| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Óscar Vales Varela | ||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1994 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1991 | Baskonia | 1 | (0) |
| 1994 | Bilbao Athletic | 14 | (0) |
| 1994–2005 | Athletic Bilbao | 178 | (1) |
| 1997–1999 | → Celta (loan) | 58 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Gatika | ||
| 1991–2005 | Total | 251 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1993 | Spain U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 1993 | Spain U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Spain U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Basque Country | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Óscar Vales Varela (born 13 September 1974 in Bilbao, Biscay) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a utility defender, and sometimes as a defensive midfielder.
Still in his teens, Vales appeared once for CD Baskonia, as the Basque club was in Segunda División B, and still not acting as Athletic Bilbao's feeder team, which only took place in 1997. Aged 17, he was purchased by Athletic and finished his football formation there.
After a handful of matches for the reserves, Vales made his first-team debut on 6 April 1994, playing as a defensive midfielder for a 0–3 loss at Real Oviedo; in the following decade, he would almost never be an automatic first-choice for Bilbao, but managed to appear regularly, in various defensive positions. On 6 December 1994, he scored a rare goal, at Parma AC for the season's UEFA Cup, but the Basque lost it 2–4 and 3–4 on aggregate.
Vales was loaned for two years to fellow La Liga side Celta de Vigo, playing UEFA Cup in his second season. In the 1999 summer, he returned to Athletic, managing to appear regularly in three seasons during his second spell. However, after only two matches combined from 2003–05, he decided to retire from the game, aged 30.
In 2008–09, after three seasons out of football, Vales joined longtime Athletic Bilbao teammate Aitor Larrazábal at regional side Gatika, the latter acting as manager. After one season, he retired for good, having appeared in 236 matches in Spain's top division.