foreign field player in the

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

. Before the start of the following campaign, Osmar was chosen as Seoul's new

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, becoming the first foreigner in the club's history to hold the position. Throughout the season, he helped the team win the national title, becoming the first Spanish player to ever do so in the process. On 21 February 2018, he joined

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

's Cerezo Osaka on loan. On 18 December of the same year, Osmar signed a new three-year contract with Seoul. At the end of the 2023 season, Osmar left Seoul after the club had decided against renewing his contract. Throughout his spell, he made a total amount of 344 appearances for the South Korean club, scoring 25 goals and 12 assists in the process; at the time of his departure, he held the club record for the highest number of appearances by a foreign player, and was second only to Go Yo-han for all-team appearances.

Seoul E-Land FC

On 10 January 2024, Osmar joined Seoul E-Land FC of K League 2.

Career statistics

Honours

Buriram United *

Thai Premier League The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

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 ...

Doblete para el Buriram tailandés al ganar la "FA Cup" (Double for Thailand's Buriram after winning the FA Cup)

El Diario Vasco ''El Diario Vasco'' ( English: ''The Basque Daily'') is a Spanish morning daily newspaper based in San Sebastián, Basque Country. History and profile ''El Diario Vasco'' was founded in 1934 by the Sociedad Vascongada de Publicaciones, led by ...

, 11 November 2013 (in Spanish) * Thai FA Cup:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

* Thai League Cup:

,El cántabro Osmar, el primer español en ganar un título en Tailandia (Cantabria's Osmar, first Spaniard to win a title in Thailand)
Marca, 5 November 2012 (in Spanish)

* Kor Royal Cup:

FC Seoul *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Korean FA Cup The Korea Cup (), formerly the Korean FA Cup, is a national Association football, football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the competition was established in 1996, two simil ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual *Fans' Asian Champions League XI:

Defender of the Year:

*Thai Premier League Best XI:

* K League Best XI: 2016

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osmar 1988 births Living people People from Santoña Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Cantabria Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Rayo Cantabria players Racing de Santander players Thai League 1 players Buriram United F.C. players K League 1 players FC Seoul players J1 League players Cerezo Osaka players K League 2 players Seoul E-Land FC players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Spanish expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Japan 21st-century Spanish sportsmen