Edu Albácar

Eduard 'Edu' Albácar Gallego (born 16 November 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left back.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Albácar and the second or maternal family name is Gallego.
Edu Albácar
Personal information
Full name Eduard Albácar Gallego
Date of birth (1979-11-16) 16 November 1979
Place of birth Tortosa, Spain
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing 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)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

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 joined Hércules CF in 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 tier.[2] One year later, he signed with fellow league 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 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.

Honours

Elche

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References
  1. 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)
  2. La fuga de Albacar cambia los planes de la comisión (Albacar's escape changes plans of board of directors); Diario AS, 29 June 2008 (in Spanish)
  3. Albacar se compromete con el Rayo (Albacar committs to Rayo); Marca, 19 June 2009 (in Spanish)
  4. 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)
  5. Edu Albacar, un especialista a balón parado (Edu Albacar, deadball specialist); Fútbol de Segunda, 24 March 2010 (in Spanish)
  6. 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)
  7. El Elche saca un '10' en las jugadas de estrategia (Elche get a '10' in set pieces); Marca, 18 December 2012 (in Spanish)
  8. El guante de Edu Albacar (Edu Albacar's glove); Diario Información, 19 February 2013 (in Spanish)
  9. El Elche vuelve a la elite 25 años después (Elche return to the elite 25 years later); Mundo Deportivo, 11 August 2013 (in Spanish)
  10. Vela to the rescue for Sociedad Archived 28 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 24 August 2013
  11. Almeria denied first win Archived 10 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 30 August 2013
  12. 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)
  13. 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)
  14. 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)
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