Full name Inaki Descarga Retegui 1994–1996 Real Union Position Defender Years Team Height 1.74 m | Playing position Role Footballer Place of birth Irun, Spain Name Inaki Descarga | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1976-08-25) 25 August 1976 (age 39) | ||
Primer entrenamiento del filial de inaki descarga
Iñaki Descarga Retegui (born 25 August 1976 in Irun, Basque Country) is a Spanish retired footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also operate as a right back.
Contents
He started and ended his 16-year professional career with Real Unión, but played mainly for Levante (eight seasons and more than 300 official games, 61 in La Liga).
Football career
After an insignificant stint with CA Osasuna in the second division and a season with neighbours SD Eibar in the same category, Descarga played eight years with Levante UD, where he would be one of the club's most influential players as well as team captain, helping it achieve two promotions to La Liga. His first match in the competition came on 13 November 2004 in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña, with the Valencian Community side being relegated on the last matchday.
Following Levante's severe financial crisis during 2007–08, Descarga was one of many players who would leave, joining Legia Warsaw in August 2008 and sharing teams with former Osasuna teammate Iñaki Astiz. He made his Ekstraklasa debut in a game against Arka Gdynia (2–2) but, after just 13 minutes on the pitch, he tore his hamstring and never played for the club again, leaving at the end of the campaign.
In July 2009, Descarga signed with his first club Real Unión of Irun, freshly promoted to the second level. On 20 June 2010, as the club was immediately relegated back, he helped seal its fate, netting in his own net in a 0–2 home loss against neighbours Real Sociedad (last matchday).
After not being able to help Unión return to division two, Descarga retired in June 2011 at the age of 35.
Match-fixing controversy
On 3 December 2008, Spanish regional TV channel Popular TV del Mediterráneo released a recording of a telephone conversation between Levante's president, Julio Romero, and club defender Descarga, in which the latter admitted that a certain number of his teammates had accepted a bribe to lose a 17 June 2007 match against Athletic Bilbao. The Basque team won 2–0 and Celta de Vigo was instead relegated.