Vicente Iborra: The versatile Valencian
Vicente Iborra de la Fuente has established himself as a key piece of the team’s clockwork, maintaining a regular spot in the starting XI, and finding himself amongst the players with the most minutes played this season to date. At 1.9m tall, Iborra, unsurprisingly, stands out for his physical presence and dominance in the air. He has also become well known for his physical strength, natural leadership qualities, and versatility on the pitch.
Born on 16th January 1988 in Moncada, Iborra’s footballing career kicked off at Levante UD where he graduated from their youth system in 2007. He went on to make his professional debut for Levante in January 2008 at the age of 19 against Getafe in the Copa Del Rey. Iborra became a key player under Luis García’s management where he helped the team to achieve promotion back to the Spanish top-flight in the 2009/10 season.
Following an outstanding 188 senior appearances in six seasons with the ‘Granotas’, Iborra made the move to Sevilla FC on the 16th August 2013 under a five-year contract. The move wasn’t an easy decision for the Spaniard to make, but he considered it ‘beneficial for both parties’, saying ‘I hope this move can make me grow athletically’. His debut season with the club was a complete success, finishing with 41 games and 4 goals in all competitions, in addition to a Europa League trophy. One of his most notable moments came during the away tie at Celta Vigo in the 2016/17 season. The box-to-box midfielder came on as a substitute at half time and went on to score a hat-trick to give Sevilla a 0–3 win. Iborra ended his time at Sevilla with 30 goals in 172 appearances, as well as three successive Europa League titles.
After a varied and illustrious 10 years in Spanish football, Iborra took on a new challenge in his career and fulfilled his dream to play in the English Premier League. He signed a four-year contact with Leicester City FC in July 2017, joining the club as ‘one of the most decorated players in recent seasons’. Things didn’t quite go as hoped for the Valencian-born midfielder in England. He failed to maintain a regular place in Claude Puel’s side following the emergence of academy graduate Hamza Choudhury, and his family experienced difficulty adjusting to the new life. Only a year and a half later, in the winter of 2019, Iborra returned to play in LaLiga, moving back to his home region in the Valencian community and this time with Villarreal CF. Despite his short-lived time at Leicester, the Spaniard gained a lot of affection from the English fans. He departed the club with a poignant farewell message addressed to the supporters, thanking them for their unconditional support and making him feel like one of theirs, while expressing his excitement to return to Spain.
Following a spell of injuries within the Yellow midfield, the club jumped at the opportunity to bring in the Valencian player. Villarreal CEO, Fernando Roig Negueroles, expressed his confidence for the signing of the experienced midfielder: “We thought it was necessary to strengthen this position. Vicente was the best option at the time, and we are convinced that he will bring us a lot.” The latest Villarreal addition didn’t have to wait long to make his debut wearing the yellow shirt. Iborra came off the bench in the Copa Del Rey tie against Espanyol only two days later, and helped his new team make a comeback from two goals down to end the home-leg in a 2–2 draw. At the time Villarreal was under the management of Luis García, with whom he also made his professional debut at Levante. García’s previous association with Iborra undoubtedly helped the Moncada midfielder fit straight in, knowing the player both personally and how to exploit his versatility on the pitch. “He is a footballer that can play in three positions: in front of the defence, anywhere in the middle of the field, or behind the striker,” explaining that the idea is to take advantage of the possibility of changing position depending on the needs in each moment.
Throughout the Spaniard’s career he has never appeared to have a definitive playing position, subsequently becoming well-known for his adaptability on the pitch. Iborra started his professional career at Levante as a centre forward. The first positional change came at Sevilla, where Unai Emery worked to find a position that best suited his possibilities. This saw him move to behind the front line and deployed as an attacking midfielder during the 2014/15 season. Emery claimed that the Spaniard fitted most comfortably in the middle of the park which allows him to contribute to both attack and defence. His willingness to adapt was also recognised by Craig Shakespeare at Leicester, who, when speaking about the Foxes’ newest arrival, said, “he hasn’t just played as a number six, which is like a deep midfield player, he has also played as a number 10 in behind.” Since his time at Villarreal, Iborra has primarily played as a defensive midfielder. During his official presentation the Yellow №10 announced “what I want to do is play, I don’t mind where. I will try and fit in as quick as possible.”
As a local boy from the Valencia region, he not only cares for the club but for the community too. Within months of his arrival at Villarreal, Iborra took part in ‘A Star In Your School’ as part of the Endavant Club Groguet initiative. He visited CEIP San Joan de Moró where he met the young students and interacted with them in a fun ‘press conference’. The Villarreal midfielder also got involved in the Endavant Igualtat initiative where he encouraged fans to vote for Morella to host the Gran Fiesta de la Luz 2020.
It has been just over a year since Iborra committed himself to the Yellows until 2023, and he certainly seems to have settled well into the team, as well as integrating himself within the local community. The versatile Valencian midfielder has become a top-choice selection for Javi Calleja, starting the majority of the games in the 2019/20 season. It goes without saying that finding a player with the skill to cover both ends of the pitch as Iborra does with such physicality and technique is a true example of the success story that is Villarreal CF themselves as a club, and their ability to bring in and integrate top-class talent such as Vicente.
