Iñigo Larrainzar
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iñigo Larrainzar Santamaría | ||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Pamplona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Osasuna | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1989–1990 | Osasuna B | ||
| 1990–1993 | Osasuna | 115 | (9) |
| 1993–2003 | Athletic Bilbao | 251 | (6) |
| 2003–2005 | Córdoba | 40 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1990 | Spain U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 1991 | Spain U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | Spain U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 1994 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Iñigo Larrainzar Santamaría (born 5 June 1971 in Pamplona, Navarre) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right back.
Also a central defender on occasion, his older brother Domingo, often referred to as Larrainzar I, was also a footballer, and both played at Osasuna.[1]
Club career
A product of hometown CA Osasuna's youth ranks, Larrainzar made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 21 March 1990 in a 0–1 away loss against Rayo Vallecano, and was definitely promoted to the main squad for the following season: aged 19, he was instrumental, as brother Domingo, in helping the Navarrese finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.[2]
In the 1993 summer, Athletic Bilbao paid 200 million pesetas to acquire Larrainzar's services, then the second-highest figure by the club, and he was an undisputed starter in the seasons to come. In the 1997–98 campaign, alongside club youth graduate Aitor Larrazábal who played in the opposite flank, he featured in 34 matches and scored two goals to help the Basque to a runner-up place, with a direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League.
After some seasons battling for first-choice with younger Jesús María Lacruz, who also represented Osasuna (although they did not coincide), and also dealing with injuries, Larraínzar moved south for Córdoba CF in the second division,[3] where he played a further two seasons. He retired at the age of 34, with 366 top level appearances to his credit.
International career
Larrainzar was capped once for Spain: on 19 January 1994, he played the entire 2–2 friendly match with Portugal in Vigo.
References
- ↑ César Azpilicueta supera a Iñigo Larrainzar al llegar a los 100 partidos con sólo 20 años y 9 meses de edad (César Azpilicueta passes Iñigo Larrainzar by reaching 100 games at only 20 years and 9 months); Diario de Navarra, 6 April 2010 (Spanish)
- ↑ Aquella UEFA de hace 20 años (That UEFA from 20 years ago); Diario de Navarra, 4 October 2011 (Spanish)
- ↑ Larrainzar: "No he venido aquí para cubrir expediente y pasar de largo" (Larrainzar: "I did not come here to sow my wild oats); Diario de Córdoba, 11 February 2004 (Spanish)
External links
- BDFutbol profile
- National team data
- Athletic Bilbao profile
- Iñigo Larrainzar at National-Football-Teams.com