Ager Aketxe

Ager Aketxe
Personal information
Full name Ager Aketxe Barrutia
Date of birth (1993-12-30) 30 December 1993
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Cádiz
(on loan from Toronto FC)
Number 23
Youth career
2003–2011 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Basconia 33 (9)
2012–2016 Bilbao Athletic 89 (19)
2014–2018 Athletic Bilbao 14 (1)
2017 → Cádiz (loan) 18 (5)
2018– Toronto FC 11 (0)
2018– → Cádiz (loan) 4 (0)
National team
2013 Spain U20 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 September 2018

Ager Aketxe Barrutia (born 30 December 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Cádiz CF on loan from Canadian club Toronto FC as an attacking midfielder.

He began his career with Athletic Bilbao.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Basque Country, Aketxe joined Athletic Bilbao's Lezama setup in 2003, aged ten. He made his senior debut with the farm team in 2011, in Tercera División.

In May 2012, Aketxe was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División B.[1] He featured regularly for the side, playing in all league games in his second season.

On 2 September 2014, Aketxe was promoted to the main squad in La Liga, being assigned number 23 jersey.[2] He appeared in his first match as a professional on 17 September, coming on as a substitute for Iker Muniain in the 75th minute of a 0–0 home draw against FC Shakhtar Donetsk for the campaign's UEFA Champions League;[3] however, he sustained a foot injury in that match which put him out of action for six weeks.[4]

Aketxe scored his first goal in the Spanish top flight on 17 May 2015, netting his team's first in a 3–2 away win against Elche CF to help Athletic come from behind 0–2.[5] In the beginning of 2016, he was moved down back to the B-side to help them avoid relegation from Segunda División and gain some minutes.[6] On 27 February he scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 home win over SD Ponferradina,[7] but the team eventually finished in 22nd and last position.

On 31 January 2017, after making no appearances during the first half of the campaign due to recovering from a serious knee injury suffered at the end of the previous season,[8] Aketxe was loaned to Cádiz CF in the second tier until June.[9] On 16 February 2018, Athletic cancelled his contract with immediate effect (retaining the right to re-sign him in the following years) to allow him to negotiate a move abroad.[10]

Toronto FC

Aketxe signed with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC on 23 February 2018.[11][12] He made his debut four days later, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 home draw against Colorado Rapids in the second leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League.[13] His first start came on 3 March in the opening match of the 2018 MLS season, a 0–2 home defeat to Columbus Crew SC.[14]

On 11 July 2018, Aketxe returned to Cádiz after agreeing to a one-year loan deal.[15]

Personal life

Aketxe's older brother, Isaac, was also a footballer; he too was groomed at Athletic Bilbao's youth setup.[16] Their father, known as Isaac Aqueche due to spelling conventions of the time, played as a midfielder in the lower divisions of Spanish football[17][18] including a spell with Athletic's reserves.[19]

In May 2016, Aketxe and two others were put on trial for having caused minor injuries to an off-duty ertzaina the previous August during a local festival in his place of residence, the Getxo neighbourhood of Romo.[20]

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

References

  1. ↑ From Basconia to Bilbao Athletic; Athletic Bilbao, 30 May 2012
  2. ↑ Ager Aketxe es jugador de la primera plantilla y llevará el dorsal 23 (Ager Aketxe is a first team player and will don the number 23 jersey); Mundo Deportivo, 2 September 2014 (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ Honours even as Athletic hold Shakhtar Donetsk; UEFA, 17 September 2014
  4. ↑ "Una lesión en el pie empaña el esperado debut de Aketxe" [Foot injury tarnishes Aketxe's anticipated debut] (in Spanish). Gara. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Williams señala a Europa (Williams points to Europe); Marca, 17 May 2015 (in Spanish)
  6. ↑ Aketxe se recalifica en el filial (Aketxe undergoes makeover in reserves); Marca, 4 January 2016 (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ "Un 'hat-trick' de Aketxe mantiene la fe del Bilbao Athletic" [Aketxe hat-trick keeps Bilbao Athletic's faith] (in Spanish). Marca. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Aketxe tiene roto el ligamento cruzado de la rodilla derecha" [Aketxe tears the cruciate ligament in his right knee] (in Spanish). Marca. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Cesión de Ager Aketxe (Ager Aketxe loan); Athletic Bilbao, 31 January 2017 (in Spanish)
  10. ↑ "Athletic Bilbao clear Ager Aketxe to complete move to MLS". ESPN. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "Toronto FC signs former Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ager Aketxe". ESPN. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "Toronto FC sign Spanish Midfielder Ager Aketxe". Toronto FC. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  13. ↑ John Molinaro (27 February 2018). "TFC takes care of business against Colorado in Champions League". Sportsnet. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  14. ↑ John Molinaro (3 March 2018). "Toronto FC squander chances as Crew spoil historic party". Sportsnet. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Toronto FC loan Ager Aketxe to Cádiz CF". Toronto FC. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "Reparto entre hermanos en Las Llanas" [Brothers get sharing at Las Llanas] (in Spanish). El Correo. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "Aqueche: Isaac Aqueche Aranceta". BDFutbol. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Aqueche, 112 partidos" [Aqueche, 112 matches] (in Spanish). Miranda Deportiva. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "Isaac Aketxe Aranceta". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "El club apoya a Aketxe y confía en su inocencia" [Club support Aketxe and trust in his innocence] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
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