Full name Jorge Azkoitia Gabiola 1996–2001 Alaves 1992–1996 Sestao Height 1.82 m | Years Team Role Footballer Place of birth Bilbao, Spain Name Jorge Azkoitia | |
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Date of birth (1974-04-27) 27 April 1974 (age 41) | ||
Jorge Azkoitia Gabiola (born 27 April 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Football career
Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Azkoitia started playing professionally with local Sestao Sport Club in the third division, but eventually helped to the club's promotion to the second level. However, the team was relegated back in 1996, and he signed with Basque neighbours Deportivo Alavés.
At Alavés, Azkoitia proved essential in the 1997–98 season, appearing in 39 games and scoring four goals in an eventual La Liga return after a four-decade absence. He was relatively used in the following years, but had few opportunities in the 2000–01 campaign as the side achieved an historical runner-up position in the UEFA Cup.
Afterwards, Azkoitia joined Rayo Vallecano, being scarcely used in his first season. He was an important first-team element in the next two, but the Madrid team dropped two consecutive divisions and he was sent off four times combined.
Subsequently, Azkoitia served second division spells with Elche CF and SD Eibar – in 2005–06 he netted a career-best 11 goals, but the latter were relegated. He then moved to Alicante CF for the following season, helping it to a 2008 promotion to the second tier.
In the 2008–09 campaign, Azkoitia was once again instrumental for Alicante by scoring nine times in 33 league matches, but the Valencians were immediately relegated back. He subsequently retired from football at the age of 35, with professional totals of 310 games and 39 goals.