Iñaki Goitia Peña (born 2 March 1982) is a Spanish former

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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He spent most of his professional career in Segunda División, totalling 265 appearances for Málaga B, Málaga, Betis, Mirandés and Alavés. He added 29

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' ...

matches over three seasons, in representation of the second and third clubs.

Club career

Goitia was born in

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo h ...

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 ...

. After starting with modest clubs in the Basque region, he moved in 2003–04 to Málaga CF, spending his first two years with the

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

in the Segunda División. In February 2006 he made two

appearances, in two defeats in which he conceded seven goals; the season ended in relegation, while the reserves also dropped down a tier. In 2007–08, Goitia finally won the battle for first-choice status over longtime incumbent

Francesc Arnau Francesc Xavier Arnau Grabalosa (23 March 1975 – 22 May 2021) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a 16-year professional career he played for Barcelona and Málaga, appearing in 126 La Liga games over the course of 12 seas ...

, appearing in 41 out of 42 games as the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost 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 "historical nationality". The t ...

ns returned to the top flight after two years. The following campaign, however, the latter began as the starter but, after some costly mistakes, the former was reinstated. Late during the season, despite having a contract running until 30 June 2009, Goitia refused to play against his future club

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 ...

fearing that he would be criticised if he allowed goals (as his future team was fighting to avoid relegation). The four-year deal was officialized in early June 2009, and he featured in 25 matches in his

second year Second year (also known as S2 in Scotland) is the second year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and in the Republic of Ireland, and is roughly equivalent to Year 9 in England and Wales and Year 10 (Third Form) in Northern Ireland. M ...

as they returned to the top division as champions.Un ascenso de portería a portería (A promotion from goal to goal)

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, 12 May 2011 (in Spanish) After three more seasons in division two, with

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a 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, holding home matches at ''Es ...

and

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

, Goitia retired at the age of 33 to dedicate himself to his family.La nueva vida de Goitia (Goitia's new life)

Diario Sur ''Diario Sur'' (also called ''SUR'') (English: Southern Daily) is a regional newspaper of Málaga, Spain. It is owned by the Prensa Malagueña, S.A., owned by Grupo Vocento. History and profile The newspaper was founded in February 1937. Initiall ...

, 29 November 2015 (in Spanish)

Honours

Betis * Segunda División:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goitia, Inaki 1982 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Barakaldo Men's association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Danok Bat CF players SD Amorebieta footballers Amurrio Club footballers Burgos CF footballers Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players Real Betis players CD Mirandés footballers Deportivo Alavés players Asti Leku Ikastola alumni