José Antonio Pikabea

José Antonio Pikabea Larrarte (born 26 September 1970), also known as Kote, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Pikabea and the second or maternal family name is Larrarte.
José Antonio Pikabea
Personal information
Full name José Antonio Pikabea Larrarte
Date of birth (1970-09-26) 26 September 1970
Place of birth Hondarribia, Spain
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Centre back
Youth career
Hondarribia FT
1987–1988 Real Sociedad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1992 San Sebastián 88 (4)
1992–2003 Real Sociedad 292 (10)
Total 380 (14)
National team
1993–1999 Basque Country 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Hondarribia, Basque Country, Pikabea joined Real Sociedad's youth system at the age of 17, going on to play four seasons with the reserves. On 8 March 1992 he made his La Liga debut, playing 21 minutes in a 2–1 away win against Valencia CF[1]– his first appearance was handed by John Toshack.

Still under the Welsh manager, Pikabea became an undisputed starter for the Gipuzkoa side from the 1992–93 campaign onwards. In 1997–98, he only missed two league games and totalled 3,214 minutes of action as the team finished in third position, thus qualifying to the UEFA Cup.

During most of his spell Pikabea often partnered another Real Sociedad youth graduate, Loren. A continuous loss of form made him appear in just six matches in his penultimate season (again with Toshack, who was having his third stint as head coach), and none whatsoever in his last, with French Raynald Denoueix on the bench; he retired in June 2003 at nearly 33, having taken part in 313 competitive games for his only club.[2]

See also

References
  1. La Real sorprende al Valencia (Real surprise Valencia); Mundo Deportivo, 9 March 1992 (in Spanish)
  2. Eskerrik asko, Kote (Thank you, Kote); Mundo Deportivo, 27 May 2003 (in Spanish)
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