Martín Zubimendi Ibáñez (born 2 February 1999) is a Spanish 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 plays as a

defensive midfielder 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. ...

for

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 ...

club

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, ...

and the Spain national team.

Club career

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 ...

, Basque Country, Zubimendi joined

's youth setup in 2011. He had also played for Antiguoko in the Donosti Cup between 2006 and 2013. He made his senior debut with Real Sociedad C on 27 August 2016, playing the last seven minutes in a 0–0

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 ...

home draw against

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

. On 25 July 2018, Zubimendi renewed his contract until 2022, and was definitely promoted to 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 ...

. The following 28 April, he made his first team – and

– debut, coming on as a late substitute for Rubén Pardo in a 2–1 home win over

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

. On 24 July 2020, he renewed his contract with the ''Txuri-urdin'' until 2025, being definitively promoted to the main squad. On 24 February 2022, Zubimendi scored his first goal in European competitions in a 3–1 home defeat against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

during the Europa League knockout round play-offs. A month later, on 13 March, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 1–0 victory over Alavés. In October, he extended his contract with the club until 2027. On 20 September 2023, he made his Champions League debut in a 1–1 draw against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

International career

Zubimendi represented the Spain under-19s in a friendly 2–1 loss to the Portugal under-19s on 15 November 2017. Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

test of Sergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

on 8 June 2021. Zubimendi made his senior debut in the match. On 7 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

. On 15 June, he made his first appearance in the Euros against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

as a substitute. He went on to play the full match against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 24 June, and came off the bench in both the semi-final victory over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 9 July and in the final against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 14 July as Spain won the tournament.

Style of play

Zubimendi's versatile style of play draws comparisons to renowned players, notably Sergio Busquets. He showcases composure and control, guiding plays and adjusting the game's tempo. His role involves initiating plays from deep positions, displaying precise decision-making. Zubimendi's aptitude for receiving passes and creating space is reminiscent of Busquets, reflecting a deep understanding of the game and the art of crafting opportunities. Additionally, his technical abilities, including dribbling and deep runs, align with top midfielders, while his ball retention in tight spaces mirrors qualities seen in players like

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

and

David Silva David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central or an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder and o ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zubimendi goal.''

Honours

Real Sociedad *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2019–20 Spain U23 * Summer Olympic silver medal:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Spain *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

: 2022–23; runner-up: 2024–25

References

External links

Real Sociedad profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zubimendi, Martin 1999 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from San Sebastián Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Antiguoko players Real Sociedad C footballers Real Sociedad B footballers Real Sociedad footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Spain Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic silver medalists for Spain Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players UEFA European Championship–winning players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen