Ander Iturraspe

Ander Iturraspe Derteano (Basque: [ander ituraspe]; Spanish: [ˈandeɾ ituˈraspe]; born 8 March 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for RCD Espanyol.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Iturraspe and the second or maternal family name is Derteano.

Ander Iturraspe
Iturraspe with Athletic Bilbao in 2015
Personal information
Full name Ander Iturraspe Derteano
Date of birth (1989-03-08) 8 March 1989
Place of birth Abadiño, Spain
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Espanyol
Number 8
Youth career
1998–1999 Matiena
1999–2003 Athletic Bilbao
2003–2004 Abadiño
2004–2007 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Basconia 30 (1)
2008–2010 Bilbao Athletic 40 (1)
2008–2019 Athletic Bilbao 232 (3)
2019– Espanyol 6 (0)
National team‡
2012 Spain U23 1 (0)
2014 Spain 2 (0)
2011– Basque Country 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 December 2016

He spent the better part of his career at Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 320 matches across all competitions since making his debut with the first team at the age of 19.

Iturraspe won two caps for Spain, in 2014.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Abadiño, Biscay, Iturraspe joined Athletic Bilbao in 1999, at the age of 10. He spent several seasons in the various junior levels of the club and, in 2007, moved to farm team CD Basconia in the fourth division.[1]

On 12 March 2008, Iturraspe started for the first team in a 6–1 friendly win against Zalla UC. Towards the end of the league campaign, he also played in exhibition matches with Club Portugalete[2] and Aviron Bayonnais FC.[3]

On 23 June 2008, Iturraspe was officially promoted to the main squad,[4] being issued with the squad number 26.[5] On 14 September he made his La Liga debut, starting in a 0–0 draw at Málaga CF in the same match as another youth graduate, Mikel Balenziaga;[6] his second appearance came as a substitute, in the 2–0 home win over Real Valladolid.[7]

Iturraspe made his second start for Athletic in a Copa del Rey match against Recreativo de Huelva, being replaced at half-time by Pablo Orbaiz.[8] He continued appearing almost exclusively for the reserves until the end of the season, however.

Benefitting from physical problems to veteran Carlos Gurpegui, Iturraspe played in nearly 60 official games in 2011–12 under new manager Marcelo Bielsa. Athletic reached both the UEFA Europa League and the domestic cup finals. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he was voted into the La Liga Team of the Year by the reporters of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional.[9][10]

In early 2019, it was announced that Iturraspe would leave Athletic at the end of the campaign when his contract ended. The club's final home match involved tributes to him, as well as fellow long-serving squad members Mikel Rico and Markel Susaeta who were also departing in similar circumstances.[11][12]

Espanyol

On 8 July 2019, Iturraspe signed a one-year contract with RCD Espanyol as a free agent.[13] He made his debut on 1 August in the second leg of the second qualifying round in the UEFA Europa League, as a 65th-minute substitute in a 3–1 win at Stjarnan (7–1 aggregate).[14] He did not feature for the Barcelona-based club until 15 December, again off the bench in a 2–2 home draw against Real Betis.[15]

International career

Following a strong 2013–14 season, Iturraspe was called up by Spanish national team manager Vicente Del Bosque to his 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,[16] making his debut on 30 May in a friendly with Bolivia in Seville[17] where he played the full 90 minutes (2–0 win).[18] However, the following day, he was omitted from the final list.[19]

Personal life

Iturraspe's younger brother, Gorka, also came through Athletic's academy and became a professional in the same position.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of 3 April 2019[21][22]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other[23] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Basconia 2007–08 Tercera División 301–––301
Bilbao Athletic 2007–08 Segunda División B 30–––30
2008–09 261–––261
2009–10 110–––110
Total 401–––401
Athletic Bilbao 2008–09 La Liga 4010––50
2009–10 150003010190
2010–11 17010––180
2011–12 35180150–581
2012–13 3002090–410
2013–14 3305000–380
2014–15 2526070–382
2015–16 1604080–280
2016–17 2403050–320
2017–18 3001070–380
2018–19 3020––50
Total 2323330540103203
Career total 3025330540103825

International
As of 4 September 2014[24]
Spain
YearAppsGoals
201420
Total20

Honours

Club

Athletic Bilbao

Individual

References
  1. "The 2007–08 Bilbao Athletic and Baskonia teams". Athletic Bilbao. 10 July 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  2. "Portugalete 1 Athletic Club 2". Athletic Bilbao. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  3. "Aviron 1 – Athletic Club 1". Athletic Bilbao. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  4. "Baskonia and Bilbao Athletic, signings and departures". Athletic Bilbao. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  5. "Numbers 2008–09". Athletic Bilbao. 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  6. "Málaga CF 0-Athletic Club 0: First point". Athletic Bilbao. 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  7. "Athletic Club 2-Real Valladolid 0: First and well deserved victory". Athletic Bilbao. 21 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  8. "Qualified for the Round of 16". Athletic Bilbao. 12 November 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  9. "The Liga BBVA team of the season". La Liga. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  10. Chesters, Heath (19 May 2014). "LFP reporters choose their La Liga 'Ideal Eleven' for 2013–14". Inside Spanish Football. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  11. "Farewell tribute to Susaeta, Rico and Iturraspe". Athletic Bilbao. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  12. R. Beltrán, Javier (12 May 2019). "Susaeta, Iturraspe y Mikel Rico, arropados y manteados" [Susaeta, Iturraspe and Mikel Rico, cheered and thrown in the air]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. "Espanyol sign Athletic Club Bilbao's Ander Iturraspe". Football España. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  14. "Iturraspe debuta con el Espanyol en Islandia" [Iturraspe debuts with Espanyol in Iceland] (in Spanish). Football Addict. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  15. "El Betis corta la reacción del Espanyol" [Betis cut Espanyol's reaction] (in Spanish). RTVE. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. Estepa, Javier (13 May 2014). "Carvajal and Iturraspe, La Roja's fresh faces". Marca. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  17. "Del Bosque waits to name 23". FIFA. 25 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  18. Bruña, Manuel (31 May 2014). "2–0: Iniesta desatasca a España en Sevilla" [2–0: Iniesta gets Spain going in Seville]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  19. "World Cup 2014: Spain drop Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas". BBC Sport. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  20. Ugalde, Iñaki (20 February 2014). "Iturraspe: "¡Dónde voy a estar mejor que aquí!"" [Iturraspe: "Where could I feel better than here!"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  21. Ander Iturraspe at Athletic Bilbao
  22. "Iturraspe". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  23. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.
  24. "Iturraspe". European Football. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
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