Ismael Urzaiz facts for kids
Urzaiz in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ismael Urzaiz Aranda | ||
| Date of birth | 7 October 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Tudela, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tudelano | |||
| 1985–1989 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1993 | Real Madrid B | 50 | (13) |
| 1990–1993 | Real Madrid | 0 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | → Albacete (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 1993 | → Celta (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 1993–1994 | Rayo Vallecano | 20 | (1) |
| 1994–1995 | Salamanca | 21 | (3) |
| 1995–1996 | Espanyol | 41 | (13) |
| 1996–2007 | Athletic Bilbao | 367 | (115) |
| 2007–2008 | Ajax | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 519 | (147) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–1988 | Spain U16 | 11 | (5) |
| 1988 | Spain U17 | 1 | (2) |
| 1988–1990 | Spain U18 | 7 | (6) |
| 1988–1991 | Spain U19 | 9 | (3) |
| 1989–1991 | Spain U20 | 5 | (4) |
| 1990–1992 | Spain U21 | 6 | (1) |
| 1991–1992 | Spain U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 1996–2001 | Spain | 25 | (8) |
| 1997–2006 | Basque Country | 8 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ismael Urzaiz Aranda (born on 7 October 1971) is a Spanish former footballer. He played as a centre-forward, which is a player who focuses on scoring goals.
Urzaiz was known for being very strong and good at heading the ball. Even though he started at Real Madrid's youth academy, he became famous playing for other teams. He spent 11 years with Athletic Bilbao. During his long career, he played 445 matches in La Liga (Spain's top football league) and scored 131 goals. A record 61 of these goals were scored with his head!
He also played 25 times for the Spanish national team. He even represented Spain at the Euro 2000 tournament.
Contents
Ismael Urzaiz's Club Career Highlights
Starting at Real Madrid
Ismael Urzaiz was born in Tudela, Navarre, Spain. He began his football journey at Tudelano in 1985. Later, he joined the youth system of Real Madrid in 1985. He started playing for Real Madrid's reserve team, Real Madrid B, in 1989.
Even though he was a successful player for Spain's youth teams, he didn't play any matches for Real Madrid's main team in La Liga. He did play one game in the 1990–91 European Cup against a Danish club called OB.
Urzaiz also spent some time on loan to other teams. In the 1991–92 season, he played for Albacete. He made his first appearance in the top league as a substitute in a 4–0 win against Athletic Bilbao. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo.
Playing for Different Teams
In 1993, Urzaiz left Real Madrid for good. For the next three seasons, he played for several different clubs. These included Rayo Vallecano, Salamanca, and Espanyol. He didn't score many goals at first with Rayo Vallecano and Salamanca.
However, he helped Salamanca get promoted to the top league in 1995. He scored two goals in a play-off match where they won 5–0 against Albacete.
In the 1995–96 season, Urzaiz joined Espanyol. This is where he really started to shine as a top attacking player. He scored 13 goals in the league that season. This included three goals in one game (a hat-trick) against his old club, Rayo Vallecano, helping Espanyol win 4–2.
Time at Athletic Bilbao
Because of his great performance, Urzaiz caught the eye of Athletic Bilbao. In the summer of 1996, he joined them. He was allowed to play for this team because he was born in Navarre, which fits their special rule of only signing players from the Basque Country.
He spent 11 seasons with Athletic Bilbao. During this time, he scored 115 goals in 367 league matches. In the 1997–98 season, his eight goals helped the team finish second in the league. This meant they qualified directly for the UEFA Champions League, a big European competition.
Urzaiz scored ten or more goals in six of his seasons at the San Mamés Stadium, Athletic Bilbao's home ground. Towards the end of his time there, a younger and even taller player named Fernando Llorente started to play more. This led to Urzaiz leaving the club in July 2007. Even in his final year, he played in 35 games.
He became one of only 14 players at that time to play over 400 games for Athletic Bilbao. His total of 419 games was a club record for a player from Navarre until 2020.
Short Spell at Ajax
On 19 July 2007, Urzaiz signed a one-year contract with Ajax, a famous club in the Netherlands. He joined other Spanish players there, like Gabri and Albert Luque. He played his first official game for Ajax on 15 August in a Champions League qualifying match.
However, Urzaiz only played three matches in the Eredivisie (the Dutch league) for Ajax. He was released by the club and announced his retirement from football shortly after, when he was almost 37 years old.
Ismael Urzaiz's International Career
Urzaiz played for Spain's youth national teams. He represented Spain U16 at the 1988 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in Spain, where his country won the tournament. He also scored four goals for the under-20 team at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship.
On 10 October 1996, Urzaiz played his first game for the senior Spanish team. It was a 0–0 draw against the Czech Republic in a qualifying match for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. For the next three years, he only played a few more games and didn't score.
However, he became a key player when Spain was trying to qualify for UEFA Euro 2000. He scored six goals in just three games! This included two goals against Austria and three goals (a hat-trick) against Cyprus. After scoring two more goals in a friendly game against Poland, he was chosen to play in the Euro 2000 tournament.
Urzaiz played a total of 25 games for Spain and scored eight goals. His last international game was a friendly match against England in 2001. Between 1997 and 2005, he also played seven times for the Basque Country team, scoring two goals in a 3–2 win against Morocco in 2000.
International Goals for Spain
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Urzaiz goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 March 1999 | Mestalla, Valencia, Spain |  Austria |
3–0 | 9–0 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 2 | 5–0 | |||||
| 3 | 31 March 1999 | Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino |  San Marino |
3–0 | 6–0 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 4 | 8 September 1999 | Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain |  Cyprus |
1–0 | 8–0 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 5 | 2–0 | |||||
| 6 | 4–0 | |||||
| 7 | 26 January 2000 | Cartagonova, Cartagena, Spain |  Poland |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 8 | 3–0 |
Honours and Achievements
Spain U16
- UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1988
Individual Awards
- FIFA U-20 World Cup: Silver Shoe 1991 (This award is for being one of the top goal scorers in the tournament.)
See also
In Spanish: Ismael Urzaiz para niños
- List of Athletic Bilbao players (Players who have played over 200 games for Athletic Bilbao)
- List of La Liga players (Players who have played over 400 games in La Liga)
