Name Jesus Lacruz Date joined 2006 Years Team | Height 1.78 m Playing position Role Footballer | |
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Full name Jesus Maria Lacruz Gomez Date of birth (1978-04-25) 25 April 1978 (age 37) | ||
Jesús María Lacruz Gómez (born 25 April 1978) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a versatile defender.
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He amassed La Liga totals of 272 games and 12 goals over the course of 12 seasons, representing in the competition Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol.
Club career
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Lacruz's professional career began in 1994 with hometown's CA Osasuna in the second division, making his first appearance for the main squad at not yet 17, and in 1997 he joined Athletic Bilbao, where he made his La Liga debut in a 1–0 home win against Atlético Madrid on 13 September. He was a regular starter for the Basques in six of his nine seasons.
After 251 official games with Bilbao – five in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League – Lacruz moved to RCD Espanyol in the 2006 summer, for €300,000. He scored his first goal for his new team against A.S. Livorno Calcio in a UEFA Cup match and, in the same competition, he added another in a 2–1 win at SV Werder Bremen as the Catalans went on to lose the final to Sevilla FC; after having appeared in only ten league games in the 2008–09 campaign, the 31-year-old left the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
On 14 January 2010, after several months without a club, Lacruz signed with modest Real Unión on a free transfer, until the end of the second division season, returning to the Basque region after three 1/2 years and appearing in 20 matches (all starts) in an eventual relegation.
International career
Lacruz was part of the Spanish squad that won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, losing the final to Cameroon. During two years, he appeared nine times for the under-21 team.