Xabi Prieto facts for kids
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Prieto with Real Sociedad in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Xabier Prieto Argarate | ||
| Date of birth | 29 August 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | San Sebastián, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.87 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ikastola Santo Tomas Lizeoa | |||
| 2000–2002 | Real Sociedad | ||
| 2000–2001 | → Hernani (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2004 | Real Sociedad B | 48 | (8) |
| 2003–2018 | Real Sociedad | 479 | (67) |
| Total | 527 | (75) | |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2005 | Spain U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2004–2016 | Basque Country | 14 | (0) |
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Xabier "Xabi" Prieto Argarate (born on August 29, 1983) is a Spanish retired professional footballer. He mostly played as a right midfielder. Xabi was known for his great dribbling skills. He was also very good at scoring penalty kicks.
He played his entire career with just one club, Real Sociedad. He played 530 games for them.
Contents
Xabi Prieto's Football Journey
Starting with Real Sociedad's Youth Team
Xabi Prieto was born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. He joined his hometown club, Real Sociedad, when he was 16 years old. He started in their youth system. For a short time, he also played on loan for a local amateur team called CD Hernani.
In 2002, Xabi made his first appearance for the reserve team. In his first season, he helped them get promoted to a higher league called Segunda División B.
First Games with the Main Team
After playing for the B team, Xabi made his debut for Real Sociedad's main team. This happened on October 8, 2003. He played the whole game in a 2-1 win against Real Oviedo in the Copa del Rey cup.
Eighteen days later, he played his first game in La Liga, Spain's top football league. He came in as a substitute in a 1-0 win against CA Osasuna. During that season (2003-04), he played in eight more games, mostly coming off the bench.
Scoring Goals and Moving Up
On May 23, 2004, Xabi got his second start in a game against Real Madrid. He scored two goals in a 4-1 win! One of his goals was from a penalty spot.
After this, Xabi became a full member of the main Real Sociedad team. In the 2005-06 season, he played in all 38 games. He scored nine goals, and six of them were penalties. He also played in every game the next season. However, his team, Real Sociedad, moved down to a lower league called Segunda División.
Returning to the Top League
In the 2009-10 season, Xabi played 35 games. He scored seven goals and helped Real Sociedad return to La Liga after three years. In the first game of the next season (2010-11), he scored the only goal against Villarreal CF. He got the ball from a cool backheel pass by Joseba Llorente.
Memorable Matches and Milestones
On January 6, 2013, Xabi scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) as a professional player. This happened in a 4-3 loss against Real Madrid. He scored one penalty and two goals when it was just him against the goalkeeper, Iker Casillas.
On February 22, 2015, he scored two goals in another exciting game. Real Sociedad won 4-3 against Sevilla FC. During this time, Xabi also played seven games for Real Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League.
On August 25, 2017, Xabi played his 500th game for Real Sociedad's main team. He was only the fifth player to reach this amazing number! He celebrated by scoring a goal in a 3-0 win against Villarreal. Fans gave him a big cheer in the tenth minute of the game, which was his shirt number. A few weeks later, he broke the club record for playing the most league games.
Retirement from Football
In April 2018, Xabi Prieto announced that he would retire from football at the end of the season. To thank him for everything he did, Real Sociedad put his picture on the players' shirts for the last game of the season. This game was against CD Leganés. It was also the last game for another long-serving player, Carlos Martínez.
Playing for Spain and Basque Country
Xabi Prieto played for the Spain under-21 team several times. However, he never played for the main Spanish national team.
He did play in many friendly games for the unofficial Basque Country regional team. As of 2017, he had played 14 games for them, which was more than any other player.
Personal Life
Xabi Prieto married Amaya Magaña in 2011.
Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Sociedad B | 2002–03 | Tercera División | 34 | 5 | — | — | 34 | 5 | ||
| 2003–04 | Segunda División B | 14 | 3 | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||
| Total | 48 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 8 | ||
| Real Sociedad | 2003–04 | La Liga | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 38 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 9 | ||
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2007–08 | Segunda División | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Segunda División | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Segunda División | 35 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 7 | ||
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 37 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 34 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | 38 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 35 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 9 | ||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 2 | |
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 6 | |
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 38 | 8 | 5 | 0 | — | 43 | 8 | ||
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |
| Total | 479 | 67 | 33 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 529 | 73 | ||
| Career total | 527 | 75 | 33 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 577 | 81 | ||
Awards and Trophies
Real Sociedad
- Segunda División: 2009–10
See also
In Spanish: Xabi Prieto para niños
- List of one-club men
