Imanol García de Albéniz Crecente (born 8 June 2000), sometimes known simply as Imanol, is a Spanish 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 lea ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

club

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

Career

Imanol was born in Gallarta,

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, Basque Country, and joined

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

's Lezama youth academy in 2010 from hometown side CD Gallarta. He made his senior debut with the farm team on 26 August 2018, starting and scoring his team's second in a 2–2

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

home draw against

SD Deusto Sociedad Deportiva Deusto is a Spanish football team based in Deusto (Greater Bilbao), in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1913, it plays in the , holding home games at '' Campo de Fútbol de Etxezuri'', with a capacity of ...

. Imanol was promoted to the reserves in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

ahead of the 2019–20 season, and immediately became a regular starter for the side. He renewed his contract with the ''Lions'' until 2025 on 5 March 2021, and moved to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Miranda de Ebro, Province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 3 May 1927, the club competes in the Segunda División ...

on a one-year loan deal on 1 July, along with

Iñigo Vicente Iñigo Vicente Elorduy (born 6 January 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for LaLiga 2 club Racing de Santander. Club career Born in Derio, Biscay, Basque Country, Vicente started his career at Athletic Bilb ...

. Imanol made his professional debut on 16 August 2021, starting in a 0–0 away draw against

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

. He scored his first professional goal seven days later, netting his team's second in a 2–0 home win over

SD Amorebieta Sociedad Deportiva Amorebieta is a Spanish football team based in Amorebieta-Etxano, in the Basque Country. Founded in 1925, it currently plays in , holding home games temporarily at the Lezama Facilities outside Bilbao (its own ground '' Campo ...

. On 14 July 2022, Imanol was loaned to

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in ) is a Spanish football league teams, Spanish professional football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the men’s te ...

in the second division for the season. In February 2023, he suffered an

Achilles tendon rupture Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult. Rupture of the ...

, being sidelined for the remainder of the campaign. Back to Athletic in July 2023, Imanol was definitely assigned to the first team during the pre-season, and made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut for the club as a second-half substitute on the opening matchday of the 2023–24 season, a 2–0 loss to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

at San Mamés. On 16 July 2024, Imanol joined

club

for an undisclosed fee.

Career statistics

Honours

Athletic Bilbao *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

* * * 2000 births Living people People from Abanto y Ciérbana-Abanto Zierbena Footballers from Biscay Spanish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Czech First League players CD Basconia footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers CD Mirandés footballers SD Eibar footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers AC Sparta Prague players Basque Country men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic 21st-century Spanish sportsmen {{Spain-footy-defender-stub