Ángel M. Lekumberri García (born 21 January 1970), also spelled Ángel Lekunberri, 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 lea ...

who played as an

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. In a career spanning almost two decades, he played with a variety of clubs in all of Spain's top four divisions, and made 199 appearances in

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 ...

during spells with Compostela and

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

, scoring six goals.

Club career

Lekumberri was born in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, the capital of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, but began his career with Asturian club

Langreo Langreo () or Llangréu () ( Asturian) is a municipality and town in northern Spain, in Asturias. It is the 4th largest town of Asturias with 43,000 inhabitants. Langreo is located in the centre of Asturias, approximately south-east of Oviedo. I ...

. He made his debut 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 ...

towards the end of the 1987–88 season, becoming a regular member of the team the following year. Langreo were relegated at the end of 1990–91, but Lekumberri left to join

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 ...

. He spent three seasons with Bilbao, playing exclusively with their B team in the

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 ...

. His strong performances earned him a move in the summer of 1994 to newly promoted

side Compostela, and he made his top flight debut on 11 September in a 2–2 away draw with

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

Estadio Carlos Tartiere Estadio Municipal Carlos Tartiere is a multi-use stadium in Oviedo, Spain. With a capacity of 30,500 seats, it is the 17th-largest stadium in Spain and the largest in Asturias. The new Carlos Tartiere replaced a former stadium (built in 1932) o ...

. He was a key part of the Compostela team for the whole of their four-year stay in the top division, before they were relegated after losing a

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 ...

at the end of the 1997–98 season. He continued to represent the side for two seasons in the second tier, before returning to La Liga with his hometown club

in 2000. He enjoyed two strong seasons, but played only three times in the first half of 2002–03, so he left to join Levante in the January transfer window. Levante were promoted as Segunda División champions in 2003–04, but Lekumberri didn't make a single appearance in the league that year, and left the club at the end of the season. After leaving Levante, Lekumberri returned to his first club, Langreo, who were now playing in the

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 ...

. He spent two years with Langreo, and one with fellow Tercera División club

Cudillero Cudillero ( Asturian: ''Cuideiru'') is a municipality in the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Nowadays, Cudillero's main economic activities are related to tourism, but it is also known for its fishing industry. A legend says that it was founded b ...

, before retiring in 2007 at the age of 37.

International career

Despite being born in

, Lekumberri appeared once for the Basque Country representative side, in a 3–2 win over

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 2000.

Personal life

Lekumberri's brother Francisco, younger by four years, was also a footballer. He played as a defender, and represented

Siero Siero is a municipality of the autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. With a population of 52,194 as of 2023, Siero is the fourth most populous municipality in Asturias. It has a total of 29 parishes, with the largest being Lugones ...

during the 2000–01 season.

Career statistics

Honours

Levante *

: 2003–04

References

External links

* *
Ángel Lekunberri
at Athletic Club {{DEFAULTSORT:Lekumberri, Angel 1970 births Living people Footballers from Pamplona Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Basque Country men's international footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players UP Langreo footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers SD Compostela footballers CA Osasuna players Levante UD footballers