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 (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Spain U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2004–2016 | Basque Country | 14 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Xabier "Xabi" Prieto Argarate, born on August 29, 1983, is a Spanish former professional footballer. He was known for his great dribbling skills. Xabi mainly played as a right midfielder. He was also very good at taking penalty kicks. Xabi spent his whole career playing for just one club, Real Sociedad. He played an amazing 530 games for them!
Contents
Xabi Prieto's Club Career
Starting Out at Real Sociedad
Xabi Prieto was born in San Sebastián, Spain. He joined his hometown club, Real Sociedad, when he was 16. Before that, he spent some time on loan with a local amateur team called CD Hernani.
In 2002, Xabi started playing for Real Sociedad B, which is the club's reserve team. He helped them get promoted to a higher league in his first season.
Making His First Team Debut
Xabi made his first team debut for Real Sociedad on October 8, 2003. He played a full 90 minutes in a cup game against Real Oviedo, which Real Sociedad won 2-1.
His first game in La Liga, Spain's top football league, was 18 days later. He came on as a substitute in a 1-0 win against CA Osasuna. During that season, he played in eight more games, mostly coming off the bench.
On May 23, 2004, Xabi got his second start in a league game. He scored two goals against Real Madrid CF in a big 4-1 win. One of his goals was from a penalty kick.
Becoming a Key Player
After that, Xabi became a full-time player for the first team. In the 2005–06 season, he played in all 38 league games. He scored nine goals, and six of those were penalties!
He also played in every game the next season. However, Real Sociedad was relegated to the Segunda División, which is the second division league.
Returning to La Liga
In the 2009–10 season, Xabi played 35 matches. He scored seven goals, helping Real Sociedad get promoted back to La Liga after three years.
In the first game of the 2010–11 season, Xabi scored the only goal against Villarreal CF. It was a clever goal after a pass from his teammate, 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 game against Real Madrid, which Real Sociedad unfortunately lost 4-3. He scored one penalty and two goals after facing the goalkeeper one-on-one.
On February 22, 2015, he scored two more goals in a thrilling 4-3 home win against Sevilla FC. Xabi also played in seven games during the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, which is a big European club competition.
On August 25, 2017, Xabi played his 500th game for Real Sociedad. He was only the fifth player in the club's history to reach this amazing milestone. He celebrated by scoring a goal in a 3-0 win against Villarreal at the Anoeta Stadium. Fans gave him a huge cheer in the tenth minute of the game, which was his shirt number. A few weeks later, he broke the club record for the most league appearances.
Retirement from Football
In April 2018, Xabi Prieto announced that he would retire from football at the end of the season. To honor his contributions, Real Sociedad put his picture on the players' shirts for the final match of the season against CD Leganés. This was a special way to say goodbye to a club legend.
International Career
Xabi Prieto played for the Spain under-21 team several times. However, he never played for the main Spain national football team.
He did play in many friendly games for the unofficial Basque Country regional team. By 2017, he was the player with the most appearances for that team, having played 14 games.
Personal Life
Xabi Prieto married Amaya Magaña in 2011.
Honours
Real Sociedad
- Segunda División: 2009–10
See also
In Spanish: Xabi Prieto para niños
- List of one-club men
