Manuel Pablo

Manuel Pablo

Pablo playing for Deportivo in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Manuel Pablo García Díaz
Date of birth	(1976-01-25) 25 January 1976 (age 41)
Place of birth	Arucas, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Right back
Youth career
	Las Palmas
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1996	Las Palmas B
1994–1998	Las Palmas	57	(1)
1998–2016	Deportivo La Coruña	383	(1)
Total		440	(2)
National team
1997	Spain U21	1	(0)
1997	Spain U23	2	(0)
2000–2004	Spain	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Manuel Pablo García Díaz (born 25 January 1976), known as Manuel Pablo, is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right back.

He played most of his professional career with Deportivo, appearing in nearly 450 official games and notably winning the 2000 national championship. With stamina as his main asset, he also represented Spain on 13 occasions.

Born in Arucas, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Manuel Pablo was only 22 when he joined Deportivo de La Coruña from hometown's UD Las Palmas in the summer of 1998, being signed together with Argentine Turu Flores. He made his La Liga debut on 15 November 1998 in a 2–2 home draw against Deportivo Alavés, but faced serious competition from Armando in his first season, appearing in just 14 league matches.

Manuel Pablo played 74 games from 1999 to 2001, and was a vital part of Depor's defense as the Galicians were crowned national champions in 2000 for the first time in their history. His performances earned him a debut with the Spanish national team on 16 August 2000, in a 1–4 away friendly defeat to Germany.

In his fourth season at A Coruña, disaster struck: on 30 September 2001, Manuel Pablo sustained an horrific tibia injury during the Galician derby against Celta de Vigo, in a televised match, after an unlucky tackle by Everton Giovanella. Eventually, he missed the rest of the campaign.