Iñigo Vélez de Mendizábal Fernández de Garaialde (born 15 March 1982), known as Iñigo or Vélez, is a Spanish retired

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 forward, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Playing career

Born in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ), also alternatively spelled as Vittoria in old English-language sources, is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country and of the province of Álava in northern Spain. It holds the autonomous community' ...

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

, Vélez began his career in the lower leagues, playing for local CD Aurrerá de Vitoria and

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

. In the summer of 2004 he signed for

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in eu, Eibar Kirol Elkartea) is a professional Spanish football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the team currently plays in the Segunda División, the s ...

of the Segunda División, scoring four goals in 40 games in his second season as they were eventually relegated. Íñigo competed 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' ...

with

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...

in 2007–08, in another relegation-ending campaign. He made his debut in the competition as a late substitute in a 2–0 away loss against

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

on 23 September 2007, netting two months later in a 1–1 draw at RCD Mallorca. The following season, Vélez joined Athletic Bilbao, but took almost no part whatsoever in the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

side's campaign (only five competitive matches). His contract was mutually terminated in late July 2009, and he joined relegated

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

on a three-year deal, with the former club being able to re-buy in 2010 or 2011 – Athletic teammate

Joseba Garmendia Joseba Garmendia Elorriaga (born 4 October 1985) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Garmendia was born in Basauri, Biscay. A product of Athletic Bilbao's famed youth system, he made his first-te ...

also made the move. Iñigo continued playing in the second tier in 2011–12, penning a two-year contract with

Xerez CD Xerez Club Deportivo, known simply as Xerez, is a Spanish football team based in Jerez de la Frontera, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Xerez currently plays in Tercera División RFEF, the fifth tier of Spanish football. Founded on 24 ...

. After suffering relegation in 2013, and following an unsuccessful trial with

CD Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divisi ...

, he decided to retire due to recurrent injury problems.

Coaching career

On 13 May 2016, Vélez was appointed manager of amateurs UD Aretxabaleta. On 2 June 2018, he signed with

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 Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at '' Campo Municipal de Urritxe'', which s ...

in the same capacity. With a 1–0

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

win at CD Badajoz on 22 May 2021, he guided the team to the second division for the first time in their history. Vélez was dismissed on 8 March 2022.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Inigo 1982 births Living people Footballers from Vitoria-Gasteiz Spanish footballers Association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players CD Aurrerá de Vitoria footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers RCD Espanyol B footballers SD Eibar footballers Real Murcia players CD Numancia players Xerez CD footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers SD Amorebieta managers