Pablo Álvarez Núñez (born 14 May 1980) is a Spanish 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 ...

who played as a

right 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. ...

Club career

Born in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, Álvarez started his professional career at neighbouring

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

, making his first-team debut on 19 May 2001 in a 1–2 home defeat against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

and going on to appear in 168 games in all competitions. At

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

, he earned the nickname ''Tibu'' (diminutive of ''Tiburón'',

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) for his goal celebrations, in which he pretended to have a shark's

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

in his head. Álvarez signed for

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 a

Bosman transfer ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association ...

in August 2006. On 3 February 2007, he played his first league match for ''Depor'', making his

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 ...

debut against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

aged nearly 27. He had suffered a serious leg injury while still at the service of Sporting in April 2006, and was eventually loaned to

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, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

in December of the following year until the end of the season. Having been relatively used in a

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 ...

side that achieved a first-ever

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

– netting in a 2–0 away victory over

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

on 13 January 2008– Álvarez returned to Galicia and Deportivo. Scarcely played during 2008–09, he profited from a rare start to score the game's only goal at

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 ...

, on 18 April 2009; he made his debut in European competition on 18 February that year, featuring the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 away loss against

AaB Fodbold AaB, (full name: ''Aalborg Boldspilklub'', ) internationally referred to as Aalborg BK, commonly known internationally as Aalborg BK and occasionally referred to as AaB Aalborg, is a professional football club based in Aalborg, Denmark. The club ...

in the

, and was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the second leg in a 6–1 aggregate score. In summer 2012, aged 32, Álvarez joined second-division

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

on a two-year contract, returning to the club after playing youth football there for nearly a decade. On 2 September 2014, he signed with

UP Langreo Unión Popular de Langreo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Langreo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1961, it plays in , holding its home games at ''Estadio Ganzábal'' in La Felguera, with a ...

in the third tier; however, only six months later, he moved abroad for the first time in his career, agreeing to a deal at

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

following a trial period.

International career

Álvarez participated in the resurrection of the unofficial Galician national team in December 2005, playing their first game after 75 years against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Honours

Deportivo *

: 2011–12

References

External links

Deportivo official profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Pablo 1980 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Oviedo Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CD Lugo players Sporting de Gijón B players Sporting de Gijón players Deportivo de La Coruña players Racing de Santander players UP Langreo footballers Major League Soccer players USL Championship players New York City FC players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States