| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Antonio Pikabea Larrarte | ||
| Date of birth | 26 September 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | San Sebastián, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Hondarribia FT | |||
| 1987–1988 | Real Sociedad | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988–1992 | San Sebastián | ||
| 1992–2003 | Real Sociedad | 292 | (10) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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José Antonio Pikabea Larrarte (born 26 September 1970) is a retired Spanish professional footballer who played as a central defender.
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Born in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Pikabea joined Real Sociedad's youth system at the age of 17, going on to play four seasons with the reserves. On 8 March 1992, he made his La Liga debut, playing 21 minutes in a 2–1 away win against Valencia CF,[1] his first appearance being handed by Welsh manager John Toshack.
Still under Toshack, Pikabea became an undisputed starter for the Gipuzkoa outfit from 1992–93 onwards. In the 1997–98 season, he only missed two league games (3,214 minutes of action) as the club finished in third position, thus qualifying to the UEFA Cup.
During most of his spell, Pikabea often partnered another Real Sociedad youth graduate, Loren. A continuous loss of form made him appear in only six games in his penultimate season (again under Toshack, who was having his third stint as club manager), and none whatsoever in his last, with French Raynald Denoueix as coach; he retired in June 2003 at nearly 33, having appeared in 313 official games for his only club.