Beñat Etxebarria Urkiaga (, ; born 19 February 1987), known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

ously as Beñat, is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He spent the better part of his professional career with

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, appearing in 242 competitive matches and scoring 11 goals while winning the 2015 Supercopa de España. In

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

, he also represented Betis. Beñat earned four

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Spain national team.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Beñat was born in

Igorre Igorre is a municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , nationa ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. Coming through

's prolific youth ranks at

Lezama Lezama is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao, and is accessible by bus - Bizka ...

, he played his first three years with both the third team, CD Basconia, and the reserve side. On 29 October 2006, he appeared in his first – and only –

game, which consisted of six minutes against

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...

in a 1–1 away draw after replacing another youth product, Francisco Yeste.

Betis

In 2008–09, Beñat played with

UB Conquense UB or Ub may refer to: Organizations *Basel University Library, german: Bibliothek der Universität Basel, abbreviated UB. * UltimateBet, a defunct online poker site * Ungermann-Bass, a computer networking company in California *United Biscuits, ...

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

, after which he was released by Athletic. In the summer he signed with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

, but spent his first season with the reserves also in the third tier. Beñat made his debut for Betis' main squad on 29 August 2010, playing 20 minutes in the 4–1 home win against

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

and being involved in the play that led to Salva Sevilla's goal. Three days later he scored in his first start, a 2–1 home victory over

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and blac ...

in the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

. In the league campaign he contributed 36 matches (30 starts, 2.521 minutes of action) as the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

ns returned to the top flight after three years, netting four times. On 2 May 2012, Beñat scored twice for his fifth and sixth goals of the season, in a 2–1 defeat of

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

for the

local derby Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

. The winner came in the 90th minute. Beñat scored the game's only goal in a 1–0 home win over

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

on 24 November 2012, with a shot from outside the 18-yard box in the 17th minute. He finished the campaign with 34 games, four goals and seven assists, helping the club finish seventh and qualify to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Athletic return

Beñat returned to Athletic Bilbao in June 2013, signing a five-year contract for a reported fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

8 million. On 16 September, he took the first touch at the new San Mamés Stadium against

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

and scored the 3–2 winner; he was substituted to a standing ovation, and dedicated his performance to his grandparents. On 14 April 2016, Beñat was the only player to miss in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

against compatriots Sevilla in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Following the appointment of manager

José Ángel Ziganda José Ángel 'Cuco' Ziganda Lakunza (born 1 October 1966) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-forward. He is the current manager of SD Huesca. He played 381 La Liga matches over the course of 12 seasons (111 g ...

for the 2017–18 season, he began featuring less regularly. In July 2020, Athletic confirmed that Beñat's contract would not be extended beyond that summer, although the departure was delayed beyond its usual June expiry after the season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Spain The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Island ...

. His contribution (along with long-serving colleague

Mikel San José Mikel San José Domínguez (; ; born 30 May 1989) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or centre-back. After starting out at Liverpool's reserves San José joined Athletic Bilbao in 2009, initially on ...

, also leaving in similar circumstances) was acknowledged at the last home fixture on 16 July 2020 in an empty San Mamés– he was in the matchday squad but did not leave the bench, with his last appearance five months earlier; he had been involved in the side's run to the Spanish Cup final, but the circumstances of the delay and the end of his spell at the club meant he would have no opportunity to take part in the decisive match.

Macarthur

Beñat moved abroad for the first time at the age of 33, joining Australian

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

newcomers

Macarthur FC Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). On ...

on 13 November 2020. Both he and his compatriot and former Athletic teammate

Markel Susaeta Markel Susaeta Laskurain (, ; born 14 December 1987) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right winger. He spent almost the entirety of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao after making his debut with the first team in 2007, ...

retired at the end of the campaign, aged 34.

International career

Beñat played with the Spanish youth teams at under-17 level. He made his debut for the full side on 26 May 2012, playing 45 minutes in a 2–0 friendly win with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

and thus becoming the first Betis player since

Juanito Juanito is a given name or nickname, meaning "Little Juan" or Johnny. Notable people with the name include: Professional footballers * Juan Ignacio Gomez Taleb (born 1985), Argentinian forward * Juan Díaz Sánchez (1948–2013), Spanish forwa ...

to don the national team shirt, nearly four years later.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Betis *

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

: 2010–11 Athletic Bilbao *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benat Etxebarria 1987 births Living people People from Arratia-Nerbioi Sportspeople from Biscay Spanish footballers Footballers from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CD Basconia footballers Bilbao Athletic footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers UB Conquense footballers Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers Real Betis players A-League Men players Macarthur FC players Spain youth international footballers Spain international footballers Basque Country international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Australia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Australia