Manuel 'Manolo' Gaspar Haro (born 3 February 1981) is a Spanish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Born in Málaga,

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

, Gaspar started playing professionally with hometown

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. They won the UEFA Intert ...

's reserves, then spent two Segunda División seasons with another team in the region,

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

, being named 2005–06's best right-back whilst at the service of the latter. For 2006–07, upon

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a Spanish football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante play in Segunda División, holding home games at Ci ...

's return to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, Gaspar signed for the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous comm ...

side. He appeared scarcely over two seasons, facing relegation in his second with the club immersed in a precarious financial situation. Gaspar returned to Málaga in July 2008, being pretty much absent of the lineups for most part of the campaign but being heavily used in the final months. He again featured regularly in 2009–10, mainly due to injuries to teammates; however, on 3 April 2010, it was announced that he would miss the rest of the season because of an inflamed appendix, which was successfully operated and removed. Gaspar continued to be used exclusively as a backup in 2010–11, by both Jesualdo Ferreira and his successor

Manuel Pellegrini Manuel Lúis Pellegrini Ripamonti (; ; born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed teams in Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China and Ecuad ...

. On 4 July 2011, aged 30, he left Málaga and returned to the second tier, joining

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at ''Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 spe ...

. Following an unassuming spell in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus official ...

, Gaspar signed with

CD El Palo El Palo Fútbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1971 it currently plays in Tercera División – Group 9, holding home matches at ''Estadio San Ignacio'', with a 2,000-seat c ...

from

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...

. In 2014, still as an active player, he returned to Málaga in directorial capacities.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaspar, Manolo 1981 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Málaga Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Atlético Malagueño players UD Almería players Levante UD footballers Málaga CF players FC Cartagena footballers CD El Palo players Cypriot First Division players Olympiakos Nicosia players Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus