Edu Albácar
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eduard Albácar Gallego | ||
| Date of birth | 16 November 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Tortosa, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Sant Jaume d'Enveja | ||
| 1996–1997 | Dertusa | ||
| 1997–1998 | Gimnàstic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2000 | La Sénia | ||
| 2000–2001 | Tortosa | 31 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Espanyol B | 29 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Novelda | 32 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Alicante | 64 | (6) |
| 2006–2008 | Hércules | 52 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Alavés | 28 | (3) |
| 2009–2010 | Rayo Vallecano | 30 | (2) |
| 2010–2015 | Elche | 141 | (24) |
| 2016–2018 | Elche | 37 | (1) |
| Total | 444 | (36) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Eduard 'Edu' Albácar Gallego (born 16 November 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
Club career
[edit]Born in Tortosa, Tarragona, Catalonia, Albácar only played for Segunda División B and Tercera División teams until well into his 20s. In July 2006 he signed with Hércules CF in the Segunda División, and appeared in his first game as a professional on 27 August when he started in a 0–1 home loss against Málaga CF.[1]
In June 2008, Albácar moved to Deportivo Alavés also in the second division.[2] One year later, he signed with fellow second-tier club Rayo Vallecano.[3]
On 22 July 2010, Albácar joined Elche CF.[4] In his third year, he scored a career-best eight goals – mainly through free kicks and penalties[5][6][7][8]– and also helped the Valencian side to return to La Liga after 24 years of absence.[9]
On 24 August 2013, aged almost 34, Albácar made his debut in the top flight, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Real Sociedad.[10] He scored his first goal in the competition six days later, in a 2–2 draw at UD Almería.[11]
Albácar announced his retirement on 13 August 2015, being immediately included in Rubén Baraja's staff.[12] Roughly a year later, he stepped down from retirement, returning to his last club Elche at the age of 36.[13]
On 2 May 2018, Albácar announced that he would retire at the end of the season,[14] which ended in promotion to the second division.[15]
Honours
[edit]Elche
References
[edit]- ^ El Málaga arranca con buen pie gracias a Pablo Couñago (Málaga start on the right foot thanks to Pablo Couñago); Marca, 27 August 2006 (in Spanish)
- ^ La fuga de Albacar cambia los planes de la comisión (Albacar's escape changes plans of board of directors); As, 29 June 2008 (in Spanish)
- ^ Albacar se compromete con el Rayo (Albacar commits to Rayo); Marca, 19 June 2009 (in Spanish)
- ^ Edu Albacar: "No confío mucho en el proyecto del Rayo" (Edu Albacar: "I do not have much trust in Rayo's project"); Marca, 22 July 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ Edu Albacar, un especialista a balón parado (Edu Albacar, deadball specialist); Fútbol de Segunda, 24 March 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ 4–0: El Elche reafirma su liderato sin dar opción al Numancia (4–0: Elche solidify first place giving no chance to Numancia); Mundo Deportivo, 14 October 2012 (in Spanish)
- ^ El Elche saca un '10' en las jugadas de estrategia (Elche get a '10' in set pieces); Marca, 18 December 2012 (in Spanish)
- ^ El guante de Edu Albacar (Edu Albacar's glove); Diario Información, 19 February 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ a b El Elche vuelve a la elite 25 años después (Elche return to the elite 25 years later); Mundo Deportivo, 11 August 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ Vela to the rescue for Sociedad Archived 28 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 24 August 2013
- ^ Almeria denied first win Archived 10 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 30 August 2013
- ^ Albácar anuncia su retirada del fútbol y se une al cuerpo técnico del Elche (Albácar announces his retirement from football and joins Elche's staff); Cadena COPE, 13 August 2015 (in Spanish)
- ^ Edu Albacar: "Me siento preparado para ayudar al equipo en lo que necesite" (Edu Albacar: "I feel prepared to help the team in whatever they need"); Elche CF, 11 August 2016 (in Spanish)
- ^ Edu Albacar anuncia su retirada tras más de veinte años en activo (Edu Albacar announces his retirement after more than twenty years active); Mundo Deportivo, 2 May 2018 (in Spanish)
- ^ El Elche anuncia el despido de Edu Albacar como secretario técnico (Elche announce dismissal of Edu Albacar as technical secretary); Marca, 14 September 2018 (in Spanish)
External links
[edit]- Edu Albácar at BDFutbol
- Edu Albácar at Soccerway