Iñigo Idiakez Barkaiztegi (born 8 November 1973) 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 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, and is a manager. Beginning his career at

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

, he appeared in 254 official matches during his tenure while competing in ten

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 ...

seasons (36 goals scored). In his homeland, he also represented

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 ...

clubs

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

and

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. He moved to England in 2004 at the age of 30, where he represented

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

teams

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, retiring in 2008; he played for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at under-21 and under-23 levels. Idiakez went into coaching in 2009, working at amateur level in Spain before signing with

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

from Cyprus as assistant manager. He moved back to England in 2013, taking up a youth coaching position at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He joined Derby County as first-team coach in 2016, before being appointed at Luton Town.

Playing career

Club

Spain

Idiakez was born in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) 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 department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

. In 1989 he joined local

's youth system, making his senior debut with the B-team where he shared teams with his older brother Imanol. He first appeared with the main squad on 8 November 1992 – on his 19th birthday – against

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

; he did not become a regular until 1994–95 despite that early debut, playing nearly two full seasons with the reserves 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 ...

. Subsequently, Idiakez spent a further eight top flight campaigns with the ''Txuriurdin'', going on to appear in more than 250 competitive games. During most of his spell he was a regular substitute and, in 1998–99 and 2000–01, scored a career-best seven league goals. At the end of 2001–02, having finished his contract with Real Sociedad, Idiakez signed 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 ...

, who had just been relegated to

and were in a deep financial crisis. He only spent one year with the

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

side, who finished the season penultimate, being relegated to the third level then demoted a further tier because of financial irregularities. Idiakez then moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, also from the second division. Again, his new club finished second from the bottom and was relegated at the end of the campaign.

England

In the summer of 2004,

manager

George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...

signed Idiakez up on a free transfer. He immediately adapted to the

, being named as the club's ''Player of the Season'' in his debut year as they finished in fourth place, but failed to win promotion through the play-offs; he was also included in the Championship PFA Team of the Year, having renewed his contract in April 2005 and later in August after reported advances from

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. At Derby, Idiakez played in an advanced position and took most free kicks and corners. In 2005–06, under Phil Brown first and

Terry Westley Terence Westley (born 18 September 1959) is an association football coach and manager (association football), manager. Until 2011 he was the Academy Director at Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy, Birmingham City and in July 2014 he was ...

after, the team only finished in 20th position, narrowly avoiding relegation; he ended his stint at the

Pride Park Stadium Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Derby, England, which is the home ground of English Football League club Derby County. With a capacity of 33,597, it is the 16th-largest football ground in England. Pride Park is a bus ...

with 22 competitive goals in 96 matches. On 31 August 2006, Idiakez was once again signed by Burley, moving to

for a fee of around £250,000. In March of the following year, after only a handful of appearances for the ''Saints'', he joined

on loan for a month, scoring once against

in a 3–1 away win and subsequently returning to

St Mary's Stadium St Mary's Stadium is a seated but also safe-standing football stadium in Southampton, Hampshire, England, which has been the home stadium of club Southampton since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest footbal ...

. In the 2006–07 campaign play-off semi-final, on 15 May 2007, Southampton played Derby County: after the tie finished 4–4 on aggregate at

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

the match went to a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, and Idiakez missed the crucial

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

, helping to send his former club through to the final. Southampton released Idiakez at the end of 2007–08, and the player then underwent trials with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

team

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

and

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, but was not offered a contract.

International

Idiakez played for

at under-21 level, his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

arriving on 6 June 1995 in a 4–0 victory over

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

held in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

for the

1996 UEFA European Championship The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

qualifying phase. He also participated in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, featuring three times for the quarter-finalists. Additionally, Idiakez appeared in four friendly games for the Basque Country unofficial team, scoring twice.

Coaching career

Idiakez returned to his hometown of in 2009, beginning his coaching career with the

Añorga KKE Añorga Kirol eta Kultur Elkartea (Spanish: ''Sociedad Deportiva y Cultural Añorga'') is a Spanish sports club, sports and culture club from San Sebastián settled in the city's Añorga district. Founded in 1922, it comprises association footbal ...

youth team. Later, he was in charge of non-league sides SD Euskalduna and Berio FT also in the Basque Country. In 2011, Idiakez completed his coaching qualifications when he earned the

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

. A year later, he joined his former Derby and Southampton boss Burley as assistant manager at

in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

, with the pair leaving after only two games. Idiakez returned to England in 2013, to take up the position of youth development coach at

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

, managing the under-12 to under-16 age groups. He remained there for three years, before re-joining Derby County as first-team coach in July 2016; he left the latter only two months later, following the suspension of manager

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English association football, football coach (sport), manager and former professional player. He last managed EFL Championship, Championship club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City. During his playi ...

. In September 2017, Idiakez was appointed as professional development phase lead coach at League Two's

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He returned to managerial duties on 1 December 2020, after being appointed in charge of

Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa (), better known as Cultural Leonesa or La Cultural, is a Spanish football team based in León, in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon. Founded on 5 August 1923, it currently plays in Primera División RFE ...

in his country's third division. On 1 June 2022, Idiakez was appointed in charge of

Cancún Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...

, a team that plays in

Liga de Expansión MX Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. It was founded in 2020 as part of the Mexi ...

, the Mexican second tier. On 3 May 2023, Idiakez was relocated to the youth structures of the club, for which he left the position of Cancún manager. On 20 July 2023, Idiakez joined Premier League club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

as the club's new Under-21 coach. On 28 December, he returned to his home country after being named manager of

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 ...

side

Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RF ...

, but was dismissed the following 1 April.

Honours

Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

runner-up:

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2004–05 Football League Championship

References

External links

* *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idiakez, Inigo 1973 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from San Sebastián Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Sociedad B footballers Real Sociedad footballers Real Oviedo players Rayo Vallecano players English Football League players Derby County F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's under-23 international footballers Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Spain Basque Country men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish football managers Segunda División B managers Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa managers Real Unión managers Derby County F.C. non-playing staff Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff Spanish football coaches Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff