Full name Ander Garitano Urquizu Years Team Height 1.74 m | Playing position Role Footballer Name Ander Garitano | |
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Date of birth (1969-02-26) 26 February 1969 (age 46) | ||
Entrevista a ander garitano captacion del real zaragoza undersoccer com futbol base
Ander Garitano Urquizu (born 26 February 1969) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left midfielder, and a coach.
Contents
- Entrevista a ander garitano captacion del real zaragoza undersoccer com futbol base
- Ander Garitano ELA
- Club career
- Personal life
- Honours
- References
His career as a player – almost entirely spent in La Liga – was solely associated with two clubs, Athletic Bilbao and Zaragoza.
Ander Garitano ELA
Club career
Born in Derio, Biscay, Garitano began his professional career at local powerhouse Athletic Bilbao. After apperaring twice in the closing stages of 1987–88 he quickly imposed himself as a first-choice player with good free kick skills, scoring 35 La Liga goals during nine seasons; on 12 March 1988, two weeks after his 19th birthday, he made his official debut, starting in a 0–5 away loss against Real Madrid.
Garitano moved to Real Zaragoza in 1996, and played there until his retirement in 2002, appearing in a further 147 league games and netting 15 times. He was still regularly used the Aragonese side's 2000–01 victorious run in the Copa del Rey, and finally retired in the following summer at 33 – Zaragoza suffered top flight relegation – with more than 500 official matches to his credit; from 1986 to 1988 he played 61 contests for Bilbao Athletic, with that team in Segunda División.
Subsequently, Garitano moved into coaching, first taking charge of Zaragoza's youth teams. In mid-January 2008 he replaced sacked Víctor Fernández, first appearing in a Spanish Cup round-of-16 tie against Racing de Santander, a 2–4 loss (3–5 on aggregate).
Just two days after his only league game, a 3–1 home win over Real Murcia, Garitano quit the job, quoting a lack of commitment. Zaragoza would have a further two coaches until the end of the campaign, which ended in relegation.
For 2008–09 Garitano returned to Real Zaragoza, now as a youth coach. However, in late 2009, he moved to the club's B-side, following José Aurelio Gay's promotion as first-team coach.
Personal life
Garitano is the uncle of another footballer (and midfielder), Gaizka Garitano whom, after unsuccessfully graduating from Athletic's academy, went on to represent, among others, neighbours Real Sociedad and Deportivo Alavés.