Manuel Pablo

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Personal information
Manuel Pablo
Full name	Manuel Pablo García Díaz
Date of birth	25 January 1976 (1976-01-25) (age 32)
Place of birth	Arucas, Spain
Height	1.76 m
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current club	Deportivo La Coruña
Number	2
Youth clubs
1995–1996	Las Palmas B
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–1998 1998–	UD Las Palmas Deportivo La Coruña	40 (1) 206 (1)
National team²
2000-	Spain	13 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 July 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 22 July 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Manuel Pablo García Díaz (born 25 January 1976 in Arucas, Las Palmas) is a football player from Spain, who plays for Deportivo de La Coruña, as a quick right back. Manuel Pablo has played for the Spanish national team on 13 occasions.

The Canarian was only 22, when he joined Deportivo La Coruña from hometown UD Las Palmas in the summer of 1998. He was signed together with Argentinian striker Turu Flores, but was more or less considered a ‘bonus’ in this package deal. He made his La Liga debut on November 15, 1998, a 2-2 draw at home against Deportivo Alavés, but faced serious competition from Armando that season. He played a total of 14 league matches, but displayed enough promise to prompt Deportivo to release Armando at the end of 1998-99.

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

In his fourth season at La Coruña, disaster struck: on September 30, 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 Brazilian Everton Giovanella.

One year later, Pablo returned, playing 90 minutes against CD Corralejo in a Copa del Rey outing. On October 6, he was offered a league return by then-coach Javier Irureta, playing the dying minutes of a 0-2 home loss against Racing de Santander. He would played another full cup game, one month later, against Racing de Ferrol, but it was evident that the pre-2001 player hadn’t returned yet.

In 2003-04's closing stages, Manuel Pablo proved he was fully recovered, as displayed in an excellent individual display on April 7, 2004, in a 4-0 second leg quarterfinal crushing of AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League. From 2004-05 on, he was the undisputed right-back at Riazor (although he faced stiff competition from Álvaro Arbeloa in 2006-07, until the latter departed for Liverpool F.C. in January 2007).