Vicente Iborra

Summary

Vicente Iborra de la Fuente (Spanish pronunciation: [biˈθentejˈβora]; born 16 January 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Super League Greece club Olympiacos.

Vicente Iborra
Iborra with Levante in 2013
Personal information
Full name Vicente Iborra de la Fuente[1]
Date of birth (1988-01-16) 16 January 1988 (age 36)[2]
Place of birth Moncada, Spain[2]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3][4]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Olympiacos
Number 8
Youth career
Levante
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Levante B 17 (4)
2008–2013 Levante 165 (8)
2013–2017 Sevilla 113 (24)
2017–2019 Leicester City 27 (3)
2019–2023 Villarreal 86 (4)
2022–2023Levante (loan) 36 (2)
2023– Olympiacos 12 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:45, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

He played 297 games in La Liga over 12 seasons, scoring a total of 33 goals for Levante, Sevilla and Villarreal, winning the Europa League three times with the second club and once with the third. He also spent two years in the English Premier League with Leicester City, having signed in July 2017.

Club career edit

Levante edit

Born in Moncada, Valencian Community, Iborra was a product of Levante UD's youth system. He made his first-team debut during the 2007–08 season, as the club's severe financial problems prompted the exit of several players. After appearing in a Copa del Rey match against Getafe CF on 9 January 2008,[5] he played in La Liga against Real Madrid four days later (0–2 home loss).[6]

On 30 March 2008, Iborra scored his first Levante goal, a last-minute effort in a 2–1 defeat at UD Almería.[7] In the 2009–10 campaign, as the side returned to the top flight after a two-year absence,[8] he was one of the team's most used players — 36 games, 2,640 minutes — scoring once.[9]

Sevilla edit

Iborra joined fellow top-tier club Sevilla FC on 16 August 2013, after agreeing to a five-year contract.[10] He finished his debut season with 41 matches and four goals in all competitions, including 12/1 in the UEFA Europa League which his side won.[11][12]

In 2014–15, Iborra was often deployed in a more attacking midfield role by manager Unai Emery, and responded by scoring nine goals overall.[13] On 24 September 2016 he filled in as the goalkeeper for the final two minutes away to Athletic Bilbao when Salvatore Sirigu was sent off, conceding a penalty from Aritz Aduriz in a 3–1 loss.[14]

Sunderland agreed to pay Sevilla £7 million for Iborra, but called it off on 30 August 2016 as the summer transfer window came to a close.[15] Under new coach Jorge Sampaoli he started the new season as a reserve.[16] On 11 December, after replacing the injured Nicolás Pareja at half-time of the away fixture against RC Celta de Vigo, he scored a hat-trick which included a late penalty in a 3–0 win.[17]

Leicester City edit

On 6 July 2017, Leicester City announced they had signed Iborra on a four-year contract for £15 million.[18] After picking up a groin injury during pre-season,[19] he did not make his debut until 19 September, when he played the whole of a 2–0 home win over Liverpool in the EFL Cup and provided the assist for Shinji Okazaki's goal.[20] His first Premier League appearance was on 30 September as he played the second half of a 0–0 draw away to AFC Bournemouth,[21] and he scored his first goal in the latter competition on 4 November in a 2–2 draw at Stoke City.[22]

Villarreal edit

On 7 January 2019, Iborra joined Villarreal CF on a four-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of £9 million; he cited the failure of his family to adjust to life in England as the main reason for his departure.[23] He appeared in 34 games in his first full season for the fifth-placed club, scoring in a 2–1 away loss against Real Madrid.[24]

Iborra ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament against Real Betis on 13 December 2020, and was sidelined for the rest of the campaign.[25] He returned to Levante in July 2022, in a season-long loan.[26]

Olympiacos edit

On 11 July 2023, Olympiacos F.C. announced the signing of Iborra after his contract with Villarreal expired.[27]

