Asier Villalibre

Asier Villalibre
Personal information
Full name Asier Villalibre Molina
Date of birth (1997-09-30) 30 September 1997
Place of birth Guernica, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 12
Youth career
2011–2014 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Basconia 45 (26)
2015–2017 Bilbao Athletic 63 (14)
2016– Athletic Bilbao 6 (0)
2017 → Numancia (loan) 6 (0)
National team
2013–2014 Spain U17 9 (2)
2014–2015 Spain U18 3 (1)
2015 Spain U19 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 June 2017.

Asier Villalibre Molina (born 30 September 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao as a striker.

Club career

Born in Guernica, Biscay, Basque Country, Villalibre joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup in 2011. He made his debuts as a senior with the farm team in the 2013–14 season, scoring in his Tercera División debut at the age of 15.[1]

In May 2015, after a further 20 goals for the third side, Villalibre was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División – he had already represented them the previous campaign, in Segunda División B.[2] He made his professional debut on 24 August, coming on as a second-half substitute for Gorka Santamaría in a 0–1 home loss against Girona FC.[3]

Villalibre scored his first professional goal for Bilbao Athletic on 6 September 2015, netting the last in a 3–1 home win over RCD Mallorca.[4] At 17 years and 341 days, this made him the second-youngest goalscorer for the team when competing in the second level (behind Ander Garitano's 17 years and 198 days in 1986).[5]

On 3 December 2016, Villalibre was called up to the first team for the Basque derby against SD Eibar, with habitual first-choice Aritz Aduriz suspended after being sent off in the previous league match.[6] He made his La Liga debut the following day, replacing Iñaki Williams after 84 minutes and, having entered the pitch with a 2–1 lead, he provided the assist for Iker Muniain who netted the final 3–1 in injury time.[7]

On 8 December 2016, Villalibre appeared in his first game in European competition, again contributing with a decisive pass in a 1–1 away draw to SK Rapid Wien for the UEFA Europa League group stage, after once again having come on from the bench.[8] He was loaned out to CD Numancia on 2 May of the following year, for one month.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Villalibre: El debut soñado con 15 años" [Villalibre: A dream debut at 15 years] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Asier Villalibre, un nuevo cachorro en el Bilbao Athletic" [Asier Villalibre, a new pup at Bilbao Athletic] (in Spanish). Vavel. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "El que la sigue, la consigue" [He who wants it, gets it]. Marca (in Spanish). 24 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "El filial remonta al Mallorca y suma sus tres primeros puntos" [The reserves complete a comeback over Mallorca and get their first points]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Asier Villalibre: segundo goleador más jóven de la historia del Bilbao Athletic en 2ª División" [Asier Villalibre: second-youngest goalscorer of Bilbao Athletic's history in 2nd Division] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. ↑ San Cristóbal, Einara (3 December 2016). "Villalibre se estrena en convocatoria ante el Eibar" [Villalibre gets first selection against Eibar]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Un león a la carrera por Europa" [A lion runs loose in Europe]. Marca (in Spanish). 4 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "La semana soñada de Villalibre" [Villalibre's dream week]. El Correo (in Spanish). 9 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Asier Villalibre, nuevo jugador del C. D. Numancia" [Asier Villalibre, new player of C.D. Numancia] (in Spanish). CD Numancia. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
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