Ismael Urzaiz

Ismael Urzaiz

Urzaiz in 2007
Personal information
Full name Ismael Urzaiz Aranda
Date of birth (1971-10-07) 7 October 1971
Place of birth Tudela, Spain
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Centre forward
Youth career
Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1993 Real Madrid B 48 (12)
1990–1993 Real Madrid 0 (0)
1991–1992 → Albacete (loan) 11 (1)
1993 → Celta (loan) 6 (1)
1993–1994 Rayo Vallecano 20 (1)
1994–1995 Salamanca 21 (3)
1995–1996 Espanyol 41 (13)
1996–2007 Athletic Bilbao 367 (116)
2007–2008 Ajax 3 (0)
Total 517 (147)
National team
1987–1988 Spain U16 11 (5)
1988 Spain U17 1 (2)
1988–1990 Spain U18 7 (6)
1988–1991 Spain U19 9 (3)
1989–1991 Spain U20 5 (4)
1990–1992 Spain U21 6 (1)
1991–1992 Spain U23 2 (0)
1996–2001 Spain 25 (8)
1997–2005 Euskadi XI 7 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


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

Ismael Urzaiz Aranda (Spanish pronunciation: [izmaˈel urˈθaiθ aˈɾanda]; born 7 October 1971) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a centre forward.

Best known for his physical strength and aerial ability,[1] the unsuccessful youth graduate at Real Madrid went on to represent seven other teams during his extensive professional career, mainly Athletic Bilbao (11 years). Over the course of 16 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 445 games and 131 goals.

Urzaiz gained nearly 30 caps for Spain, representing the national team at Euro 2000.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup[2]).

Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo also in the top flight, appearing rarely and scoring only once.

Professional journeyman

Urzaiz left Real Madrid permanently in 1993 and during the following three seasons played for three different clubs – Rayo Vallecano, UD Salamanca and RCD Espanyol – with a very modest scoring rate in the first two. He helped Salamanca win promotion to the top level in 1995, scoring twice as they beat Albacete 5–0 in the play-offs.

The following campaign, Urzaiz joined Espanyol and exploded as a first-rate attacking player, netting 13 top division goals for a side that eventually finished fourth, including a hat-trick against former club Rayo Vallecano for a 4–2 home success on 14 April 1996.[3]

Athletic Bilbao

The form of a revived Urzaiz attracted interest and in the summer of 1996 he joined Athletic de Bilbao. In ten seasons with the Basque, he scored 115 goals in 367 league appearances.[1] In 1997–98, he helped Athletic finish second – 32 matches, eight goals – which led to direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League, where the player netted once in ten games.[2]

In six of the seasons with Athletic, Urzaiz scored in double figures,[4] but the emergence of youth graduate Fernando Llorente (1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)) prompted his exit from the squad, in July 2007.[5]

Ajax

On 19 July 2007, Urzaiz signed a one-year contract with AFC Ajax, joining fellow Spaniards Gabri and Albert Luque.[6] He made his official debut on 15 August, in the Champions League qualifier against Slavia Prague (0–1 home loss, 18 minutes played).[7][8]

Urzaiz was released by the Amsterdam club after just three Eredivisie appearances, announcing his retirement at nearly 37 shortly afterwards.

International career

Urzaiz represented Spain at the 1988 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in Denmark, helping his country win tournament. He also scored four goals for the under-20 team at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, held in Portugal.

On 10 October 1996 Urzaiz made his debut for the senior side, a 0–0 away draw with the Czech Republic for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Over the next three years he made only three more appearances and failed to score, but emerged as the hero as Spain qualified for UEFA Euro 2000, netting six times in three games – this included two against Austria and a hat-trick against Cyprus.[9] After a further two in a friendly with Poland,[10] he was subsequently picked for the final stages in Belgium and the Netherlands.

After 25 caps and eight goals, Urzaiz made his last international appearance in a 0–3 friendly loss against England, in Birmingham in 2001.[11] Between 1997 and 2005 he also played seven times for the Euskadi XI, scoring twice in a 3–2 win over Morocco in 2000.[12]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 27 March 1999 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 3–0 9–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
2. 27 March 1999 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 5–0 9–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
3. 31 March 1999 Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 0–3 0–6 Euro 2000 qualifying
4. 8 September 1999 Vivero, Badajoz, Spain  Cyprus 1–0 8–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
5. 8 September 1999 Vivero, Badajoz, Spain  Cyprus 2–0 8–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
6. 8 September 1999 Vivero, Badajoz, Spain  Cyprus 4–0 8–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
7. 26 January 2000 Cartagonova, Cartagena, Spain  Poland 2–0 3–0 Friendly
8. 26 January 2000 Cartagonova, Cartagena, Spain  Poland 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Club statistics

[13]

Season Club Competition Apps Goals
1989–90 Real Madrid B Spain Segunda División 10 5
1990–91 Real Madrid B Spain Segunda División B 11 0
1990–91 Real Madrid Spain La Liga 0 0
1991–92 Albacete Spain La Liga 11 1
1992–93 Real Madrid B Spain Segunda División 27 7
1992–93 Real Madrid Spain La Liga 0 0
1992–93 Celta Spain La Liga 6 1
1993–94 Rayo Vallecano Spain La Liga 20 1
1994–95 Salamanca Spain Segunda División 21 3
1995–96 Espanyol Spain La Liga 41 13
1996–97 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 38 16
1997–98 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 32 8
1998–99 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 36 16
1999–00 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 33 5
2000–01 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 34 10
2001–02 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 36 16
2002–03 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 31 14
2003–04 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 37 8
2004–05 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 31 12
2005–06 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 26 3
2006–07 Athletic Bilbao Spain La Liga 33 8
2007–08 Ajax Netherlands Eredivisie 3 0
Total 517 147

Honours

Country

Spain U16

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 Urzaiz supera a Uriarte en la lista de máximos goleadores del Athletic (Urzaiz passes Uriarte in Athletic's all-time scoring chart); El Mundo, 11 December 2006 (Spanish)
  2. 1 2 Ismael Urzáiz Aranda – Matches in European Cups; at RSSSF
  3. ↑ 4–2: Urzaiz acaba con un Rayo que puso muchas dificultades al Español (4–2: Urzaiz ended with Rayo that posed many problems to Español); ABC, 15 April 1996 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ "Leyendas del Athletic Club de Bilbao – Urzaiz" [Athletic Club de Bilbao legends – Urzaiz] (in Spanish). El Correo. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Mané y Caparrós pidieron a Llorente" [Mané and Caparrós asked for Llorente] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Spits Urzaiz (35) naar Ajax" [Forward Urzaiz (35) to Ajax] (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ajax verliest van Slavia Praag" [Ajax loses with Slavia Prague] (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Slavia make Ajax pay the penalty". UEFA.com. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "España golea 8–0 a Chipre y pasa a la fase final de la Eurocopa" [Spain routs Cyprus 8–0 and qualifies to Eurocup finals] (in Spanish). El País. 9 September 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "España dota de argumentos a Camacho con otra goleada" [España gives reasons to Camacho with another routing] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 26 January 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Inglaterra golea (3–0) a España (England routs (3–0) Spain); El País, 1 March 2001 (Spanish)
  12. ↑ Ismael Urzáiz Aranda – International Matches; at RSSSF
  13. ↑ "Ismael Urzaiz". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
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