Ismael Urzaiz

Ismael Urzaiz
Urzaiz in 2007
Personal information
Full name Ismael Urzaiz Aranda
Date of birth (1971-10-07) 7 October 1971
Place of birth Tudela, Spain
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Centre forward
Youth career
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)
National team
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)
1997–2005 Basque Country 7 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Ismael Urzaiz Aranda (Spanish pronunciation: [izmaˈel uɾˈθaiθ aˈɾanda]; born 7 October 1971) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a centre forward.

Best known for his physical strength and aerial ability,[1] the unsuccessful youth graduate at Real Madrid went on to represent seven other teams during his extensive professional career, mainly Athletic Bilbao where he spent 11 years. Over 16 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 445 matches and 131 goals (61 headers, record of the competition).[2]

Urzaiz appeared 25 times for Spain, representing the national team at Euro 2000.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup).[3]

Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo also in the top flight, appearing rarely and scoring only once.

Professional journeyman

Urzaiz left Real Madrid permanently in 1993 and during the following three seasons played for Rayo Vallecano, UD Salamanca and RCD Espanyol – with a very modest scoring rate in the first two. He helped Salamanca win promotion to the top level in 1995, scoring twice as they beat Albacete 5–0 in the play-offs.[4]

The following campaign, Urzaiz joined Espanyol and exploded as a first-rate attacking player, netting 13 top division goals for a side that eventually finished fourth, including a hat-trick against former club Rayo Vallecano for a 4–2 home success on 14 April 1996.[5]

Athletic Bilbao

The form of a revived Urzaiz attracted interest and in the summer of 1996 he joined Athletic Bilbao, being eligible for the all-Basque team having been born in Navarre. In 11 seasons, he scored 115 goals in 367 league appearances;[1] in 1997–98 his eight successful strikes in 32 matches helped to a runner-up finish, which led to direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League, where he netted once in seven games.[3]

Urzaiz scored in double figures in six of his campaigns at the San Mamés Stadium,[6] but the emergence of youth graduate Fernando Llorente (1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)) prompted his exit from the club in July 2007;[7] he still featured in 35 competitive games in his final year, coincidentally also his age by its end, but only completed the 90 minutes in six of them.[8][9]

Ajax

On 19 July 2007, Urzaiz signed a one-year contract with AFC Ajax, joining fellow Spaniards Gabri and Albert Luque.[10] He made his official debut on 15 August, in the Champions League qualifier against Slavia Prague (0–1 home loss, 18 minutes played).[11][12]

Urzaiz was released by the Amsterdam club after just three Eredivisie appearances, announcing his retirement at nearly 37 shortly afterwards.[13]

International career

Urzaiz represented Spain at the 1988 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in Denmark, helping his country win tournament. He also scored four goals for the under-20 team at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, held in Portugal.

On 10 October 1996, Urzaiz made his debut for the senior side, a 0–0 away draw with the Czech Republic for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Over the next three years he made only three more appearances and failed to score, but emerged as the hero as Spain qualified for UEFA Euro 2000, netting six times in three games – this included two against Austria and a hat-trick against Cyprus.[14] After a further two in a friendly with Poland,[15] he was subsequently picked for the final stages in Belgium and the Netherlands.

After 25 caps and eight goals,[16] Urzaiz made his last international appearance in a 0–3 friendly loss against England, in Birmingham in 2001.[17] Between 1997 and 2005 he also played seven times for the Basque Country representative team, scoring twice in a 3–2 win over Morocco in 2000.[18]

Career statistics

Club

[19][20]

