Iñigo Vélez de Mendizábal Fernández de Garaialde (born 15 March 1982), known as Iñigo or Vélez, 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 forward, 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 ...

Playing career

Born in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

, Vélez began his career in the lower leagues, playing for local CD Aurrerá de Vitoria and

RCD 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 ...

's B team. In the summer of 2004 he signed for SD Eibar of 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 ...

, scoring four goals in 40 games in his second season as they were eventually relegated. Íñigo competed 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 ...

with Real Murcia CF in 2007–08, in another relegation-ending campaign. He made his debut in the competition as a late substitute in a 2–0 away loss against

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

on 23 September 2007, netting two months later in the 1–1 draw at

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

. The following season, Vélez 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 ...

, but took almost no part whatsoever in the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

side's campaign (only five competitive matches). His contract was mutually terminated in late July 2009, and he joined relegated

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in , holding home games at '' Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos''. Besides football it ...

on a three-year deal, with the former club being able to re-buy in 2010 or 2011 – Athletic teammate Joseba Garmendia also made the move. Iñigo continued playing in the second tier in 2011–12, penning a two-year contract with

Xerez CD Xerez Club Deportivo S. A. D. is a Spanish association football, football club based in the city of Jerez de la Frontera. It was founded in 1947 and plays in . History Due to the link between Jerez de la Frontera and the United Kingdom created b ...

. After suffering relegation in 2013, and following an unsuccessful trial with

CD Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V. (;), nicknamed ''"Chivas"'' () and simply known as Guadalajara or internationally as Chivas de Guadalajara, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Guadalajara metropolit ...

, he decided to retire due to recurrent injury problems.

Coaching career

On 13 May 2016, Vélez was appointed manager of amateurs UD Aretxabaleta. On 2 June 2018, he signed with SD Amorebieta in the same capacity. With a 1–0

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 ...

win at CD Badajoz on 22 May 2021, he guided the team to the second division for the first time in their history. Vélez was dismissed by Amorebieta on 8 March 2022. Nearly one year later, he became CD Lugo's fourth coach of the campaign. On 16 June 2023, having been unable to prevent the

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

' relegation, Vélez signed as new coach of SD Ponferradina, who also went down to Primera Federación. He was relieved of his duties the following 18 March, after a run of one win in the last five games. On 22 December 2024, Vélez replaced Abel Gómez at the helm of

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

also in the third tier. The following 23 April, he was himself dismissed with the club in the relegation zone.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Inigo 1982 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Vitoria-Gasteiz Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players CD Aurrerá de Vitoria footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers RCD Espanyol B footballers SD Eibar footballers Real Murcia CF players CD Numancia players Xerez CD footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Primera Federación managers SD Amorebieta managers CD Lugo managers SD Ponferradina managers Recreativo de Huelva managers