Pablo Escobar (footballer, born 1979)

Pablo Daniel Escobar Olivetti (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpaβlo eskoˈβaɾ], born 23 February 1979) is a football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder or second striker. He is the current head coach of the Bolivia national under-20 team.

Pablo Escobar
Personal information
Full name Pablo Daniel Escobar Olivetti
Date of birth (1979-02-23) 23 February 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Asunción, Paraguay
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, second striker
Team information
Current team
Bolivia U-17 (head coach)
Youth career
1991–1998 Olimpia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Olimpia 23 (1)
2000–2003 Gimnasia de Jujuy 34 (3)
2004 San José 38 (22)
2005–2008 The Strongest 96 (47)
2006Cerro Porteño (loan) 28 (4)
2008Ipatinga (loan) 11 (3)
2009Santo André (loan) 25 (3)
2010Mirassol (loan) 9 (4)
2010 Ponte Preta 21 (3)
2011 Botafogo SP 13 (0)
2011–2018 The Strongest 277 (157)
International career
2008–2018 Bolivia 23 (6)
Managerial career
2019 The Strongest
2019–2020 Sol de América
2020–2023 Bolivia (assistant)
2021–2023 Bolivia U20
2022 Bolivia (interim)
2023– Bolivia U17
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Born in Paraguay, Escobar represented Bolivia at international level.

Club career

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Escobar started his career in the youth divisions of Olimpia, and eventually made his way to the first team although he spent more time playing for the reserves. In 2000, he was signed by the Argentine side Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy, and after three years with the club, he relocated to Bolivia to play for San José in 2004. His good conditions rewarded him with a transfer to The Strongest the following season. He also had a brief stint in Cerro Porteño in 2006 before returning to The Strongest for a second spell.

On 28 August 2008, he joined Brazilian club Ipatinga.[1] Escobar joined Santo André of Brazil on 5 January 2009.[2] He joined Mirassol in January 2010.[3] After about a year, he signed a 3-year contract with Paulista (Brazilian) side Botafogo-SP.[4]

International career

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In August 2008, Escobar received Bolivian citizenship in order to play for the Bolivia national football team.[5] Between 2008 and 2017 Escobar made 25 appearances for Bolivia, netting 6 goals.[6] 19 of his appearances were in FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[7]

International goals

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Scores and results list Bolivia's goal tally first.[8]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 September 2011 Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru   Peru 1–0 2–2 Friendly
2. 9 June 2012 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia   Paraguay 2–0 3–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 3–0
4. 1 September 2016 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia   Peru 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. 11 October 2016 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia   Ecuador 1–0 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6. 2–0

References

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  1. ^ "Ipatinga contrata atacante boliviano" (in Portuguese). Futebol Total. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008. [dead link]
  2. ^ "Pablo Escobar é do Santo André" (in Portuguese). Diário do Grande ABC. 5 January 2009. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  3. ^ "Mirassol contrata atacante Pablo Escobar" (in Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Pablo Escobar continuará jugando en Brasil" (in Spanish). La Prensa. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Ya es boliviano" (in Spanish). Futbol a lo grande. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  6. ^ Appearances for Bolivia National Team – RSSSF
  7. ^ Pablo EscobarFIFA competition record (archived)
  8. ^ "Escobar, Pablo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
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