Jorge Azkoitia
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jorge Azkoitia Gabiola | ||
| Date of birth | 27 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1996 | Sestao | ||
| 1996–2001 | Alavés | 111 | (11) |
| 2001–2004 | Rayo Vallecano | 67 | (6) |
| 2004–2005 | Elche | 35 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | Eibar | 35 | (11) |
| 2006–2009 | Alicante | 98 | (15) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Jorge Azkoitia Gabiola (born 27 April 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Football career
Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Azkoitia started playing professionally with local Sestao Sport Club in the third division, but eventually helped to the club's promotion to the second level. However, the team was relegated back in 1996, and he moved to Basque neighbours Deportivo Alavés.
At Alavés, Azkoitia proved essential in the 1997–98 season, appearing in 39 games and scoring four goals in an eventual La Liga return after a four-decade absence. He was relatively used in the following years, but had few opportunities in the 2000–01 campaign as Alavés achieved an historical runner-up position in the UEFA Cup.
Afterwards Azkoitia joined Rayo Vallecano, being scarcely used in his first season. He was an important first-team element in the next two, but the Madrid side dropped two consecutive divisions and he was sent off four times combined.
Subsequently, Azkoitia served second division spells with Elche CF and SD Eibar – in 2005–06 he netted a career-best 11 goals, but the latter were relegated. He then joined Alicante CF for the following season, helping it to a 2008 promotion to the second tier.
In the 2008–09 season Azkoitia was once again instrumental for Alicante, scoring nine goals in 33 league matches, but the Valencian were immediately relegated back. He subsequently retired from football at the age of 35, with professional totals of 310 games and 39 goals.