Andoni Iraola Sagarna (, ; born 22 June 1982) is a Spanish retired 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, rugb ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, currently

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 activitie ...

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

. Combative and with good passing skills, he spent the vast majority 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 football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los L ...

, appearing in 510 competitive matches over 12 seasons.

Playing career

Club

Athletic Bilbao

Iraola was born in

Usurbil , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = BasqueSpanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ...

. A product of

's youth system at Lezama after joining from

Antiguoko Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea (Sport Club of Antiguo in English) is an amateur youth Spanish football club based in Antiguo, a part of San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, Spain. It acts as feeder club to Athletic Bilbao, having previously had the ...

, he made his debut with the first team in the 2003–04 season, becoming an instant first choice while often taking

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

and free kicks. On 30 August 2003, he made his first

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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

appearance, starting in a 1–0 home loss against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

, and his five goals in 30 appearances helped the team qualify for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. During his 12 seasons, Iraola never played in fewer than 30 league matches, scoring in all but one league campaign – like former club legend

Aitor Larrazábal Aitor Larrazábal Bilbao (born 21 June 1971) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played solely for Athletic Bilbao, currently manager of Gernika Club. A left-back of attacking penchant, he appeared in 445 competitive matches for h ...

, who played as a left-back– while also helping the Basque side finish second in three

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 footb ...

tournaments and the

2011–12 UEFA Europa League The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with t ...

. On 28 January 2007, he netted twice in a 2–0 away win over neighbours

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...

, who were finally relegated; Athletic narrowly avoided the drop, ranking in 17th position. He played his first cup final in 2009, a 4–1 loss to Barcelona at

Mestalla Mestalla Stadium ( es, Estadio de Mestalla , ca-valencia, Estadi de Mestalla ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia Club de Fútbol and has a capacity of 48,600 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium i ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, and three years later helped them finish runners-up in both the domestic cup and the Europa League. 2012–13 marked the first year where Iraola failed to find the net in the league, but he continued to be the side's first-choice in his position as he featured in 35 games. His only goal of the season came on 24 August 2012 in a 6–0 home rout of

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history i ...

in the

playoff round 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 ...

of 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. ...

(9–3 on aggregate). Iraola renewed his contract with the club on 4 December 2013, keeping him at the San Mamés until 30 June 2015. In the 24th minute of his last league appearance 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, ...

in May 2015,

Aritz Aduriz Aritz Aduriz Zubeldia (; ; born 11 February 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career with Athletic Bilbao, scoring 172 goals across all competitions for the team over three spells ...

offered him the taking of a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

but he declined, so the former converted it instead; the two players then combined for Iraola to score from open play four minutes later. He captained the team in his last match, the

2015 Copa del Rey Final The 2015 Copa del Rey Final was an association football match on 30 May 2015 to decide the winner of the 2014–15 Copa del Rey, the 113th edition of Spain's premier football cup since its establishment (including two seasons where two rival e ...

which was lost 3–1 to Barcelona.

New York City

On 16 June 2015, aged 33, Iraola moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

club

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

. He made his debut against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

at the

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

on 12 July, playing the entirety of a 4–4 draw. Iraola announced his retirement on 17 November 2016.

International

On 20 August 2008, Iraola was called by new

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

coach

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

for a friendly with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, alongside teammate Fernando Amorebieta. He entered the pitch in the final 15 minutes of the 3–0 away victory, coming in as a substitute for

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. Known for his aggressive play, he is widely regarded as one of the g ...

. On 29 March 2011, after nearly one and a half years without playing for the national team, Iraola started in a 3–1 defeat of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Traka ...

for the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

qualifiers. He was due to make the cut for the final squad, but injury forced him out in favor of

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...

's Juanfran. Iraola played on the Basque representative side for a full decade, having debuted late on in a 2–1 win over

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

on 27 December 2003.

Coaching career

Iraola was appointed manager of Cypriot club

AEK Larnaca FC AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

on 18 June 2018, succeeding compatriot Imanol Idiakez. He was sacked the following 14 January, after nearly two months without winning a single match. On 10 July 2019, Iraola replaced departed Borja Jiménez at the helm of

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 '' ...

, newly promoted to

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 L ...

. He took the team to the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup for the second time in their 92-year history, notably disposing of top-tier sides

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 ...

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 ...

and Villarreal. On 21 July 2020, he left the club as his contract expired. Iraola remained in the second division in August 2020, taking over from

Paco Jémez Francisco "Paco" Jémez Martín (born 18 April 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a central defender. He is the manager of Iranian club Tractor. Over 11 seasons, he played 269 La Liga matches in representation o ...

. On 6 July 2021, after achieving promotion in the playoffs, he extended his contract until 2022. The following season, he again led a club to the last four of the national cup; it was the second time Rayo had achieved this, the first occasion coming 40 years earlier.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Athletic Bilbao *

runner-up: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15 *

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 ...

runner-up:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

runner-up: 2011–12

Manager

AEK Larnaca *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...

: 2018

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iraola, Andoni 1982 births Living people People from Usurbil Spanish footballers Footballers from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Antiguoko players CD Basconia footballers Bilbao Athletic footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Major League Soccer players New York City FC players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers Basque Country international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Spanish football managers Cypriot First Division managers AEK Larnaca FC managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers CD Mirandés managers Rayo Vallecano managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus

Playing career

Club

Athletic Bilbao

New York City

International

Coaching career

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

External links