Alberto Zapater

Zaragoza

Zapater was born in Ejea de los Caballeros, Province of Zaragoza. He joined his hometown side Real Zaragoza's academy at the age of 12. The first-team manager, former Spanish international Víctor Muñoz, was impressed enough, allowing Zapater to join them for preseason training. He was given his official debut on Zaragoza's first game of 2004–05, against Valencia CF in the Supercopa de España: although the Aragonese ended up losing 1–0 he put up a solid performance overall, confirmed in the 3–1 second leg away win. At just 19, Zapater went on to feature in 31 La Liga matches, netting in a 2 March 2005 defeat at Real Sociedad where he was also sent off. In the following campaign, he helped the club to finish as runners-up in the Copa del Rey (losing the final to RCD Espanyol) while also only missing three league matches; his strong tackling and the amount of fouls he committed earned him the nickname of 'The Bull', given by Diego Maradona. In the next two seasons, after renewing his contract until June 2010, Zapater remained an undisputed starter, only missing four games while experiencing qualification for the UEFA Cup in 2006–07, and relegation the following year.

Abroad

In late July 2009, after being instrumental in Zaragoza's return to the top division, and already playing pre-season football with the Maños, Zapater left for Genoa CFC for around €4.5 million, as the Spaniards were also immerse in a deep financial crisis. He held an emotional…

Zapater took part in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, in a Spanish team that also featured future senior internationals Cesc Fàbregas, Fernando Llorente and David Silva. He scored his first and the only goal in a 3–1 defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals. After that, Zapater immediately established himself as an under-21 regular.

Zaragoza

Supercopa de España: 2004 Copa del Rey runner-up: 2005–06 Atlético Ottawa

Canadian Premier League: 2025