Pablo Íñiguez

Pablo Íñiguez
Íñiguez with Girona in 2015
Personal information
Full name Pablo Íñiguez de Heredia Larraz
Date of birth (1994-01-20) 20 January 1994
Place of birth Burgos, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
El Palmar
2003–2011 Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Villarreal C 18 (1)
2012–2016 Villarreal B 66 (1)
2012–2017 Villarreal 10 (0)
2014–2015Girona (loan) 16 (0)
2016–2017Rayo Vallecano (loan) 6 (0)
2017–2019 Reus 13 (0)
2018–2019Hércules (loan) 33 (3)
2019–2021 Hércules 25 (0)
2021 Levante B 16 (0)
2021–2024 Villarreal B 65 (2)
International career
2011 Spain U17 4 (1)
2013 Spain U19 7 (0)
2012–2013 Spain U20 5 (1)
2014 Spain U21 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 June 2024

Pablo Íñiguez de Heredia Larraz (born 20 January 1994), known as Íñiguez, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a central defender but also as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Born in Burgos, Íñiguez joined Villarreal CF's academy in 2003, aged only nine.[1] He was selected by the first team for a La Liga match against Real Betis on 19 November 2011, but did not leave the bench;[2] he met the same fate against FC Bayern Munich in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[3]

On 14 January 2012, one week before his 18th birthday, Íñiguez made his professional debut, appearing for the reserves against FC Cartagena in the Segunda División.[4] He played his first competitive game with the main squad on 2 December, starting in a 1–0 away loss to Elche CF in the same league.[5]

Iñiguez signed a new five-year contract with Villarreal, recently returned to the top flight, on 27 August 2013.[6] His bow in the competition took place on 19 August, when he featured the entire 3–2 away win over UD Almería.[7] On 21 August of the following year, he moved to second division club Girona FC in a season-long loan.[8]

On 5 July 2016, Íñiguez was loaned to Rayo Vallecano for one season.[9] In July 2015, he joined fellow second-tier side CF Reus Deportiu permanently, with Villarreal holding a buy-back clause.[10]

Íñiguez agreed to a two-year deal at Hércules CF on 10 July 2019, after a loan spell.[11]

International career

Íñiguez represented Spain at under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels. He won his only cap for the latter on 12 November 2014, when he played 85 minutes in the 4–1 friendly loss to Belgium in Ferrol.[12]

Personal life

Íñiguez's father, Roberto, was a basketball player who competed in the Liga ACB. He later became a manager.[13][14][15]

References

  1. ^ El secreto del dorsal número 53 del Villarreal (Villarreal no. 53's secret); El Periódico Mediterráneo, 21 November 2011 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Valero wins it for Villarreal Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 19 November 2011
  3. ^ "Cuando quiso Ribéry" [When Ribéry wanted it] (in Spanish). El País. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  4. ^ Un punto insuficiente para salir de problemas (Insufficient point to leave problems behind); Marca, 14 January 2012 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ El Elche se confirma como el 'gallito' de la categoría (Elche the confirmed category's 'underdog'); Marca, 2 December 2012 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ Renueva a Jaume Costa, Pablo Iñíguez y Moi Gómez (Jaume Costa, Pablo Iñíguez and Moi Gómez get renewed); Diario AS, 27 August 2013 (in Spanish)
  7. ^ "2–3. El Almería juega mejor, pero el partido lo gana el Villarreal UD [sic]" [2–3. Almería play better, but match is won by Villarreal CF] (in Spanish). La Información. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  8. ^ Pablo Íñiguez, cedido al Girona FC (Pablo Íñiguez, loaned to Girona FC) Archived 21 August 2014 at archive.today; Villarreal CF, 21 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Pablo Íñiguez jugará cedido en el Rayo Vallecano (Pablo Íñiguez will play on loan at Rayo Vallecano) Archived 7 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal CF, 5 July 2016 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Pablo Íñiguez, nou jugador del CF Reus (Pablo Íñiguez, new player of CF Reus) Archived 2 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine; Reus Deportiu, 11 July 2017 (in Catalan)
  11. ^ "El Hércules ficha a Pablo Íñiguez por dos temporadas" [Hércules sign Pablo Íñiguez for two seasons] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  12. ^ Cudeiro, Juan Luis (12 November 2014). "Tsunami belga a la nueva ola española" [Belgian tsunami to the new Spanish wave] (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  13. ^ Baloncesto.– El Valencia Basket define la estructura de su cantera para la temporada 09–10 (Basketball.– Valencia Basket outline youth system structure for 09–10 season); El Economista, 31 July 2009 (in Spanish)
  14. ^ Roberto Íñiguez, nuevo entrenador del Ciudad Ros Casares: "Me gustan los retos" (Roberto Íñiguez, new Ciudad Ros Casares manager: "I like challenges"); Europa Press, 15 December 2011 (in Spanish)
  15. ^ Esteve, David (14 September 2018). "Debate en casa de los Íñiguez: fútbol o baloncesto" [Debate at the Íñiguezes: football or basketball] (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 22 July 2025.