Sebastián Dubarbier: The Journey from Football Star to Rock Musician

For a professional footballer, retirement can be like taking a leap into the void. Leaving behind decades of routines and demands often generates great uncertainty and many existential questions. It was different for Sebastián Dubarbier, who many years before hanging up his boots had decided what he wanted to dedicate his life to once he left the sport: rock.

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Born in La Plata 37 years ago, Seba Dubar “arrived late” to football, in his own words. Maybe that’s why he always felt it like a job more than his ultimate passion. “When I went to try out, I didn’t plan to be a player. It was something that dawned on me,” the former midfielder who played in clubs such as Gimnasia La Plata, Olimpo, Cluj in Romania, Lorient in France, and Athletic Bilbao tells TN. Córdoba and Deportivo La Coruña from Spain, Estudiantes from La Plata and Banfield.

In parallel with his sports career, Dubarbier began to develop his hobby of music. As the years went by, he studied, became educated, and became increasingly immersed in a world that suddenly became the center of his life. Therefore, even when he was 29 years old and had a promising career in Europe, he was already thinking about when he could retire to make way for his other activity. In 2020, the pandemic and the lack of challenges that motivated him led him to take that step that he had been putting off for so long.

Sebastián Dubarbier during his time at Estudiantes de La Plata (Photo: Reuters)

The transcendental decision: “Enough of football, I want to dedicate myself to music”

“There are players who really like football, seeing tactics and that’s why they later want to be coaches. I didn’t like any of that: I just wanted to play ball. When you are a professional you have fun, but you also suffer a lot because you have millions of responsibilities,” says Dubarbier.

Inside the locker room, he was not like others and sometimes his teammates pointed it out to him: “When I was in Estudiantes, (Israel) Damonte and Chapu Braña said that I didn’t care about anything, that I lost and left as if nothing had happened. But it wasn’t like that: I explained to them that I had already left everything on the field. If I had made a mistake and had harmed my teammates, I was angry with myself. The thing is that I didn’t notice it. “I enjoyed the moment of finishing the game, getting home and relaxing, it wasn’t so verbose and it didn’t drive me crazy.”

“Competitiveness and all those things that led me to say ‘enough of this, I want that’ are very stressful. Many find it difficult to leave football because they feel empty afterwards and don’t know what to do: music found me along the path of football and it flowed,” he said about the transition to stopping being a footballer.

The beginnings of Sebastián Dubarbier’s career were at Gimnasia La Plata (Photo: AP)

At 34 years old, an age when other players are very active and with great sporting challenges, Sebastián put an end to that stage of his life and gave way to Seba Dubar, the guitarist, singer and composer. “I was preparing myself: when I left football I wanted to be able to do something acceptable,” he says.

Music, a new facet in your life

Settled again in La Plata, Dubarbier ventured into business: he has a brewery and a brewery, and is part of the family company that is dedicated to the production of veterinary syringes. However, most of her time and energy are put into his career as a musician.

Asked about his influences, he does not hesitate: Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, the Rolling Stones, AD/DC, Las Pastillas del Abuelo and Guasones. The one who keeps a special place in his heart is Fito Páez: “I was six years old in 1992 when I heard ‘Love After Love’ and I became a fan.”

In 2021 he released some singles and in 2022 his first album was released: “Rompecambios”, which he presented with a show on February 19 of that year, his birthday. Immediately after, she began to compose new songs and recently released “Descontrol”, a work that will be released on February 23 on The Roxy (Colegiales). Facundo Lizondo will be on drums, Federico Pesci on guitar and Matías Lucietti on bass.

Sebastián Dubarbier in his new role as a musician (Photo: Instagram / @sebadubar)

“I compose all the songs and work on them with the band and a producer. I have been writing since I was 24 or 25 years old. It is a world that I love,” she highlighted. And, about the composition process, he detailed: “Sometimes I start and only then do I realize what came out: ‘Rompecambios’ was an album with a selection of pieces that talk about leaving football, about coming back to Argentina.” . For example, ‘My stars’ talks about my children, ‘Walking Dead’ about the pandemic and ‘Slave’ about my semi-sad moments.”

Regarding the experience of being on stage, he was clear: “The first time I was very nervous, but now I get along better and try to let go. Nerves on stage are the worst thing that can happen to you: up there it is always best to relax and enjoy singing because the idea is to convey to the audience as best as possible those sensations that I had when I wrote the songs.”

The show will have special guests who will be announced closer to the date. What is certain is that Sebastián will be accompanied by his three children and his partner, Alita, the mother of his youngest child and daughter of the remembered Alejandro Sabella. The coach of the Argentine National Team in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil came to enjoy the music of his son-in-law. “He showed him my songs and played them,” recalls the former soccer player.

You might think that the affection of the public could be similar on a field or on stage. However, with humor, Sebastián makes the difference: “Being a soloist, in music the attention is more on oneself and it is individual. In football there are more insults and insults than applause…”

Sebastián Dubarbier played with his band at the 118th anniversary of Estudiantes (Photo: Instagram / @sebadubar)

But he highlights: “There were clubs where they loved me a lot. For example, when I returned to Córdoba in Spain from France, they welcomed me to more than 1,000 people. That is similar to music because they are going to cheer and you try to return it on the field. That also happens on stage.”

And, when asked if the adrenaline that is felt when playing is the same as that produced when scoring a goal, it is clear: “I think it is more beautiful to be on stage. The truth is that I liked giving assists more (laughs). Being on stage singing is something that has always been my dream since I was a kid when I went to recitals. I wanted to be up there and today I am fulfilling it. I try to grow and take short steps with clear objectives, I am on the path…”

2024-02-10 21:16:40
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