Victor Ibarbo has returned to Italy with Pontedera, choosing Serie D for the next step of a career that began in Colombia, found its defining home in Sardinia and took him across several continents. At 36, the Colombian forward says the move is less about revisiting old status than finding the pleasure of playing and scoring again.
Victor Ibarbo begins a new Italian chapter with Pontedera
SEO Title: Victor Ibarbo joins Pontedera and returns to Italian football
SEO Description: Former Cagliari and Roma forward Victor Ibarbo has signed for Pontedera in Serie D, reflecting on Sardinia, the 2014 World Cup and a career that took him around the world.
Ibarbo arrives after his most recent spell with Inter Palmira in Colombia’s second tier. Pontedera offered both a route back to Italian football and familiar people at the club: coach Peppe Mascara was once an opponent in Serie A, while sporting director Quintieri was already known to him.
“Mascara and I played against one another in Serie A, but we had always remained friends,” Ibarbo said. “I knew Quintieri too. I wanted to play in Italy again and this was the right opportunity.”
His target is straightforward: contribute goals, enjoy the game and see where the path leads. Alongside football, Ibarbo has begun studying for a course that could lead to work as an agent.
Sardinia remains the centre of his Italian story
Italy had not initially been part of Ibarbo’s plans. Before leaving Colombia at 21, Udinese had shown interest, and friends Juan Cuadrado and Duván Zapata warned him about the cold and lack of sunshine in Friuli. That concern helped point him towards Cagliari instead.
Massimo Cellino, then Cagliari president, travelled to Colombia to watch him. After a match in 2011, Cellino approached the forward, shook his hand and told him that he would become his player the following day. Ibarbo took the first available flight to Sardinia.
“I was still a very young man when I left Colombia,” he said. “Sardinia welcomed me. Cagliari will always be in my heart, and I missed everything about Italy.”
He joined a lively Cagliari dressing room containing captain Daniele Conti, Radja Nainggolan, Mauricio Pinilla and Nenê. With little Italian at first, Ibarbo became a regular target for team-mates’ jokes. Andrea Cossu and Daniele Dessena would hide in his locker and leap out when he sat down.
His first Cagliari goal came against Catania after beating Nicola Legrottaglie, Nicolás Spolli and goalkeeper Mariano Andújar. Conti had predicted before kick-off that Ibarbo would finally score.
The goal he holds closest, however, was his solo run against Antonio Conte’s Juventus in 2013. Ibarbo covered 87 metres from one penalty area to the other, passed Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Barzagli, and finished the move.
“When I turned around after scoring, my team-mates had their hands on their heads,” he recalled. “They could not believe it.”
Ibarbo made nearly 130 appearances for Cagliari and scored 15 goals. Looking back, he believes leaving the island may have been the wrong choice.
Roma, injury frustration and the memory of Astori
Cagliari sold Ibarbo to Roma in January 2015, despite interest from Inter. Rudi Garcia’s squad already included Mattia Destro, Marco Borriello, Gervinho and Seydou Doumbia, with Edin Džeko arriving later. Francesco Totti was the captain.
Ibarbo described Totti as modest and generous with younger players. The Roma captain’s instruction to Ibarbo and Gervinho was simple: keep running and the ball would arrive. “We did what he asked,” Ibarbo said.
His time in the capital did not unfold as hoped. He played 10 league matches without scoring, having arrived with physical problems after months without regular football. Ibarbo said he told the medical staff and coaching team that he was not ready, but soon suffered another injury that kept him out until March.
“I could have done better, but that is football and that is life,” he said.
Roma also reunited him with Davide Astori, his former Cagliari team-mate and close friend. Ibarbo was in Japan when he heard of Astori’s death, shortly after a match. He remembered him warmly, including a dinner in Cagliari where Astori persuaded him to try horse meat before revealing what it was hours later.
“He was a wonderful person,” Ibarbo said.
A career beyond Italy
After Roma, Ibarbo’s career became increasingly international. He played in England with Watford, returned to Atlético Nacional to take part in the Copa Libertadores, and joined Panathinaikos after Andrea Stramaccioni wanted him in Greece.
There was also a brief return to Cagliari during the winter of 2017. It lasted only a month and brought three appearances, with neither side finding the right balance. Ibarbo felt his Italian story could not end there.
Japan followed, where he played for Sagan Tosu under Massimo Ficcadenti and shared an attack with Fernando Torres. Ibarbo said their understanding worked well: he would create the runs and Torres would finish, although the Spaniard often returned the favour. Away from training and matches, sushi became a regular part of their routine.
His international career with Colombia included the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the national team reached the quarter-finals for the first time. Colombia’s tournament ended against the hosts, in the match in which Neymar left the pitch on a stretcher after a challenge from Juan Camilo Zúñiga.
Ibarbo said the Brazilian reaction after the final whistle was intense enough that Colombia’s players had to protect Zúñiga.
FIFA fame and a real-life return
For many supporters, Ibarbo’s name remains closely attached to FIFA 15, where his pace made him one of the game’s most popular players. He says that reputation has sometimes overtaken his football career.
“That video game made me more famous than my 20 years in football around the world,” he said. “It feels as if I ended up in a Hall of Fame. People send messages asking how strong I will be in the next edition.”
Despite that digital legacy, Ibarbo has never played FIFA himself. He occasionally plays Call of Duty, but says he is not especially interested in video games.
Now, the focus is on Pontedera and another Italian Sunday afternoon. Sardinia will still be waiting beyond the season: Ibarbo says he has many friends on the island and expects to return soon.
