Pável Pardo Segura (; born 26 July 1976) is a Mexican 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

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. ...

. Pardo spent most of his career playing with Club América and is the fifth most capped player in the history of the

Mexico national football team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in men's international association football, football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation, Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (). It has been a member of FIFA since 1929 and c ...

. Pardo participated in two World Cups (1998 and 2006), won two CONCACAF Gold Cups and won the

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

with Mexico in 1999.

Club career

Pardo started his football career in 1993 with Atlas de Guadalajara, and later played with Tecos UAG before joining Club América. He is regarded as one of the best players in Mexico since the 1990s, having achieved great success with Club América, where he won the Mexican ''Torneo de Verano'' 2002, ''Torneo de Clausura'' in 2005 and the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

tournament in 2006. After participating with Mexico in high-profile tournaments, namely the

2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup association football, football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FI ...

and the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, both of which were held in Germany, Pardo began to attract attention from a number of international clubs. Rumors linked him with River Plate of Argentina and Recreativo Huelva of Spain, however Pardo was unable to reach an agreement with either club. Following the World Cup, Pardo joined

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, for a sum of €1 million, the same club that purchased Pardo's national teammate, Ricardo Osorio. Pardo scored his first goal for Stuttgart in a 16 September 2006 league contest and win against Werder Bremen. On 19 May 2007, Stuttgart won the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

with Pardo, who appeared in 33 complete games, serving as one of the pillars of the team. He was voted the fifth-best player in his first season in Germany. In the 2007–08 season, his second year at Stuttgart, he established himself as one of the leading players, due to his constant and solid performances and also because, at 32, he was one of the older players in the otherwise young ''VfB'' side. Therefore, he earned the nickname ''el comandante'' or ''el jefe'' in the team. In January 2009, he returned to Club América for a fee of US $600,000. PavelPardo

In July 2011, Pardo revealed he would be signing with a

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

team after América allowed him to terminate his contract with them and thus sign on a free transfer with MLS, and signed with the Chicago Fire on 26 July 2011. Pardo re-signed with Chicago for the 2012 season on 18 January 2012. On 19 January 2013, Pardo announced his retirement from football.

International career

Pardo made his international debut for

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1996, playing in the U.S. Cup tournament, against the USA. Since then, Pardo has captained his country in several occasions and played important roles for the national team for many years, helping his country to winning the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one country, with ga ...

tournaments and the

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fourth FIFA Confederations Cup, and the second organised by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Mexico between 24 July and 4 August 1999. The tournament was won by Mexico, who beat Brazil 4–3 in the fina ...

. He played in France 98, as well as the 1997 Copa América and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and the mentioned 2005 Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup. At the 1998 World Cup, Pardo was sent off in the match between

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

. Referee Hugh Dallas was criticised for his actions during the game after he also sent off Gert Verheyen. On 21 June 2007, he played in the 2007 Gold Cup, helping Mexico earn second place. The day after the game he announced that he would not go to 2007 Copa América because he needed some rest. The national side eventually ended up in third place in that tournament. On 20 August 2008, he helped Mexico to a 2–1 win over Honduras at home in their first World Cup qualifier match at Estadio Azteca, scoring a brace in the 72nd and 75th minute respectively after trailing 1–0. He was called up to play again against Honduras after missing the squad due to injury or call-ups from VfB Stuttgart.

Style of play

Pardo was a well-rounded defensive player. He started playing as a right back, but he could double as a left back, and was also often deployed in the defensive midfield position, especially later in his career. He was often his team's designated set piece taker, as he was an excellent crosser. Many of his goals came from free kicks (either direct shots or undeflected inswinging crosses) and penalties. A leader on the field, he often served as captain for the teams he played for.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pardo goal.''

Honours

América *

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 ...

: Verano 2002, Clausura 2005 * Campeón de Campeones:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

* InterLiga:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* Selectivo Pre Pre-Libertadores: 1999, 2001 * Pre-Libertadores Tournament: 1999, 2001 VfB Stuttgart *

: 2006–07 Mexico *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

third place:

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 ...

* CONCACAF Gold Cup:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* Pan American Games Silver Medal:

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

* CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament:

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Individual *

Best Full-back: 1996–97, Invierno 1997 *

Best Defensive Midfielder: Clausura 2003,

– 05, Apertura 2005 * South American Player of the Year Nomination: 2003 *

Special Recognition Award: Clausura 2007 * CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Tournament Team:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pardo, Pavel Living people 1976 births Mexican men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Men's association football fullbacks Mexico men's international footballers FIFA Men's Century Club Atlas F.C. footballers VfB Stuttgart players Club América footballers Tecos F.C. footballers Chicago Fire FC players Liga MX players Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1997 Copa América players 1999 Copa América players 2004 Copa América players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Mexico Footballers from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican expatriate men's footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Pan American Games silver medalists in football Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players