Pablo Javier Zabaleta

An Olympic gold medal winner, Zabaleta has proved adept at both right back and in central midfield, and Roberto Mancini made full use of his experience and ability so that, despite opening 2009-10 on the bench, he eventually started 23 League games.

He had been part of the Argentina international youth set up from the age of fourteen before standing on the podium at the Beijing Games.

After captaining his country to victory in the 2005 Under 20 World Cup, Pablo crossed the Atlantic and joined Espanyol, helping the La Liga outfit to the 2007 UEFA Cup final, where they lost out on penalties to Sevilla.

Mark Hughes brought him to Manchester in August 2008 and he made his debut for the Blues in the home defeat to Chelsea on September 13. He proved versatile and durable, winning admirers amongst City fans who voted him into third place in their Player of the Season poll. He notched his only goal for the club so far in the 1-0 win over Wigan in January, 2009.

In all he made 39 starts in his first season in English football, and in the following campaign his versatility saw him cement his place as an invaluable member of the squad. Surprisingly, Argentina coach Diego Maradona did not elect to take him to the World Cup, but Pablo's wholehearted displays have seen him become a firm favourite with City's fans.