Player Profile - Pablo Barrera
After a topsy turvy second half of the season and barely surviving the drop, West Ham are looking busy in the transfer market and have recently completed the signing of Frederic Piquionne and Pablo Barrera to bolster their attacking options for the next season. West Ham made a decent start to the season last year but in the middle they lost their way and in no time found themselves battling for survival indulged in a relegation dog fight which they just survived.
Avram Grant has just joined the Upton Park outfit and is getting his troops ready for another season in the top flight and he knows that with his limited funds he will not be buying the likes of Torres and Drogba, nevertheless Piquionne and Barrera are proven goal scorers and will provide him with the attacking impetus that his side desperately needs.
Piquionne spent last season under the management of Grant at Portsmouth and by the looks of things it seems that Grant is a big fan of the French. Barrera on the hand has no experience in the English Premier League and has spent his entire life in his native Mexico but his impressive performances at the World Cup saw his demand in the market and West Ham were quick in snapping up the 23 year old.
Pablo Edson Barrera Acosta was born in Tlalnepantla, Mexico on June the 21st 1987. Barrera is a popular man in his country and is nick named as ‘The Dynamite’. As the nick name suggests the prolific winger has pace to burn and explosive acceleration when it comes to running with the ball, he also has an eye for goal and that exactly what West Ham needs at the moment.
The Mexican winger was signed from Pumas de la UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) where he has came through the youth ranks and established himself as a first team regular.
He was only 11 when he joined the youth ranks of the team and after coming through with flying colours he made his debut as an 18 year old in 2005. Barrera is a winger with lightening quick feet and is comfortable shooting with either and by his own admission he likes one on one situations along with skill, pace and talent that the youngster has beyond a doubt.
It was not until the 07-08 season that Barrera claimed international recognition where in 31 appearances for his club he scored 4 goals but it was his contributions in the attack that claimed more praise rather than his goal scoring record. Later in that season he suffered a ligament injury and was sidelined for almost 7 months.
He took no time in finding his feet upon his return from injury and scored 3 more times in the following 20 appearances, including one in his comeback game to help Pumas seal the Mexican Premera Division title.
Yet his most successful season for the club was the last one where he bagged 6 goals and a whole lot of assists in 13 only 13 league games and yet his momentum was disrupted but this time it was the national selectors which were calling.
In 2007 he made his debut for his country playing at the U-21 level at the 2007 World Cup held in Canada. Barrera scored two goals in the competition nothing up five appearances. Although Mexico bowed out at the last 8 stage but his performances were enough for the world scouts to take note of the emergence of an electric paced winger that had the ability to terrorize the best defences in the world.
He was called up for national duty for the senior side in October 2007 when he made his debut in a friendly against Guatemala but for his first goal he had to wait almost two years when he scored against Nicaragua in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Since then he has gone on to notch up 24 senior appearances bagging three goals but his stellar performances at the 2010 World Cup earned him global recognition at the biggest stage and it was the marauding run into the penalty area against the French that forced a veteran like Eric Abidal to concede a penalty. Mexico won that match and qualified for the next round all thanks to the dynamite.
West Ham fans will be hoping that the forward can have a similar impact for them in the Premier league as they are in desperate need of a creative spark in the midfield who can also score goals and in Barrera they might have found the answers to all their problems.
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