 Couñago withIpswich Town in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pablo González Couñago[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1979-08-09)9 August 1979 (age 46)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Redondela, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1994 | Casa Paco | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Celta | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Celta B | 63 | (28) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–2001 | Celta | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998 | →Numancia (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | →Recreativo (loan) | 26 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2005 | Ipswich Town | 100 | (31) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Málaga | 54 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2011 | Ipswich Town | 114 | (23) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | →Crystal Palace (loan) | 30 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Đồng Tâm Long An | 9 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Kitchee | 13 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Choco | 17 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Honka | 8 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | PK-35 | 34 | (17) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Alondras | 21 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Choco | 22 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 532 | (162) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Spain U16 | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Spain U17 | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Spain U18 | 10 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Spain U20 | 13 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Spain U21 | 15 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Galicia | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Pablo González Couñago (born 9 August 1979) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
After appearing in 35La Liga matches forCelta andMálaga, scoring three goals, he spent the bulk of his career in England withIpswich Town, where he managed 62 competitive goals in two spells. He also played in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Finland.
Couñago representedSpain in the1999 World Youth Championship, winning the tournament.
Born inRedondela,Province of Pontevedra,Galicia,[3] and a product of localCelta de Vigo's youth academy,[4] Couñago made his professional debut in theSegunda División, loaned toNumancia.[5] He returned in January 1999 to his first club, failing to appear inLa Liga in his first spell. He scored on his competitive debut on 26 November 1996 when he was just 17, equalising a 1–1 home draw against neighboursRacing de Ferrol in thesecond round of theCopa del Rey.[6]
In the1999–2000 season, Couñago returned to the second tier yet on loan, now withRecreativo de Huelva, after which he returned to Celta still with no impact.[7] He made 18 official appearances for the latter, 12from the bench and two being in the2000–01 UEFA Cup where he totalled 63 minutes.[8][9]
After impressing in aSpain under-21 4–0 win overEngland atBirmingham City's ground, Couñago was signed byIpswich Town in May 2001, as managerGeorge Burley had been in the stands watching his performance; the player, who was out of contract, agreed to a four-year deal.[10] He failed to find the net in hisdebut campaign while totalling 19 games, being relegated from thePremier League.[11]
Couñago scored a career-best 21 times in all competitions in2002–03.[11] Highlights included braces in victories againstLeicester City (6–1 at home),[12]Sheffield Wednesday (2–1, home),[13]Walsall (3–2, home),[14]Gillingham (3–1 away)[15] andCoventry City (4–2, away);[16] he added ahat-trick in the 8–1 home thrashing ofAvenir Beggen in thequalifying round of theUEFA Cup (his team had been relegated, but still qualified forEurope via thefair play award),[17] being voted Players' Player of the Year.[18]
On 14 October 2003, Couñago netted twice in a 6–1 win overBurnley atPortman Road.[19] He repeated the feat on 26 December to help to defeat hostsWest Ham United 2–1,[20] scoring 12 times overall as the Blues reached the playoffs after afifth-place finish.[21]
Couñago did not feature as regularly during the2004–05 season due to the form ofDarren Bent andShefki Kuqi.[22][23] He scored three goals in four league starts and 15 substitute appearances, with Ipswich again losing out in the play-off semi-finals to West Ham.[24][21]
Couñago joinedMálaga ahead of2005–06,[25] making his debut on 28 August as a late replacement in a 2–0 away loss against his former employers Celta.[26][27] He scored three times in 27 matches, as theAndalusians finished bottom of the table.[28]
Couñago produced more thefollowing campaign, but the club failed to regain its top-flight status.[29]