Career statistics edit

 
Iborra (far left) playing for Leicester City in an FA Cup match against Chelsea in March 2018
As of match played 18 April 2024[28][29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Levante 2007–08 La Liga 14 1 2 0 16 1
2008–09 Segunda División 31 2 1 0 32 2
2009–10 Segunda División 36 1 0 0 36 1
2010–11 La Liga 16 0 0 0 16 0
2011–12 La Liga 33 0 6 1 39 1
2012–13 La Liga 35 4 2 1 12[c] 2 49 7
Total 165 8 11 2 12 2 188 12
Sevilla 2013–14 La Liga 27 3 2 0 12[c] 1 41 4
2014–15 La Liga 26 7 4 0 11[c] 2 41 9
2015–16 La Liga 29 7 7 1 10[d] 1 1[e] 0 47 9
2016–17 La Liga 31 7 4 1 7[f] 0 2[g] 0 44 8
Total 113 24 17 2 40 4 3 0 173 30
Leicester City 2017–18 Premier League 19 3 4 0 3 0 26 3
2018–19 Premier League 8 0 0 0 3 1 11 1
Total 27 3 4 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 37 4
Villarreal 2018–19 La Liga 19 3 1 0 5[c] 1 25 4
2019–20 La Liga 34 1 3 0 37 1
2020–21 La Liga 13 0 0 0 5[c] 0 18 0
2021–22 La Liga 20 0 3 0 1[f] 0 0 0 24 0
Total 86 4 7 0 11 1 0 0 104 5
Levante (loan) 2022–23 Segunda División 36 2 3 0 4[h] 0 43 2
Olympiacos 2023–24 Super League Greece 12 1 0 0 11[c] 0 23 1
Career total 439 42 42 4 6 1 74 7 7 0 568 54
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Three appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  6. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  7. ^ One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Supercopa de España
  8. ^ Appearances in La Liga play-offs

Honours edit

Sevilla

Villarreal

References edit

  1. ^ "List of players under written contract registered between 01/07/2017 and 31/07/2017" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 17. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Vicente Iborra". Eurosport. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Vicente Iborra". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. ^ Vicente Iborra at AS.com (in Spanish)  
  5. ^ "El Getafe sentencia la eliminatoria ante un pobre Levante" [Getafe sentence tie against poor Levante]. Marca (in Spanish). 9 January 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Levante 0–2 Real Madrid". ESPN Soccernet. 13 January 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2012.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Almeria 2–1 Levante". ESPN Soccernet. 30 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  8. ^ "El Levante celebra el centenario con un ascenso" [Levante celebrate century with a promotion]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 June 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ^ "El Levante se coloca cuarto tras doblegar a un combativo Numancia" [Levante climb to fourth place after downing combative Numancia]. Marca (in Spanish). 1 November 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Iborra, al Sevilla cinco temporadas" [Iborra, five seasons to Sevilla]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  11. ^ "El Sevilla vuelve feliz del frío (0–2)" [Sevilla return happy from the cold (0–2)]. Diario de Cádiz (in Spanish). 13 December 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  12. ^ Guevara, Rocío (8 September 2016). "Iborra para todo en el Sevilla" [Factotum Iborra in Sevilla]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  13. ^ Fernández, Alberto (19 May 2015). "Camaleón Iborra" [Chameleon Iborra]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Athletic Bilbao 3–1 Sevilla". BBC Sport. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  15. ^ Downie, Keith (30 August 2016). "Sevilla call-off Sunderland's £7.7m deal for Vicente Iborra – Sky sources". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  16. ^ "El capítulo de las salidas mantiene el foco en Iborra" [Departures chapter keeps focus on Iborra]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 26 August 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  17. ^ Campos, Tomás (11 December 2016). "Iborra destroza al Celta en 45 minutos" [Iborra destroys Celta in 45 minutes]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Leicester City sign midfielder Vicente Iborra from Sevilla". BBC Sport. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  19. ^ Tanner, Rob (14 September 2017). "Leicester City injury news: Iborra and Iheanacho fit for Huddersfield". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  20. ^ Bysouth, Alex (19 September 2017). "Leicester City 2–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  21. ^ Sajad, Kal (30 September 2017). "AFC Bournemouth 0–0 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  22. ^ Hafez, Shamoon (4 November 2017). "Stoke City 2–2 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  23. ^ Tanner, Rob (7 January 2019). "Vicente Iborra leaves Leicester City for Villarreal". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  24. ^ Kilpatrick, James (17 July 2020). "Real Madrid 2–1 Villarreal: Two Karim Benzema goals fire Real to 34th La Liga title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  25. ^ Brennan, Feargal (14 December 2020). "Villarreal midfielder to miss the rest of 2020/21 through injury". Football España. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  26. ^ "Vicente Iborra regresa al Levante UD tras el acuerdo alcanzado con el Villarreal CF para su cesión" [Vicente Iborra returns to Levante UD following the agreement reached with Villarreal CF for his loan] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Ο Βιθέντε Ιμπόρα στον Ολυμπιακό" [Vicente Iborra at Olympiacos] (in Greek). Olympiacos F.C. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  28. ^ a b c d e Vicente Iborra at Soccerway
  29. ^ Vicente Iborra at FBref.com  
  30. ^ Atkin, John (14 May 2014). "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters". UEFA. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  31. ^ Rose, Gary (27 May 2015). "Dnipropetrovsk 2–3 Sevilla". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  32. ^ Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). "Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.

External links edit

  • Vicente Iborra at BDFutbol
  • Vicente Iborra at Futbolme (in Spanish)
  • Vicente Iborra at Soccerbase