Vicente Iborra Richart

Vicente Iborra Richart (16 February 1932 – 3 December 2020) was a Spanish football player and manager.

Able to play as a forward or central defender, he played 347 games and scored 24 goals in La Liga for Valencia, Sporting Gijón and Elche. He totalled 354 games for the last of those clubs, including as captain in their loss in the 1969 Copa del Generalísimo final.

Career Born in Xàtiva in the Province of Valencia, Iborra began his career at local Olímpico de Játiva before joining Mestalla, the reserve team of Valencia CF. He made the first team in La Liga for 1956–57, scoring 11 goals in 20 games including the Copa del Generalísimo; Iborra played one game for the Spain national football B team, a 2–0 loss to Greece on 13 March 1957.

In 1958, Iborra transferred to Sporting de Gijón for 500,000 Spanish pesetas, enduring relegation in his first season in Asturias but scoring 12 goals in 18 games in the Segunda División in 1959–60. He joined Elche in 1960, remaining there for 11 years. During his time there, he was recast as a defender, and was credited by Alfredo Di Stéfano as the best of that position in Spain. He captained the team in the Copa del Generalísimo final on 15 June 1969, a 1–0 loss to Atlético Bilbao .

Personal life Iborra and his wife Pilar had five children. In 2013, their eldest daughter also named Pilar died aged 53, while president of CF Plus Xàtiva.

Iborra lived with dementia. He died aged 88 on 3 December 2020, weeks after the death of his wife.