Pablo Zabaleta enjoyed a memorable career with club and country, earning 58 caps for Argentina and cult hero status with Manchester City supporters.
Signed in 2008, one day before Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of the club, Zabaleta made 333 appearances for City and was a key component in their transformation into serial winners.
He even scored in the final day 3-2 win over QPR in 2012 as the club clinched their first Premier League title – although his goal was somewhat overshadowed by a slightly more famous strike by his compatriot Sergio Aguero.
Zabaleta was in Abu Dhabi for a meet and greet with fans at the club’s ‘City Challenge’ store at Yas Mall and The National caught up with him to discuss their start to the season, his own coaching ambitions, and Lionel Messi and Argentina’s chances at next year’s World Cup.
Q: Pablo, you’ve been a regular visitor to Abu Dhabi over the years, including to celebrate trophies with City’s owners. You must be very fond of the place?
A: When I'm in Abu Dhabi it brings me a lot of good memories. First time I was here was back in 2003 for the Under-20 World Cup with Argentina. And then, when I was playing for Man City, like you say, after the season [to celebrate], even in the winter looking for a break somewhere, a sunny place for a training camp. We came quite a lot and it brings me good memories.
How would you rate City’s start to the season?
The good thing is that Rodri is back after a long-term injury from last season. I think he was a player that Man City missed quite a lot. Erling Haaland is back on form, he can't stop scoring goals, which is something great for the team, for the club. There were those defeats against Tottenham and Brighton which maybe we didn't expect … but everything seems to be really tight at the top of the table. I think the main thing for Man City will be if they can keep all the players healthy, in good condition, avoid any kind of injuries. That will be key, especially playing in so many competitions or coming after the last summer with the Club World Cup and not so much rest. I hope they can keep the momentum going and keep winning games.
What have you made of Matheus Nunes moving to right-back, in your old position?
Since Kyle Walker left the club, it seems like they pushed Nunes into a new position. You know, it's not easy for a football player when you're playing as a midfielder or you've been playing as a midfielder for your whole career, and now you find yourself in a new position and you are part of the back four. You need to learn how to defend or keep the position or probably not to press too high and then get caught in behind. I don't know, it’s something that obviously takes a lot of time to settle into a new position, but I think it's going well. I think Pep [Guardiola] has a really good option with Nunes playing as a right-back.
And on the other side, Nico O’Reilly at left-back. Have you been impressed?
Yeah, incredible. And especially because I think we're always happy to see an academy product coming into the first team. He's young [to be] playing [but] you know, he looks very mature and is playing well. [He has] personality, great assist [in the Everton] game for Haaland. It's not easy as a young player when you have to play with the first team, especially in a club that is demanding in terms of winning every game, winning trophies. But yeah, this young lad is proving himself. He's good enough to keep his position as the left-back.
People have described this season as a transitional season. Do you see it that way or do you think City can reach the heights of previous years?
I've been in a situation where, especially when Pep Guardiola came into the club, certain players, we were in our 30s. They say probably we were not at our peak any more and that was the moment that probably the club, they needed to refresh or bring players into the club for the next six, seven years. They bought some young players with huge potential – Sane, Sterling, Stones – you see they've been for so long at the club. It's normal in football where you have players that have been there for so long that you need to bring young blood again, refresh the squad, energy, and it's not that easy.
You see [high] transfer fees these days in football, you have to go for the right player. I see the new players settling well into the club, with the old core, with Haaland, Rodri, Ruben Dias, all those, five, six players that have been for so long at the club. The leadership, they need to welcome the new players and make sure that they can settle into a new city, a new club. And of course, they would do that. They're good players, good people. And it seems now that the team is getting the rhythm that we expected to see at the beginning of the season.
You’re now working as the assistant manager of the Albanian national team, how did that happen?
I met [Albania manager] Silvinho when I was at Man City. After Barcelona, he came to Man City for only one season, 2009 -2010. We became very close to each other. It sounds a bit crazy to say, Brazilians and Argentinians working together, but since then we've been in contact all the time. The opportunity came for Silvinho to coach the Albanian national team.
I was in Qatar at the World Cup doing some punditry stuff and I got a phone call from him asking if I wanted to be his assistant coach with Albania, and it was after two years of retirement so I was looking to go into coaching. We went together and we signed a contract with the Albanian national team. After one year and a half, we qualified for the Euros last summer, which was something incredible, huge for the country, a very good experience. After that we extended our contract to do the World Cup qualifiers. Now we're fighting for that second spot to see if we get a chance to go to the play-offs.
Do you want to be a manager yourself?
I'm enjoying this moment. I'm learning. It's a very difficult job. You have to be well prepared. You have to be ready. That is a learning process for me, to experience different things. It's not only about coaching but you see how you have to manage maybe 25 different personalities, and for me it's something I'm learning, and why not? Just step by step, like I say, if one day the chance comes to be a head coach or to continue into coaching or management … but at the moment, I'm enjoying it.
You played 58 times for Argentina, the team looks really strong right now after easing through qualification for 2026. How do you rate their chances of retaining the World Cup next summer?
Very good, I think even after all the success, winning the World Cup and that period of being 39 games unbeaten, you can still see that the players have the hunger and the competitiveness to continue to do well for the national team. [There is] a new generation coming through, but being led by Otamendi, Messi, De Paul, Paredes. I'm quite optimistic about Argentina for the World Cup. Being realistic, I think we need to enjoy it because it probably could be Messi's last World Cup and hopefully he still has that moment of magic to win games and win the World Cup again. Why not?
Messi is in MLS but still seems to be performing well, scoring lots of goals for Inter Miami. How do you assess his level?
I think if you watch [Inter Miami] it's a bit similar to what we can see in the national team. Messi surrounded by players that want to do well for Messi. They want to run as much as they can for Messi. And then he's the main man for those moments of magic or that creativity he brings into the team, that if you let Messi get the ball in the final third outside the box, he's still really good or good enough to dribble past two, three players and just put the ball in the top corner.
We don't have the Messi of five years ago that maybe he can drop deep and get the ball, you know, on the halfway line and just run as before. But I think if the team manage to find a way to let Messi rest off the ball, but then when they get the ball back in possession, they can find him in a good position, he still can do the rest. He still has that quality to win games, to score goals. At the end of the day, that's all you need at the World Cup is to win games.
Just lastly, no interview would be complete without mentioning 2012, one of the most remarkable title races and turnarounds we have ever seen…
I think around March or something like that we were 12 points behind Manchester United. And then when we won that game at the Etihad 1-0 [against United], when Vincent Kompany scored a header, that gave us belief. That's when I thought 'we're gonna win it'. Then obviously that crazy day against QPR, that was incredible. I scored the forgotten goal [to make it 1-0]. That game brings me a lot of great memories.
That Aguero goal (to win the game 3-2 after trailing 2-1 going into stoppage time) is something that we will never forget in our life. Players, fans, that is a moment in the history of the club that [people] will probably say was the turning point for the club. That game, winning that Premier League, was something massively important - and the rest is history.
It was a moment of joy, of excitement in the dressing room. What I remember is just a moment when you see people from the club who have been working [there] from the very beginning. They couldn't believe it. They didn't expect to be winning the Premier League. And that was a little bit my feeling as well. I went to Man City when it was a different club, different team, and I didn't expect to win anything. And then a few days after, I see players coming in, and then winning the Premier League, something big, something that I think many players have a dream of. That was a special moment.