After being released by Málaga, Couñago re-signed for Ipswich on a two-year deal on 13 July 2007, extendable to three in case of promotion.[30] He scored a return debut goal in the 4–1 home win against Sheffield Wednesday,[31] and added two the following month to help dispose of Coventry City with the same result and at the same venue.[32] He totalled 12 from 45 matches in thefirst season in his second spell;[33] an audaciousbackheel in a 3–1 defeat toCharlton Athletic on 8 December 2007 was voted goal of the season at Town's awards night.[34][35]
Couñago started his 192nd league game for the club on 21 February 2009, and scored his 50th league goal in a 3–1 victory at promotion rivalsQueen Park Rangers.[36] In the summer of 2009, he turned down the chance to joinSwansea City following the arrival ofRoy Keane as manager,[37] and saw his playing time significantly decrease under the latter, who claimed the Spaniard was "dead lazy" during their time together.[38]
On 20 August 2010, Couñago joinedChampionship sideCrystal Palace on aseason-long loan, reuniting with former Ipswich boss Burley.[39] He scored his first goal on 6 November, in a 2–1 loss away toMiddlesbrough.[40]
In June 2011, aged 31, Couñago was released by Ipswich Town. Over two spells, he recorded 243 appearances and scored 62 goals.[41][42]
Subsequently, Couñago spent five months withĐồng Tâm Long An in Vietnam, helping the club promote to theV-League. On 2 October 2012, he joinedHong Kong First Division League'sKitchee for an undisclosed fee; he made his debut for his new team five days later, coming on at the hour mark of a 4–1 victory overYokohama Hong Kong where his compatriotYago González scored twice.[43]
Couñago scored ten times from 27 competitive games in hisonly season, and his 30-yard shot againstSun Pegasus helped his team towin theHong Kong FA Cup,[44] while he also played a part in theirquarter-final run in theAFC Cup.[45][46] In May 2014, after one year withChoco in theTercera División, he signed forHonka of the FinnishVeikkausliiga.[47]
Couñago announced his retirement in June 2018 at age 38, following one-year stints in the Spanish fourth tier withAlondras and Choco.[48]
Couñago was joint-top scorer at the1999 FIFA World Youth Championship with five goals, as theSpain under-20 team won the tournament in Nigeria.[49] In the following two years, he appeared and scored regularly for theunder-21 side.[50][51][52]
In December 2006, Couñago played for theGalicia unofficial team in afriendly againstEcuador.[53]
Couñago's son, Iago, was born in April 2008.[54]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Celta | 1996–97[55] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | |
| 1997–98[55] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99[55] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999–00[55] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000–01[55] | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[a] | 1 | 17 | 1 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 2 | ||
| Numancia (loan) | 1998–99[55] | Segunda División | 13 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 19 | 3 | |
| Recreativo (loan) | 1999–2000[55] | Segunda División | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 4 | |
| Ipswich Town | 2001–02[56] | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 2002–03[57][58] | First Division | 39 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 5[b] | 3 | 48 | 21 | |
| 2003–04[59] | First Division | 29 | 11 | 4 | 1 | — | 33 | 12 | ||
| 2004–05[60] | Championship | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| Total | 100 | 31 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 122 | 36 | ||
| Málaga | 2005–06[55] | La Liga | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 3 | |
| 2006–07[55] | Segunda División | 27 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 7 | ||
| Total | 54 | 10 | 4 | 0 | — | 58 | 10 | |||
| Ipswich Town | 2007–08[61] | Championship | 43 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 45 | 12 | |
| 2008–09[62] | Championship | 44 | 9 | 3 | 2 | — | 47 | 11 | ||
| 2009–10[63] | Championship | 27 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11[64] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 114 | 23 | 7 | 3 | — | 121 | 26 | |||
| Crystal Palace (loan) | 2010–11[64] | Championship | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 2 | |
| Đồng Tâm Long An | 2012[65] | V.League 2 | 9 | 5 | — | 9 | 5 | |||
| Kitchee | 2012–13[65] | First Division League | 13 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 7[c] | 2 | 27 | 10 |
| Honka | 2014[65] | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 5 | |
| PK-35 | 2015[66] | Ykkönen | 25 | 17 | 1 | 2[d] | 2 | 1 | 28 | 20 |
| Career total | 400 | 105 | 45 | 11 | 25 | 7 | 470 | 123 | ||
Celta
Đồng Tâm Long An
Kitchee
Spain U20
Individual
