Iñaki Tejada Fernández (born 19 November 1965) 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 lea ...

who played as a

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 ...

Career

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 ...

, Basque Country, Tejada joined

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 ...

's youth setup in 1979, aged 13, after starting it out at SD Iturrigorri. Promoted to the reserves in 1985, he made his professional debut on 27 April of the following year, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (; born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Re ...

in a 1–6

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 ...

home loss against

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

. After appearing sparingly, Tejada served loans at

Sestao River Club Sestao River Club is a Spanish football team based in Sestao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1996 it plays in , hosting home games at ''Estadio Las Llanas'', with a capacity of 8,905 seats. History ''Sestao River Club ...

and

SD Lemona Sociedad Deportiva Lemona was a Spanish football team based in Lemoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1923, it last played in Segunda División B – Group 2, holding home matches at '' Estadio Arlonagusia'', with a c ...

, suffering a severe

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury while at the latter. He would subsequently represent

CA Marbella Club Atlético Marbella were a Spanish football team based in Marbella, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1947 and dissolved in 1997, it served as the reserve team of CD Málaga in the past. History Atlético Marbella had its ...

CE L'Hospitalet Centre d'Esports l'Hospitalet is a Spanish football team based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1957 it currently plays in , holding home games at Estadi Municipal de Futbol de L'Hospitalet, wit ...

CF Gandía Club de Fútbol Gandía is a Spanish football team based in Gandia, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1947 it plays in , holding home matches at '' Estadio Guillermo Olagüe'', with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Season to season ...

and

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

, the latter 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 ...

. After retiring at the age of just 27 due to injuries, Tejada joined

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

's youth setup as a coach. In 1998, he was appointed

Marcelino García Toral Marcelino García Toral (; born 14 August 1965), known simply as Marcelino, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the current head coach of La Liga club Villarreal. In a ten-year senior car ...

's assistant at the club's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

, being also with the manager in the main squad. Tejada remained at ''Mareo'' after Marcelino's departure, being an assistant of both Ciriaco Cano and Manolo Preciado. On 31 January 2012, after Preciado's dismissal, he was appointed manager of the first team. Tejada was in charge of the

Asturians Asturians () are a Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage The Asturians have Celtic ( Astures) and Latin cultural origins, most notably f ...

for two matches (a 1–1 draw against

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

and a 0–4 defeat against

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

) before being replaced by

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

. Tejada was appointed

Abelardo Fernández Abelardo Fernández Antuña (; born 19 April 1970), known simply as Abelardo as a player, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central defender, currently a manager. A player with good heading and marking ability, he was also known fo ...

's assistant at Sporting B for the 2012–13 campaign. On 5 May 2014, after the manager's promotion to the first team, he remained as his second fiddle. From 2017 to 2019, he accompanied

once again, this time at Alavés. At the end of December 2019, he was appointed analyst under Abelardo at

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

. They left the club in June 2020.Pintó el descenso, pintó el despido...
ole.com.ar, 27 June 2020

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tejada, Inaki 1970 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Bilbao Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Athletic Bilbao B footballers SD Lemona footballers CA Marbella footballers CE L'Hospitalet players CD Lugo players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Sporting de Gijón managers CF Gandía players