Spanish footballer
In this
Spanish name , the first or paternal
surname is
Iborra and the second or maternal family name is
de la Fuente .
Vicente Iborra de la Fuente (Spanish pronunciation: [biˈθentejˈβora] ; born 16 January 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Segunda División club Levante .
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
Levante
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
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
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
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
On 11 July 2023, Olympiacos F.C. announced the signing of Iborra after his contract with Villarreal expired.[ 27] He totalled 30 matches in his only season in the Super League Greece , winning the UEFA Conference League .[ 28]
Later career
Iborra returned to Levante for a third spell on 9 July 2024, with the 36-year-old agreeing to a one-year deal with the option of a further season.[ 29]
Career statistics
Iborra (far left) playing for Leicester City in an FA Cup match against Chelsea in March 2018
As of match played 14 December 2024 [ 30] [ 31]
Honours
Sevilla
Villarreal
Olympiacos
References
^ "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 .
^ a b "Vicente Iborra" . Eurosport . Retrieved 4 February 2021 .
^ "Vicente Iborra" . Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018 .
^ Vicente Iborra at AS.com (in Spanish)
^ "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 .
^ "Levante 0–2 Real Madrid" . ESPN Soccernet . 13 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012 .
^ "Almeria 2–1 Levante" . ESPN Soccernet. 30 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012 .
^ "El Levante celebra el centenario con un ascenso" [Levante celebrate century with a promotion]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 June 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2015 .
^ "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 .
^ "Iborra, al Sevilla cinco temporadas" [Iborra, five seasons to Sevilla]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014 .
^ "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 .
^ Guevara, Rocío (8 September 2016). "Iborra para todo en el Sevilla" [Factotum Iborra in Sevilla]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2017 .
^ Fernández, Alberto (19 May 2015). "Camaleón Iborra" [Chameleon Iborra]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2015 .
^ "Athletic Bilbao 3–1 Sevilla" . BBC Sport . 24 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016 .
^ Downie, Keith (30 August 2016). "Sevilla call-off Sunderland's £7.7m deal for Vicente Iborra – Sky sources" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 29 December 2016 .
^ "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 .
^ 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 .
^ "Leicester City sign midfielder Vicente Iborra from Sevilla" . BBC Sport. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017 .
^ Tanner, Rob (14 September 2017). "Leicester City injury news: Iborra and Iheanacho fit for Huddersfield" . Leicester Mercury . Retrieved 20 September 2017 .
^ Bysouth, Alex (19 September 2017). "Leicester City 2–0 Liverpool" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 September 2017 .
^ Sajad, Kal (30 September 2017). "AFC Bournemouth 0–0 Leicester City" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 November 2017 .
^ Hafez, Shamoon (4 November 2017). "Stoke City 2–2 Leicester City" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 November 2017 .
^ Tanner, Rob (7 January 2019). "Vicente Iborra leaves Leicester City for Villarreal" . Leicester Mercury . Retrieved 7 January 2019 .
^ 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 .
^ Brennan, Feargal (14 December 2020). "Villarreal midfielder to miss the rest of 2020/21 through injury" . Football España. Retrieved 14 December 2020 .
^ "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 .
^ "Ο Βιθέντε Ιμπόρα στον Ολυμπιακό" [Vicente Iborra at Olympiacos] (in Greek). Olympiacos F.C. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023 .
^ "Iborra se despide del Olympiacos y negocia su vuelta al Levante" [Iborra says goodbye to Olympiacos and negotiates Levante return]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 June 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024 .
^ Sancho de Rosa, Luis (9 July 2024). "Oficial: Iborra vuelve al Levante" [Official: Iborra returns to Levante]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2024 .
^ a b c d e Vicente Iborra at Soccerway
^ Vicente Iborra at FBref.com
^ Atkin, John (14 May 2014). "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters" . UEFA. Retrieved 15 May 2014 .
^ Rose, Gary (27 May 2015). "Dnipropetrovsk 2–3 Sevilla" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2020 .
^ Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). "Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021 .
^ "Olympiacos 1–0 Fiorentina (aet): El Kaabi swoops to secure Greece's first major European trophy" . UEFA. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024 .
External links