Yeray Álvarez

Yeray
Yeray with Athletic Bilbao in 2018
Personal information
Full name Yeray Álvarez López
Date of birth (1995-01-24) 24 January 1995
Place of birth Barakaldo, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 5
Youth career
2005–2007 Barakaldo
2007–2008 Danok Bat
2008–2013 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Basconia 26 (0)
2014–2016 Bilbao Athletic 62 (1)
2016– Athletic Bilbao 34 (0)
National team
2017 Spain U21 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:10, 23 May 2018 (UTC)

Yeray Álvarez López (Spanish pronunciation: [ɟʝeˈɾai ˈalβaɾeθ]; born 24 January 1995), known simply as Yeray, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao as a central defender.

Club career

Born in Barakaldo, Biscay, Basque Country, Yeray joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup at Lezama in 2008, aged 13.[1] He played in the 2012–13 NextGen Series with the Juvenil A side, and made his debut as a senior with CD Basconia (the farm team) in the following season, in Tercera División.[2]

On 26 May 2014, Yeray was promoted to the reserves who competed in Segunda División B.[3] He contributed with 36 appearances and one goal during the campaign – play-offs included – as they returned to Segunda División after a 19-year absence.[4]

Yeray played his first professional game on 24 August 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jurgi Oteo in a 0–1 home loss against Girona FC.[5] He was a regular starter during that season, but the side were immediately relegated back as dead last.

Yeray was promoted to the main squad in the 2016 pre-season, and made his competitive debut on 15 September of that year when he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 away defeat to U.S. Sassuolo Calcio for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[6] His maiden La Liga appearance took place three days later, replacing Eneko Bóveda in a 2–1 home win over Valencia CF.[7]

Yeray subsequently became a regular starter for the Lions, appearing in 17 out of a possible 20 matches in all competitions. Due to the nature of his progression through the youth departments, he held the unusual distinction of having played in a different league every season from 2008 to 2016 without interruption: five youth year levels ending with the División de Honor Juvenil de Fútbol, fourth level with Basconia, divisions two and three with the reserves and top tier with the senior team.[2] However, the run was halted abruptly on 23 December 2016, when the club announced he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and would undergo surgery within the next week;[8] he returned to action on 4 February 2017 after only 46 days, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 away loss to FC Barcelona,[9][10] and five days later he extended his contract until 2022.[11]

On 12 June 2017, tests found further cancerous abnormalities, resulting in Yeray having to undergo chemotherapy treatment.[12][13] On his return to the club's training centre the following month, he was greeted by the entire playing squad who had all shaved their heads in a gesture of solidarity.[14]

On 20 December 2017, Yeray captained the Athletic under-23s in a win over Swansea City in the Premier League International Cup (a reserves tournament).[15] 259 days after his last appearance, he made his return with the senior team on 4 February 2018 (exactly one year after his first comeback match, both fixtures by strange coincidence taking place on World Cancer Day),[16] playing the entirety of a 0–2 domestic league defeat away to Girona.[17]

International career

On 23 March 2017, Yeray made his debut for the Spain under-21 team in a friendly match against Denmark.[18] He was selected in the squad for that year's UEFA European Championships, before withdrawing due to illness prior to the start of the tournament.[13]

Even though he was not part of the squad of 23 for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals, Yeray was picked by full side manager Julen Lopetegui for a friendly with Switzerland to be held on 3 June.[19] He remained an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw.[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of 22 May 2018[21][22]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Basconia 2013–14 Tercera División 260——260
Total 2600000260
Bilbao Athletic 2014–15 Segunda División B 301—6[lower-alpha 1]0361
2015–16 Segunda División 320——320
Total 6210060681
Athletic Bilbao 2016–17 La Liga 260108[lower-alpha 2]0350
2017–18 80004[lower-alpha 3]0120
Total 34010120470
Career total 1221101801411
  1. ↑ 2015 Segunda División B playoffs
  2. ↑ 2016–17 UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ 2017–18 UEFA Europa League

References

  1. ↑ "Yeray, el gran descubrimiento" [Yeray, the great discovery]. El Correo (in Spanish). 24 December 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Yeray convence a Ernesto Valverde" [Yeray convinces Ernesto Valverde]. Deia (in Spanish). 1 October 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Registrations and de-registrations in Bilbao Athletic". Athletic Bilbao. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "El Bilbao Athletic, a Segunda 19 años después y el Cádiz tendrá que esperar" [Bilbao Athletic, into Segunda 19 years later and Cádiz will have to wait] (in Spanish). EFE. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "El que la sigue, la consigue" [He who wants it, gets it]. Marca (in Spanish). 24 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Yeray, el superviviente de Sassuolo" [Yeray, the survivor of Sassuolo]. El Correo (in Spanish). 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "El Valencia, ni con ventaja" [Valencia, not even taking the lead]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Yeray sufre un tumor testicular" [Yeray suffers from testicular tumour]. Marca (in Spanish). 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Yeray vuelve a jugar 46 días después de ser operado de un cáncer de testículos" [Yeray returns to play 46 days after undergoing testicle cancer surgery]. ABC (in Spanish). 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Barcelona 3–0 Athletic Bilbao". BBC Sport. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "Yeray Alvarez extends Athletic Bilbao contract until 2022". ESPN FC. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Yeray Álvarez: medical update". Athletic Bilbao. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Spain Under 21 defender Yeray Alvarez to have chemotherapy after his testicular cancer returns". Daily Mail. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  14. ↑ "Yeray Alvarez: Athletic Bilbao players shave heads to support defender diagnosed with cancer". BBC Sport. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "Report: Swans U23 0 Athletic Bilbao B 2". Swansea City A.F.C. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  16. ↑ "Yeray: "Del cáncer se sale, lo he demostrado en el campo"" [Yeray: "The cancer is gone, I've shown it on the pitch"]. El Correo (in Spanish). 4 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Stuani castiga al Athletic y el Girona ya aspira a Europa" [Stuani punishes Athletic and Girona already aspire to Europe]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Amistoso Sub-21, España-Dinamarca: Remontada y récord (3–1)" [Under-21 friendly, Spain-Denmark: Comeback and record (3–1)] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "España se examina en un amistoso ante Suiza" [Test for Spain in friendly against Switzerland]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "Spain 1–1 Switzerland". BBC Sport. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  21. ↑ "Yeray Álvarez". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "Yeray". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
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