Joseba Etxeberria facts for kids
Etxeberria in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 September 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Elgoibar, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m | ||
| Playing position | Winger, forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Eibar (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Sociedad | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1995 | Real Sociedad B | 29 | (9) |
| 1995 | Real Sociedad | 7 | (2) |
| 1995–2010 | Athletic Bilbao | 445 | (88) |
| Total | 481 | (99) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992–1994 | Spain U16 | 17 | (11) |
| 1994–1995 | Spain U18 | 7 | (5) |
| 1995 | Spain U20 | 6 | (7) |
| 1996–1997 | Spain U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 1997–2004 | Spain | 53 | (12) |
| 1998–2007 | Basque Country | 11 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2012–2015 | Athletic Bilbao (youth) | ||
| 2016–2017 | Basconia | ||
| 2017–2018 | Amorebieta | ||
| 2018 | Tenerife | ||
| 2019–2021 | Bilbao Athletic | ||
| 2022–2023 | Mirandés | ||
| 2023– | Eibar | ||
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Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi (born on September 5, 1977) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He mostly played as a winger, which is a player who attacks from the sides of the field. Today, he is a manager for the football club Eibar.
Joseba started his football journey at just 17 years old with Real Sociedad. Soon after, he moved to Athletic Bilbao, where he spent almost his entire playing career. He was a very important player for them!
He also played for the Spanish national team 53 times. He even played in big tournaments like the 1998 World Cup and two European Championships.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Joseba Etxeberria was born in Elgoibar, a town in Spain. He started his career with Real Sociedad. He played his first game in La Liga, Spain's top football league, when he was only 17. This was on January 29, 1995.
Later that year, he made a big move to Athletic Bilbao, a team close by. This transfer was a bit controversial because it cost a lot of money for a young player. At the time, it was the most expensive transfer for a player under 18 in Spanish football.
Playing for Athletic Bilbao
Joseba became a key player for Athletic Bilbao. In the 1997–98 season, he scored 11 goals, helping Athletic finish second in the league. Five seasons later, he scored his career-best of 14 goals in a single season.
He even scored a goal that helped his team get into the UEFA Champions League group stage. This is a very important European competition. For his first 12 years at the club, he always played in at least 28 league games each season. This shows how consistent and important he was. He also became the team captain.
In 2008, Joseba made a special agreement with Athletic Bilbao. He decided to play his last season, 2009–10, for free! This was a way to show his dedication to the club he loved.
His final year as a player was not as busy, as he played in seven league matches. However, he scored two goals in the UEFA Europa League that season. His very last goal for the club was a penalty in a game against Nacional.
On May 15, 2010, Joseba played his last home game for Athletic Bilbao. He was replaced during the match and received a huge standing ovation from the fans. This means everyone stood up and clapped for him to show their appreciation. He played a total of 514 official matches for Athletic Bilbao, scoring 104 goals. This makes him the third player with the most appearances in the club's history!
After he retired, Joseba had a special testimonial match at the San Mamés Stadium. He played against 200 children and even scored two goals in a fun 5–3 win!
International Career
Joseba Etxeberria also had a great career playing for the Spanish national team. He first played for Spain's youth teams, even leading the scoring in the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship.
He made his debut for the senior national team on November 19, 1997, in a friendly game against Romania. He even scored a goal in that match! In total, he played 53 games for Spain and scored 12 goals.
He represented his country in major tournaments:
In the Euro 2000 tournament, he scored the winning goal against Slovenia in a group stage match. Joseba also played 11 matches for the unofficial Basque Country team. This was a record number of appearances at the time.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Joseba Etxeberria started a coaching career. His first job was with the youth teams of the Basque Country.
In 2012, he returned to his beloved club, Athletic Bilbao, to work in their youth academy. He often said that the Lezama training center felt like his "second home" because he spent so many years there.
In 2015, he moved up to work with the first team under manager Ernesto Valverde. The next year, he became the manager of Basconia, a team linked to Athletic Bilbao. He coached many of the players he had already worked with in the youth teams.
In 2017, Joseba left the Athletic Bilbao structure for a bit to manage Amorebieta, another team in the same region. In 2018, he became the manager of Tenerife.
Later in May 2019, Joseba returned to Athletic Bilbao again, this time as the head coach of their reserve team, Bilbao Athletic. In 2022, he took over as manager of Mirandés in the Segunda División, which is Spain's second-highest league.
In May 2023, he announced he would leave Mirandés. Then, in June, he became the manager of Eibar, another team in the Segunda División.
Personal Life
Joseba Etxeberria was not related to his former Athletic Bilbao teammate, Imanol Etxeberria. It was just a coincidence that they shared the same last name and grew up only a few miles apart!
See also
In Spanish: Joseba Etxeberria para niños
- List of Athletic Bilbao players
- List of La Liga players
