Ainhoa Tirapu

Ainhoa Tirapu
Personal information
Full nameAinhoa Tirapu de Goñi
Date of birth4 September 1984
Place of birthPamplona, Navarre, Spain
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Club information
Current team
Athletic Bilbao
Number1
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
Lagunak
2005Puebla
2005–Athletic Bilbao164(0)
National team
2007–Spain42
2006–Basque Country4
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Tirapu and the second or maternal family name is de Goñi.

Ainhoa Tirapu de Goñi (born 4 September 1984) is a football goalkeeper who plays for Primera División club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain women's national football team.

Club career

Tirapu began her career in SD Lagunak and played in the 2005 Copa de la Reina for CF Puebla. She then signed for Athletic Bilbao, who had just won their third Superliga Femenina in a row, as a replacement for the retiring Eli Capa.[1] In August 2005 she played her first match for Athletic in the 2005–06 UEFA Women's Cup's qualifying stage; a 6–2 victory over Scottish champions Glasgow City.

From 2006 she was Athletic's first choice goalkeeper. Tirapu has won one Primera División title with Athletic, in 2006–07.

International career

In 2002 Tirapu was part of the Spanish national under-19 squad which competed in the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship finals in Sweden.[2]

Tirapu made her senior Spain women's national football team debut in the second game of the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying series; a 2–2 draw against the Czech Republic in Plzeň on 27 October 2007.[3] She remained as Spain's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the stage, which ended in a 4–0 play-off defeat to the Netherlands. She also retained the position during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification campaign.

In June 2013 national team coach Ignacio Quereda selected Tirapu in the Spain squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in Sweden.[4] She was a mainstay of the team which negotiated the group stage before being beaten 3–1 by Norway in the quarter final.

She has also represented the Basque Country women's national football team.[5]

Personal life

Tirapu has a degree in chemistry and a master's degree in environmental contagion and toxicology from the University of the Basque Country.[6] While playing in the youth ranks of SD Lagunak she was given the nickname "Sensi" by team mates Marta Moreno and Erika Vázquez, due to her perceived sensitivity to being hurt by the ball. The nickname remained with Tirapu throughout her career.[7]

The ex-footballer brothers Fernando Tirapu and Mariano Tirapu are distant relatives of Ainhoa.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ Martínez, Nekane (8 December 2005). "Entrevistas - Ainhoa Tirapu". aupaAthletic.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Martín, Dúnia (18 June 2013). "Sweden return excites Spain's Ainhoa". Uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Martín, Dúnia (18 June 2013). ""Esperamos disfrutar pero sobre todo competir"". Uefa.com (in Spanish). UEFA. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Spain stick with tried and trusted". Uefa.com. UEFA. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Garaipena eta festa Anoetan" (in Basque). Real Sociedad. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Almudena Cacho entrevista en 'MQP' a Ainhoa Tirapu" (in Spanish). EITB. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Entrevista a: AINHOA TIRAPU DE GOÑI guardameta del Athletic Club y de la Selección Española" (in Spanish). DMA. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ainhoa: I’ve always been a part of Athletic". athletic-club.net. Athletic Bilbao. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Ainhoa Tirapu: “Despedirme de San Mamés fue algo increíble”". Diario AS (in Spanish). 17 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.

External links