Joseba Etxeberria

Joseba Etxeberria

Personal information
Full name	Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi
Date of birth	(1977-09-05) 5 September 1977
Place of birth	Elgoibar, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Winger / Forward
Youth career
	Real Sociedad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1995	Real Sociedad B	29	(9)
1995	Real Sociedad	7	(2)
1995–2010	Athletic Bilbao	445	(88)
Total		481	(99)
International career
1992–1994	Spain U16	17	(11)
1994–1995	Spain U18	7	(5)
1995	Spain U20	6	(7)
1996–1997	Spain U21	3	(0)
1997–2004	Spain	53	(12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Etxeberria and the second or maternal family name is Lizardi.

Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi (born 5 September 1977) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as a winger.

After starting his professional career at the age of 17 with Real Sociedad, he quickly switched to Athletic de Bilbao, going on to spend the rest of his extensive career there.

Exteberria gained more than 50 caps for Spain, representing the nation in one World Cup and two European Championships.

Club career

Born in Elgoibar, Gipuzkoa, Etxeberria began his career with Real Sociedad, making his La Liga debut at only 17 in a 2–0 home win against RCD Español, on 29 January 1995. That summer he moved to neighbouring Basque club Athletic Bilbao, in a controversial transfer that cost over €3 million; at the time, it was the highest transfer fee paid for an under-18 player in Spanish football.

In 1997–98 Etxeberria scored 11 league goals as Athletic finished second, achieving a career-best 14 five seasons later, while he was also eventually awarded club captaincy. In his first 12 years he never appeared in less than 28 league games, his lowest scoring output being three in the 2004–05 and 2006–07 campaigns.

On 1 October 2008, already playing second-fiddle for the team, Etxeberria agreed a deal with the club according to which he effectively played 2009–10, his last season as a professional, for free, after his contract expired in June 2009.

Etxeberria's last year was not a successful one individually, as he only appeared in seven league matches – adding another seven with two goals in the season's UEFA Europa League. On 15 May 2010 he was replaced to a standing ovation in Athletic's 2–0 home win against Deportivo de La Coruña, and represented his main club in 514 official matches (104 goals), third-best in the team's history only behind José Ángel Iribar and Txetxu Rojo.

Etxeberria's testimonial match at the San Mamés Stadium was played against 200 children, and he scored twice in a 5–3 win for Athletic Bilbao.

International career

After leading the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship scoring charts and winning fourth place, Etxeberria moved up to the full national team, making his debut on 19 November 1997 in a friendly match against Romania in Palma, Majorca, and scoring in the 1–1 draw.

He was capped 53 times and netted 12 goals, representing his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. On 18 June, in the second tournament, he scored the 2–1 winner in the group stage match against Slovenia.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 November 1997	Lluís Sitjar, Palma, Spain	Romania	1–0	1–1	Friendly
2.	25 March 1998	Balaídos, Vigo, Spain	Sweden	4–0	4–0	Friendly
3.	14 October 1998	Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Israel	Israel	1–2	1–2	Euro 2000 qualifying
4.	31 March 1999	Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	0–6	0–6	Euro 2000 qualifying
5.	5 June 1999	El Madrigal, Vila-real, Spain	San Marino	3–0	9–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
6.	5 June 1999	El Madrigal, Vila-real, Spain	San Marino	4–0	9–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
7.	18 June 2000	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Slovenia	1–2	1–2	UEFA Euro 2000
8.	2 September 2000	Koševo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–2	1–2	2002 World Cup qualification
9.	29 March 2003	Olimpiyskiy, Kiev, Ukraine	Ukraine	1–2	2–2	Euro 2004 qualifying
10.	6 November 2003	D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal	Portugal	0–1	0–3	Friendly
11.	19 November 2003	Ullevaal, Oslo, Norway	Norway	0–3	0–3	Euro 2004 qualifying
12.	18 February 2004	Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain	Peru	1–1	2–1	Friendly

Statistics

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Real Sociedad B	1993–94	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0
	1994–95	28	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	28	9
	Total	29	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	9
Real Sociedad	1994–95	7	2	1	0	-	-	-	-	8	2
	Total	7	2	1	0	-	-	-	-	8	2
Athletic Bilbao	1995–96	33	7	6	3	-	-	-	-	39	10
	1996–97	35	6	1	0	-	-	-	-	36	6
	1997–98	36	11	4	2	3	0	-	-	43	13
	1998–99	36	5	2	1	8	2	-	-	46	8
	1999–00	35	10	2	2	-	-	-	-	37	12
	2000–01	28	5	3	0	-	-	-	-	31	5
	2001–02	31	8	6	1	-	-	-	-	37	9
	2002–03	33	14	0	0	-	-	-	-	33	14
	2003–04	34	6	1	0	-	-	-	-	35	6
	2004–05	33	3	7	1	8	2	-	-	48	6
	2005–06	29	4	2	0	-	-	-	-	31	4
	2006–07	28	3	2	0	-	-	-	-	30	3
	2007–08	25	4	0	0	-	-	-	-	25	4
	2008–09	22	2	3	0	-	-	-	-	25	2
	2009–10	7	0	2	0	7	2	2	0	18	2
	Total	445	88	41	10	26	6	2	0	514	104
Career totals		481	99	42	10	26	6	2	0	551	115

International

Spain
Year	Apps	Goals
1997	1	1
1998	10	2
1999	10	3
2000	11	2
2001	4	0
2002	1	0
2003	10	3
2004	6	1
Total	53	12

External links

• Joseba Etxeberria profile at BDFutbol
• National team data
• Athletic Bilbao profile
• Joseba Etxeberria at National-Football-Teams.com
• Joseba Etxeberria – FIFA competition record