Season Club Competition Apps Goals
1989–90Real Madrid BSegunda División105
1990–91Real Madrid BSegunda División B110
1990–91Real MadridLa Liga00
1991–92AlbaceteLa Liga111
1992–93Real Madrid BSegunda División277
1992–93Real MadridLa Liga00
1992–93CeltaLa Liga61
1993–94Rayo VallecanoLa Liga201
1994–95SalamancaSegunda División213
1995–96EspanyolLa Liga4113
1996–97Athletic BilbaoLa Liga3816
1997–98Athletic BilbaoLa Liga328
1998–99Athletic BilbaoLa Liga3616
1999–00Athletic BilbaoLa Liga335
2000–01Athletic BilbaoLa Liga3410
2001–02Athletic BilbaoLa Liga3616
2002–03Athletic BilbaoLa Liga3113
2003–04Athletic BilbaoLa Liga378
2004–05Athletic BilbaoLa Liga3112
2005–06Athletic BilbaoLa Liga263
2006–07Athletic BilbaoLa Liga338
2007–08AjaxEredivisie30
Total519147

International goals

[16][21]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.27 March 1999Mestalla, Valencia, Spain Austria3–09–0Euro 2000 qualifying
2.27 March 1999Mestalla, Valencia, Spain Austria5–09–0Euro 2000 qualifying
3.31 March 1999Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino San Marino0–30–6Euro 2000 qualifying
4.8 September 1999Vivero, Badajoz, Spain Cyprus1–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying
5.8 September 1999Vivero, Badajoz, Spain Cyprus2–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying
6.8 September 1999Vivero, Badajoz, Spain Cyprus4–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying
7.26 January 2000Cartagonova, Cartagena, Spain Poland2–03–0Friendly
8.26 January 2000Cartagonova, Cartagena, Spain Poland3–03–0Friendly

Honours

International

Spain U16

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 Urzaiz supera a Uriarte en la lista de máximos goleadores del Athletic (Urzaiz passes Uriarte in Athletic's all-time scoring chart); El Mundo, 11 December 2006 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ "La cabeza de Fernando Llorente" [Fernando Llorente's head] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 Ismael Urzáiz Aranda – Matches in European Cups; at RSSSF
  4. ↑ Pedro Líbero (28 June 1995). "El Salamanca, a lo grande" [Salamanca, in style] (PDF) (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  5. ↑ 4–2: Urzaiz acaba con un Rayo que puso muchas dificultades al Español (4–2: Urzaiz ended with Rayo that posed many problems to Español); ABC, 15 April 1996 (in Spanish)
  6. ↑ "Leyendas del Athletic Club de Bilbao – Urzaiz" [Athletic Club de Bilbao legends – Urzaiz] (in Spanish). El Correo. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Mané y Caparrós pidieron a Llorente" [Mané and Caparrós asked for Llorente] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Urzaiz no seguirá en el Athletic" [Urzaiz will not continue in Athletic] (in Spanish). 20 minutos. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Urzaiz". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Spits Urzaiz (35) naar Ajax" [Forward Urzaiz (35) to Ajax] (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Ajax verliest van Slavia Praag" [Ajax loses with Slavia Prague] (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Slavia make Ajax pay the penalty". UEFA. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Ismael Urzaiz será homenajeado en San Mamés con el saque de honor del Athletic-Almería" [Ismael Urzaiz will be honoured at San Mamés with Athletic-Almería honour kick-off] (in Spanish). El Correo. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "España golea 8–0 a Chipre y pasa a la fase final de la Eurocopa" [Spain rout Cyprus 8–0 and qualify to Eurocup finals] (in Spanish). El País. 9 September 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "España dota de argumentos a Camacho con otra goleada" [Spain give reasons to Camacho with another routing] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 26 January 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  16. 1 2 Ismael Urzáiz Aranda – International Matches; at RSSSF
  17. ↑ Inglaterra golea (3–0) a España (England rout (3–0) Spain); El País, 1 March 2001 (in Spanish)
  18. ↑ "Se hizo justicia" [Justice was done] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  19. ↑ Ismael Urzaiz at BDFutbol
  20. ↑ "Ismael Urzaiz". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Ismael Urzaiz". European Football. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
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