Aitor Larrazábal Bilbao (born 21 June 1971) is a Spanish former 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 played solely for

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 ...

, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. 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 ...

of attacking penchant, he appeared in 445 competitive matches for his only club and was also 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. ...

specialist, scoring at least one

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 ...

goal in 13 of his 14 seasons.

Playing career

Larrazábal was born in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

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 ...

. Having joined

's youth ranks at 11, he started playing professionally with its reserves 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 ...

, and made his first-team debut on 2 September 1990 in a 1–0 away loss against

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, finishing his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

with 18 games. From then onwards, Larrazábal was an undisputed starter for the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

, scoring and assisting alike. In the 1997–98 season, as Bilbao finished runners-up, he scored a career-best seven league goals, being instrumental as his team qualified for the subsequent edition of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, where he featured, for instance, in both group stage draws against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, although they eventually ranked last. After the emergence of

Asier del Horno Asier del Horno Cosgaya (born 19 January 1981) is a retired Spanish footballer who primarily played in the left back position. He initially gained prominence during his stint with Athletic Bilbao, where he featured in 126 official matches over ...

(another

Lezama Lezama is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao, and is accessible by bus - Bizka ...

youth graduate) in the 2002–03 campaign, Larrazábal still featured prominently in his last two seasons – 36 matches, three goals – but eventually retired from the game in May 2004 at the age of 33, after a two-decade link with a sole club.

Coaching career

Larrazábal subsequently became a coach: after starting in amateur football, he joined lowly

Lemona Lemoa () is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Sports * SD Lemona (Football) in ''Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was ...

(Basque Country) from

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 ...

in 2009, leading the side to the sixth position in his first year and narrowly missing out on play-off qualification. After a second season in Lemoa in which the team reached the final of the

Copa Federación de España The Copa Real Federación Española de Fútbol, popularly known as the Copa Federación (Federation Cup) or Copa RFEF, is a Spanish football competition organised by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). It has been held since the 1993−9 ...

, he returned to Athletic Bilbao to take up a position as

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

, following the election of former teammate Josu Urrutia as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

in July 2011. In 2013, a reorganisation of functions at the club saw Larrazábal take over responsibility for its

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

, with José María Amorrortu (the

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

) focusing on the senior team. The former resigned from the position in summer 2015, citing professional differences and a desire to return to managerial roles. In April 2016, Larrazábal became manager of third-tier

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

for a short spell, and although they only collected two points from his three games in charge, it was enough to successfully steer them away from the relegation zone by the end of the campaign. For the following season he moved back to the Basque Country, taking control of

Amorebieta Amorebieta-Etxano, also known as Zornotza ( Spanish, ''Amorebieta-Echano''), is a town and municipality located in Biscay in the Basque Country, an Autonomous Community in northern Spain. At the time of the 2019 census, the population of the mun ...

of the same league; they escaped relegation by a single point. Larrazábal was appointed at

Barakaldo Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...

in the same division in June 2017. Three years later, following a brief spell at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, he returned to his previous club. On 28 December 2020, Larrazábal was replaced by his assistant Germán Beltrán, but continued in his role of sporting director. He returned to management in June 2022, joining

Segunda Federación Segunda Federación, previously called Segunda RFEF, also officially known as Segunda B, is the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system containing 90 teams divided into five groups. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Fede ...

side

Gernika Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

and leaving at the end of 2022–23. Larrazábal moved to the

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

with Logroñés on 26 December 2023. In May 2024, he became Gernika's new sporting director.

Personal life

Larrazábal's son, Gaizka, is also a footballer. A

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

by position, in summer 2017 he joined Athletic Bilbao (being assigned to the reserves) from

Zamudio Zamudio is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Lycée Français de Bilbao, the French international school of the Bilbao metropolitan area The Bilbao Metr ...

, having played against the Amorebieta team managed by his father during the preceding season.

Managerial statistics

References

External links