Vanesa Gimbert

Vanesa Gimbert Acosta (born 19 April 1980) is a Spanish retired football who played as a defender or midfielder. She played for clubs including Levante, Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao in Spain's Primera División, retiring in 2022 aged 42.[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gimbert and the second or maternal family name is Acosta.
Vanesa Gimbert
Gimbert with Espanyol in 2012
Personal information
Full name Vanesa Gimbert Acosta
Date of birth (1980-04-19) 19 April 1980
Place of birth Bergara, Basque Country, Spain
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1999 Mondelia Montilla
1999–2003 Levante
2003–2004 Estudiantes Huelva
2004–2007 Sevilla 24+ (9+)
2007–2010 Rayo Vallecano 61 (13)
2010–2013 Espanyol 88 (6)
2013–2022 Athletic Bilbao 231 (39)
International career
1997–2010 Spain 40 (6)
2012–2017 Basque Country 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2021

Career

Born in the Basque Country and raised partly in Andalusia, she previously played for RCD Espanyol,[2] Levante UD, CFF Estudiantes, Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano.[3] She won four league titles with Levante and Rayo (coming close to another with Sevilla)[4] and five Copas de la Reina between her spells at those two clubs and Espanyol.

In 2016, 36-year-old Gimbert won the league title with Athletic, then agreed to remain with the club for another year.[5] Five years later (now aged 41, the oldest active player in the country) she was still playing regularly, including scoring both goals in a victory over Santa Teresa[6] and agreed a further one-year contract in the summer of 2021.[7] She retired one year later after nine years in Bilbao[1] alongside teammate Erika Vázquez,[8] who by coincidence was one of the opponents 22 years earlier when Gimbert won the first trophy of her career, the 2000 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol when Levante defeated Lagunak.[9] Her statistics with Athletic included being its oldest debutant (aged 33), longest run of consecutive matches (86, completing the 90 minutes every time) and oldest player (aged 42).[1]

Gimbert was a member of the Spain women's national football team from a young age, taking part at 17 in the 1997 European Championship.[10] She was the team's captain in the 2009 European Championship qualifying.[11]

International goals

Honours

Club
Levante
Rayo Vallecano
Espanyol
  • Copa de la Reina: 2012
Athletic Bilbao

References
  1. Vanesa Gimbert to retire at the end of the season, Athletic Bilbao, 22 April 2022
  2. Profile in Espanyol's web
  3. Gimbert, BDFutbol
  4. El Espanyol, nuevo campeón de la Superliga [Espanyol, new Superliga champion] (in Spanish) Marca, 9 April 2006
  5. Zaballa, Carlos (23 June 2016). "Eli Ibarra y Vanesa Gimbert siguen un año más" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  6. Vanesa Gimbert sentences Santa Teresa in Lezama, Sports Finding, 4 April 2021
  7. Vanesa Gimbert renews with Athletic Bilbao, Footbalada, 18 July 2021
  8. Erika Vázquez, una leyenda del Athletic que cuelga las botas [Erika Vázquez, an Athletic legend who hangs up her boots], Diario AS, 10 May 2022 (in Spanish)
  9. Levante Femenino - 2000) Final Copa de la reina (amplio Resumen)
  10. The girls play to get to the Euro 12 years later Diario AS, 25 October 2008
  11. Pauw cautions as Netherlands defend lead UEFA
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