Iñaki Lafuente facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iñaki Lafuente Sancha | ||
| Date of birth | 24 January 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Barakaldo, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Retuerto | ||
| 1993–1995 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Bilbao Athletic | 65 | (0) |
| 1995 | → Getxo (loan) | ||
| 1996 | → Sestao (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | → Elche (loan) | 37 | (0) |
| 1999–2009 | Athletic Bilbao | 128 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Espanyol (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Sporting Gijón (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Numancia | 25 | (0) |
| Total | 293 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Basque Country | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Iñaki Lafuente Sancha (born on January 24, 1976) is a former Spanish professional football player. He was a goalkeeper, which means his job was to stop the other team from scoring goals.
Iñaki played in 146 games in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. He played for ten seasons, mostly with the team Athletic Bilbao. He also played for Espanyol and Sporting de Gijón in the same league.
Contents
His Football Journey
Iñaki Lafuente was born in Barakaldo, a town in Spain. He started his football journey at Lezama, which is the famous youth academy for Athletic Bilbao. A youth academy is like a special school where young players learn and train to become professional footballers.
Starting Out at Athletic Bilbao
Iñaki joined Athletic Bilbao's main team in the 1999–2000 season. Before that, he spent time playing for smaller teams nearby. He also played for Elche CF for a short time.
He became a key player for Athletic Bilbao. He often competed with another goalkeeper, Dani Aranzubia, for the starting spot. In the 2000–01 season, Iñaki played in 36 games. The next season, 2001–02, he played in 30 games.
Playing for Other Teams
For the 2007–08 season, Iñaki was loaned to RCD Espanyol. Being "loaned" means he played for another team temporarily. At Espanyol, he was the backup goalkeeper to Carlos Kameni. When Kameni left for a tournament, Iñaki became the starter. However, he got injured in only his second game.
In July 2008, Iñaki returned to Athletic Bilbao. This time, he was the third-choice goalkeeper. In January 2009, he was loaned again, this time to Sporting de Gijón. This happened because their main goalkeeper was injured. Iñaki started his first game for Sporting on January 25.
Later Career and Retirement
Athletic Bilbao released Iñaki in the summer of 2009. This ended his 16-year connection with the club. In late July, when he was 33 years old, he joined CD Numancia. This team had recently moved down to a lower league called the Segunda División.
Iñaki played for Numancia for two years. He was mostly a backup goalkeeper there. After these two years, he decided to retire from professional football.
See also
In Spanish: Iñaki Lafuente para niños
