Iñigo Larrainzar

Iñigo Larrainzar Santamaría (born 5 June 1971) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right-back.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Larrainzar and the second or maternal family name is Santamaría.
Iñigo Larrainzar
Personal information
Full name Iñigo Larrainzar Santamaría
Date of birth (1971-06-05) 5 June 1971
Place of birth Pamplona, Spain
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
Osasuna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1990 Osasuna B 20 (2)
1990–1993 Osasuna 115 (9)
1993–2003 Athletic Bilbao 251 (6)
2003–2005 Córdoba 40 (0)
Total 426 (17)
International career
1990 Spain U20 1 (0)
1991 Spain U21 5 (0)
1991–1992 Spain U23 4 (0)
1994 Spain 1 (0)
1995–2000 Basque Country 4 (0)
2003 Navarre 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Also a central defender on occasion, his older brother Domingo, often referred to as Larrainzar I, was also a footballer, and both played at Osasuna.[1][2]

Club career

A product of hometown CA Osasuna's youth academy and reserve team, where he played alongside future Athletic Bilbao teammate José Mari, Pamplona-born Larrainzar made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 21 March 1990 in a 1–0 away loss to Rayo Vallecano, and was definitely promoted to the main squad for the following season; aged 19, he was instrumental, as was brother Domingo, in helping the Navarrese side to finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.[3]

In the summer of 1993, Athletic Bilbao paid 200 million pesetas to acquire Larrainzar's services, then the second-highest figure by the club, and he was an undisputed starter in the following campaigns.[2] In 1997–98, alongside youth graduate Aitor Larrazábal who played on the opposite flank, he featured in 34 matches and scored two goals to help the Basques to a runner-up place, with direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

After some years battling for first-choice status with younger Jesús María Lacruz, who also represented Osasuna (although they did not coincide),[4] and also dealing with injuries,[5][6] Larraínzar moved south for Córdoba CF in the Segunda División,[7] where he played a further two seasons. He retired at the age of 34, with 366 top-flight appearances to his credit.[8]

International career

Larrainzar was capped once for Spain. On 19 January 1994, he played the entire 2–2 friendly against Portugal in Vigo.[9][2]

References
  1. César Azpilicueta supera a Iñigo Larrainzar al llegar a los 100 partidos con sólo 20 años y 9 meses de edad (César Azpilicueta passes Iñigo Larrainzar by reaching 100 games at only 20 years and 9 months) Archived 9 December 2012 at archive.today; Diario de Navarra, 6 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  2. Qué fue de… Iñigo Larrainzar: otro canterano osasunista en Bilbao (What happened to… Iñigo Larrainzar: another Osasuna youth player in Bilbao); 20 minutos, 10 July 2014 (in Spanish)
  3. Aquella UEFA de hace 20 años (That UEFA from 20 years ago); Diario de Navarra, 4 October 2011 (in Spanish)
  4. Doce defensas para nada (Twelve defenders for nothing); El País, 2 April 2002 (in Spanish)
  5. Larrainzar conocerá mañána su lesión (Larrainzar will learn about his injury tomorrow); El País, 25 January 1999 (in Spanish)
  6. Larrainzar: "Toshack pretendía tapar otros males" (Larrainzar: "Toshack was looking to cover up other wrongs"); Diario AS, 17 January 2002 (in Spanish)
  7. Larrainzar: "No he venido aquí para cubrir expediente y pasar de largo" (Larrainzar: "I did not come here to sow my wild oats); Diario Córdoba, 11 February 2004 (in Spanish)
  8. Jon Andoni Goikoetxea e Iñigo Larrainzar, leyendas a ambos lados de una Copa (Jon Andoni Goikoetxea and Iñigo Larrainzar, legends at both sides of a Cup); Diario de Navarra, 28 February 2023 (in Spanish)
  9. España, de cal y arena (Spain, heads and tails); Mundo Deportivo, 20 January 1994 (in Spanish)
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