Mikel San José
 San José in action for Liverpool in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mikel San José Domínguez | ||
| Date of birth | 30 May 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Pamplona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Chantrea | |||
| 2005–2007 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007–2010 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | → Athletic Bilbao (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2010– | Athletic Bilbao | 137 | (18) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2008 | Spain U19 | 16 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Spain U21 | 8 | (1) |
| 2012 | Spain U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 2014– | Spain | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 April 2015. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Mikel San José Domínguez (born 30 May 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao mainly as a central defender.
After starting out at Liverpool's reserves he joined Athletic Bilbao in 2009, initially on loan, and went on to make over 150 appearances for the club in La Liga.
San José won European Championships with Spain at under-19 and under-21 level. He also represented the country at the 2012 Olympics, and made his senior international debut in 2014.
Club career
Early years / Liverpool
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, San José progressed through the youth teams at Athletic Bilbao in the neighbouring Basque Country, playing for the Juvenil B team and moving to the A's in the 2006–07 season, where he made 27 appearances and scored five goals.[1]
Aged just 18, he signed a three-year contract with Liverpool, in August 2007, and subsequently played regularly for the reserves, in 2007–08[2] and 2008–09.[3]
Athletic return
In August 2009 San José returned to Bilbao on a season-long loan, to gain more first-team experience.[4] He was awarded the number 12 shirt, making his debut on 17 September 2009 in a 3–0 group stage home win against FK Austria Wien for the UEFA Europa League.[5] It was reported in early November 2009 that he was frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities, and that if this did not improve he would look to shorten the loan agreement and move either back to Liverpool or on loan to another club in January 2010;[6] on the 8th he finally made his La Liga debut, playing the last minute of the 2–0 win at Racing de Santander, and finished the campaign with 30 overall appearances, netting three times.
On 19 May 2010 San José was signed permanently by Athletic, for five years.[7] In his first year he was periodically charged with penalty-taking by manager Joaquín Caparrós, replacing longtime incumbent Andoni Iraola.
On 5 December 2010, in his first Basque derby, against Real Sociedad, San José committed a penalty which resulted in the first goal, and scored in his own net in the beginning of the second half, for the game's final 2–0 at the Anoeta Stadium.[8] The following season, he was an unused substitute in the Copa del Rey and the Europa League finals, both lost.
San José finished the 2012–13 campaign with six goals all competitions comprised, netting five goals in the league as the Lions finished 12th, and was often utilized as a defensive midfielder by coach Marcelo Bielsa.[9] His other successful strike was his first in a European competition, in a 3–3 draw at HJK Helsinki for the Europa League play-off round second leg.[10]
San José scored the first-ever goal for Athletic Bilbao at the new San Mamés Stadium (second overall) on 16 September 2013, netting from close range in a 3–2 win over Celta de Vigo.[11][12] He began to be overshadowed by fellow youth graduate Aymeric Laporte, however.
On 25 November 2014 San José scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, the only one in a group match away to FC Shakhtar Donetsk – nonetheless, the opponents advanced at Athletic's expense.[13]
International career
San José was part of the Spanish team who captured the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Having made 16 appearances in that category, he progressed to the under-21s in early 2009.[14]
On 29 August 2014, San José was named by full side manager Vicente del Bosque in a 23-man squad for matches against France and Macedonia in September.[15] He made his debut on 4 September, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 friendly loss to the former.[16]
Honours
Club
- Athletic Bilbao
- UEFA Europa League: Runner-up 2011–12
- Copa del Rey: Runner-up 2011–12
Country
- Spain U21
- Spain U19
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2009–10 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 3 |
| 2010–11 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | 24 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
| 2012–13 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 6 | |
| 2013–14 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| 2014–15 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 6 | |
| Total | 151 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 24 | 5 | 193 | 25 | |
References
- ↑ "San José player profile". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ↑ "Liverpool Results 2007–08". Liverweb. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ↑ "Liverpool Results 2008–09". Liverweb. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ↑ "Mikel San José, cedido al Athletic Club" [Mikel San José, loaned to Athletic Club] (in Spanish). Athletic Bilbao. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ↑ "Irrepressible Athletic show their class". UEFA.com. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ↑ "San Jose frustrated in Spain". Sky Sports. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ↑ "San José drafted". Athletic Bilbao. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ↑ "Mikel San Jose horror Basque Derby debut gifts hosts easy victory". Goal.com. 5 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ↑ "San José: "No es normal que un defensa haga tantos goles"" [San José: "It's not normal for a defender to score this many goals"]. Marca. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "Group stage guaranteed". Athletic Bilbao. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ↑ "Athletic open stadium with win". ESPN FC. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ ""Seremos recordados", dice Mikel San José, autor del primer gol en el nuevo San Mamés" ["We shall be remembered", says Mikel San José, author of first goal in the new San Mamés]. Canal Athletic. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "San José shows way for Athletic at Shakhtar". UEFA.com. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- ↑ "San José international appearances". Liverweb. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ↑ "These are the players called up for the matches against France and Macedonia". Sefutbol. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ↑ "France 1–0 Spain". BBC Sport. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ↑ "San José". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ "San José". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ↑ Mikel San José at ESPN FC
External links
- Athletic Bilbao profile
- BDFutbol profile
- Mikel San José at National-Football-Teams.com
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