Place of birth Abadino, Spain Name Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora Career start 2001 1999–2001 Athletic Bilbao Weight 75 kg | Current team None Height 1.83 m Playing position Role Footballer Position Defender | |
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Full name Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora Astarloa Date of birth (1983-02-16) 16 February 1983 (age 32) Number 4 (Athletic Bilbao / Defender) Profiles | ||
Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora Astarloa (born 16 February 1983), known simply as Ustaritz, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender.
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Most of his professional career was spent with Athletic Bilbao, for which he appeared in 103 official games over the course of seven years. In 2013, he won the double with Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia.
Athletic Bilbao
Born in Abadiño, Biscay, Lezama graduate Ustaritz made his debuts with Athletic Bilbao's first team during the 2005–06 season, appearing in 17 La Liga games that year. However, he found starting chances in La Liga hard to come in the subsequent years, mainly being restricted to Copa del Rey matches and the occasional UEFA Cup appearance – in 2007–08 he played in a career-best 20 games, but the Basques could only rank in 11th place.
From 2008 to 2011, Ustaritz appeared in only 36 league matches combined for Athletic, scoring his first competitive goal for the club on 29 November 2009 in a 4–1 away win against UD Almería. In mid-August 2011, aged 28, he was loaned to fellow league team Real Betis in a season-long move.
On 31 August 2012, Ustaritz's contract with Athletic was terminated by mutual consent.
Later years
In February 2013, 30-year-old Ustaritz moved abroad for the first time, signing with FC Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia and sharing teams with several compatriots. He played six games over the remainder of the season as his team won the Premier League, scoring in a 6–1 win over FC Zestafoni in the last fixture on 18 May; four days later, a double was secured with a 3–1 success against FC Chikhura Sachkhere in the Georgian Cup final, with the player being dismissed late on.
In the summer, Ustaritz recorded two goals in four games in Dinamo's unsuccessful qualification campaign for the UEFA Champions League. On 30 January 2014, he returned to the Iberian Peninsula, signing an eighteen-month deal at Primeira Liga club F.C. Arouca. Roughly one year later, after only two appearances – totalling less than five minutes playing time – he switched to another side in the same division, F.C. Penafiel.