Asier Villalibre

Asier Villalibre Molina (born 30 September 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao as a striker.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Villalibre and the second or maternal family name is Molina.
Asier Villalibre
Villalibre in 2012
Personal information
Full name Asier Villalibre Molina
Date of birth (1997-09-30) 30 September 1997
Place of birth Guernica, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 25
Youth career
2011–2014 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Basconia 45 (26)
2015–2019 Bilbao Athletic 101 (37)
2016– Athletic Bilbao 12 (1)
2017 → Numancia (loan) 6 (0)
2017–2018 → Valladolid (loan) 13 (0)
2018 → Lorca (loan) 12 (0)
National team
2013–2014 Spain U17 9 (2)
2014–2015 Spain U18 3 (1)
2015 Spain U19 1 (0)
2019– Basque Country 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 January 2020

Club career

Born in Guernica, Biscay, Basque Country, Villalibre joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup in 2011. He made his debut as a senior with the farm team in the 2013–14 season, scoring on his Tercera División debut at the age of 15.[1]

In May 2015, after a further 20 goals for the third side, Villalibre was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División – he had already represented them the previous campaign, in Segunda División B.[2] He made his professional debut on 24 August, coming on as a second-half substitute for Gorka Santamaría in a 0–1 home loss against Girona FC.[3]

Villalibre scored his first professional goal for Bilbao Athletic on 6 September 2015, netting the last in a 3–1 home win over RCD Mallorca.[4] At 17 years and 341 days, this made him the second-youngest goalscorer for the team when competing in the second level (behind Ander Garitano's 17 years and 198 days in 1986).[5]

On 3 December 2016, Villalibre was called up to the first team for the Basque derby against SD Eibar, with habitual first-choice Aritz Aduriz suspended after being sent off in the previous league match.[6] He made his La Liga debut the following day, replacing Iñaki Williams after 84 minutes and, provided the assist for Iker Muniain to score the final goal of a 3–1 win in injury time.[7]

On 8 December 2016, Villalibre appeared in his first game in European competition, contributing with another decisive pass in a 1–1 draw away to SK Rapid Wien in the UEFA Europa League group stage, after once again coming on from the bench.[8] He was loaned out to CD Numancia on 2 May of the following year, for one month.[9]

On 20 August 2017, Villalibre was loaned to second division club Real Valladolid for one year.[10] After only netting twice in the cup, his loan was terminated and he subsequently moved to fellow league team Lorca FC also in a temporary deal.[11]

Villalibre scored his first league goal for Athletic on 25 January 2020, playing 84 minutes in the 1–1 away draw with RCD Espanyol.[12]

International career

Villalibre made his debut for the unofficial Basque Country national team in May 2019, in a 0–0 draw away to Panama for which a small, youthful and inexperienced squad was selected.[13][14]

References
  1. Martín, Javi (10 September 2015). "Villalibre: El debut soñado con 15 años" [Villalibre: A dream debut at 15 years] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. F. Mangana, David (9 May 2015). "Asier Villalibre, un nuevo cachorro en el Bilbao Athletic" [Asier Villalibre, a new pup at Bilbao Athletic] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. García-Muñoz, Sergio (24 August 2015). "El que la sigue, la consigue" [He who wants it, gets it]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  4. "El filial remonta al Mallorca y suma sus tres primeros puntos" [The reserves complete a comeback over Mallorca and get their first points]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. Martín, Javi (7 September 2015). "Asier Villalibre: segundo goleador más jóven de la historia del Bilbao Athletic en 2ª División" [Asier Villalibre: second-youngest goalscorer of Bilbao Athletic's history in 2nd Division] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. San Cristóbal, Einara (3 December 2016). "Villalibre se estrena en convocatoria ante el Eibar" [Villalibre gets first selection against Eibar]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. Callero, Borja Luis (4 December 2016). "Un león a la carrera por Europa" [A lion runs loose in Europe]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  8. "La semana soñada de Villalibre" [Villalibre's dream week]. El Correo (in Spanish). 9 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. "Asier Villalibre, nuevo jugador del C. D. Numancia" [Asier Villalibre, new player of C.D. Numancia] (in Spanish). CD Numancia. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  10. "Villalibre fortalece el ataque" [Villalibre strengthens the attack] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  11. "Asier Villalibre on-loan". Athletic Bilbao. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  12. García, Miguel Ángel (25 January 2020). "Con RDT hay esperanza" [There's hope with RDT]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  13. Lekuona, Javier (30 May 2019). "Empate sin goles de la Euskal Selekzioa ante Panamá" [Basque Selection goalless draw against Panama]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  14. "Empate entre la Euskal Selekzioa y Panamá (0–0)" [Draw between Basque Selection and Panama (0–0)] (in Spanish). EITB. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
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