Joseba Etxeberria

Joseba Etxeberria
Personal information
Full name	Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi
Date of birth	September 5, 1977 (1977-09-05) (age 32)
Place of birth	Elgoibar, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Winger / Forward
Club information
Current club	Athletic Bilbao
Number	17
Youth career
	Real Sociedad
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993–1995 1995 1995–	Real Sociedad B Real Sociedad Athletic Bilbao	029 0(9) 007 0(2) 438 (87)
National team
1994–1995 1995 1996–1997 1997–2004	Spain U18 Spain U20 Spain U21 Spain	007 0(5) 006 0(7) 003 0(0) 053 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 September 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi (born 5 September 1977 in Elgoibar, Guipúzcoa) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao in Spain's first division, mostly as a winger.

Club career

Etxeberria began his career with Real Sociedad, making his top level debuts at only 17, in a 2–0 home win against RCD Espanyol, on January 29, 1995. That summer, he moved to neighbour Basque outfit Athletic Bilbao, in a controversial transfer that cost over €3 million. At the time, this was the highest transfer fee paid for an under-18 player in both Basque and Spanish football.

In 1997–98, Etxeberria netted 11 league goals, as Athletic finished second, achieving a career-best 14 five seasons later, while he was also eventually awarded club captaincy. He finished his career as the second player with most league matches for the club, behind only legendary José Ángel Iribar.

On 1 October 2008, already playing second-fiddle for the team, Etxeberria agreed a deal with the club according to which he effectively played 2009–10, his last season as a professional, for free, after his contract expired in June 2009.^[1][2]

International career

After leading the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship scoring charts and winning 4th place, Etxeberria moved up to the full national team, making his international debut on November 19, 1997, appearing (and scoring) in a 1–1 friendly match against Romania, in Palma de Mallorca.

He was capped 53 times, scoring 12 goals, and represented his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and Euro 2004.

References

External links

• Athletic Bilbao profile
• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Official webpage

v • d • e Spain squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Zubizarreta • 2 Ferrer • 3 Aranzábal • 4 Alkorta • 5 Abelardo • 6 Hierro • 7 Morientes • 8 Guerrero • 9 Pizzi • 10 Raúl • 11 Alfonso • 12 Sergi • 13 Cañizares • 14 Campo • 15 Aguilera • 16 Celades • 17 Etxeberria • 18 Amor • 19 Kiko • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Molina • Coach: Clemente

v • d • e Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Cañizares • 2 Salgado • 3 Aranzábal • 4 Guardiola • 5 Abelardo • 6 Hierro (c) • 7 Helguera • 8 Fran • 9 Munitis • 10 Raúl • 11 Alfonso • 12 Sergi • 13 Casillas • 14 Gerard • 15 Engonga • 16 Mendieta • 17 Etxeberria • 18 Paco • 19 Velasco • 20 Urzaiz • 21 Valerón • 22 Molina • Coach: Camacho

v • d • e Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Cañizares • 2 Capdevila • 3 Marchena • 4 Albelda • 5 Puyol • 6 Helguera • 7 Raúl (c) • 8 Baraja • 9 F. Torres • 10 Morientes • 11 A. Luque • 12 Gabri • 13 Aranzubia • 14 Vicente • 15 R. Bravo • 16 Xabi Alonso • 17 Etxeberria • 18 César Martín • 19 Joaquín • 20 Xavi • 21 Valerón • 22 Juanito • 23 Casillas • Coach: Iñaki Sáez