Edu Albácar

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Albácar and the second or maternal family name is Gallego.

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

Edu Albácar

Personal information
Full name	Eduard Albácar Gallego
Date of birth	(1979-11-16) 16 November 1979 (age 45)
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

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 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

Elche

• Segunda División: 2012–13^[9]

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); As, 29 June 2008 (in Spanish)
3. Albacar se compromete con el Rayo (Albacar commits 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)
15. 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

• Edu Albácar at BDFutbol
• Edu Albácar at Soccerway