Name Inigo Idiakez Playing position Role Footballer | 1989–1992 Real Sociedad Height 1.83 m Years Team Position Midfielder | |
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Full name Inigo Idiakez Barkaiztegi Date of birth (1973-11-08) 8 November 1973 (age 42) | ||
Place of birth San Sebastian, Spain | ||
Interview i igo idiakez returns to the rams
Iñigo Idiakez Barkaiztegi (born 8 November 1973) is a Spanish football player and coach who played as a midfielder and occasionally forward. He is currently first team coach of English club Derby County.
Contents
- Interview i igo idiakez returns to the rams
- Spain
- England
- Coaching career
- International career
- Honours
- References
During 13 years he played for Real Sociedad, with relative impact with the first team. In 2003, at the age of 30, he moved to England where he finished his career after having represented three teams, without however having played in the Premier League.
Spain
Idiakez was born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa. In 1989 he joined local Real Sociedad's youth system, making his senior debuts with the B-team where he shared teams with his older brother Imanol. He first appeared with the main squad on 8 November 1992, on his 19th birthday, against Cádiz CF in La Liga; despite that early debut he did not become a regular member of the first team squad until the 1994–95 season, playing nearly two full campaigns with the reserves in Segunda División B.
Subsequently, Idiakez appeared in a further eight top flight seasons with the Txuriurdin, going on to appear in nearly 300 official games. During most of his spell he was a regular substitute and, in 1998–99 and 2000–01, scored a career-best seven league goals.
At the end of the 2001–02 season, having finished his link with Real Sociedad, Idiakez signed with Real Oviedo, who had just been relegated to Segunda División and were in a deep financial crisis. He only spent one year with the Asturias side, who finished the season penultimate, being relegated to division three then demoted a further category because of financial ireegularities.
Idiakez then moved to another second division side, Madrid's Rayo Vallecano. Again, his new club finished second from the bottom and were relegated at the end of the season.
England
In the summer of 2004, Derby County manager George Burley signed Idiakez up on a free transfer. He immediately adapted to the Football League Championship, being named Player of the Season in his debut year as Derby finished in fourth place, but failed to win promotion through the play-offs.
At Derby, Idiakez played in an advanced position and took most free kicks and corners. In 2005–06, under managers Phil Brown first and Terry Westley after, the team only finished in 20th position, narrowly avoiding relegation; he ended his stint at the club with 22 competitive goals in 96 matches.
On 31 August 2006 Idiákez was once again signed by Burley, moving to Southampton for £275,000. In March of the following year, after only a handful of appearances for the Saints, he joined Queens Park Rangers on loan for a month, scoring once against Leicester City in a 3–1 away win, and returned to Southampton one month later.
In the 2006–07 season play-off semi-final, on 15 May, Southampton played Derby County: after the tie finished 4–4 on aggregate after extra time the match went to a penalty shootout, and Idiákez missed the crucial penalty, helping to send his former club through to the final.
Southampton released Idiákez at the end of the 2007–08 campaign, and the player then underwent trials with Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes and Bournemouth, but was not offered a contract.
Coaching career
After his retirement as a player, Idiakez completed his coaching qualifications when he earned the UEFA Pro Licence. In 2012 he had his first spell as a manager, assisting former Derby and Southampton boss Burley at Apollon Limassol.
International career
Idiakez played for Spain at under-21 level, and participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, appearing three times for the quarter-finalists.
He also played in four friendly games for the Basque unofficial team, scoring twice.