Ignacio Camacho

Málaga 2009–10 did not provide Camacho with the needed opportunities to progress; when healthy, he was mainly utilised in injury time of games. The next season, he appeared even more rarely – no minutes in the league whatsoever – and, in late December 2010, was transferred to Málaga CF, with his teammate Sergio Asenjo also making the move in a loan deal.

Camacho scored his first official goal for Málaga on 29 April 2012, from a Jesús Gámez cross in the 1–0 home defeat of Valencia CF. He contributed 13 games and 811 minutes as the Andalusia team finished fourth and qualified to the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever.

In 2012–13, Camacho started regularly for the Manuel Pellegrini-led side. In January 2013, he was a central figure in two of the three fixtures between Málaga and Barcelona: on the 13th, his backpass turned into an assist for Lionel Messi for the first in an eventual 1–3 home loss. Three days later, he scored in the last minute to earn his team, by then reduced to ten men, a 2–2 draw at the Camp Nou in the quarter-finals of the domestic cup (6–4 aggregate defeat).

During his spell at the Estadio La Rosaleda, Camacho made 199 appearances in all competitions.

VfL Wolfsburg On 8 July 2017, Camacho signed for VfL Wolfsburg for a reported fee of around €10 million. The following month, he was named as the club's captain behind Mario Gómez and Paul Verhaegh, and made his Bundesliga debut on 19 August by featuring the entire 0–3 home loss to Borussia Dortmund. A long-term ankle injury ruled him out for a large part of the campaign, but he returned in March 2018 as the permanent skipper after Gómez's departure to VfB Stuttgart two months prior.

Camacho announced his retirement in September 2020 at age 30, due to injuries. He underwent five surgeries in three years, but never fully recovered.

International career Camacho captained the Spain under-17 team to the title at the 2007 UEFA European Championship, scoring one goal during the tournament. He missed the 2009 European Under-19 Championships through injury.

On 7 November 2014, Camacho was called up to full side manager Vicente del Bosque's squad for matches against Belarus and Germany, He made his debut on the 18th against the latter, coming on as a half-time substitute for Sergio Busquets in an eventual 1–0 friendly loss in Vigo.

Personal life Camacho's father Juan José was also a footballer, as older brother Juanjo. The latter was also a midfielder, who played for several Segunda División and Segunda División B clubs.

Career statistics 1 Includes Copa del Rey, DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga relegation play-offs

Honours Atlético Madrid UEFA Europa League: 2009–10 UEFA Super Cup: 2010 Copa del Rey runner-up: 2009–10

Spain U17 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2007