Óscar de Marcos

Alavés

Born in Laguardia, Álava, de Marcos made his professional debut for nearby Alavés. He first appeared in the Segunda División in the home fixture against Tenerife on 21 December 2008, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–1 loss. De Marcos eventually played 20 games with the first team, as they dropped down a level at the season's end. He started his career as a forward.

Athletic Bilbao

2010s

In July 2009, de Marcos went straight into La Liga, penning a four-year deal with Athletic Bilbao for about €350,000. He made his club debut on 6 August in a 2–1 win at Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League (2–2 aggregate, victory on the away goals rule), as a starter. Ten days later, he opened the scoring against Barcelona in the season's Supercopa de España, as the Basques eventually lost 2–1 at home and 5–1 on aggregate. Having been signed initially for the reserve squad, de Marcos had more impact than expected – as did 16-year-old Iker Muniain – making 29 official appearances during 2009–10 and scoring three goals. He played his only match with the B team on 14 April 2010 against Zamora, in a campaign where they narrowly avoided relegation from Segunda División B. De Marcos appeared less in his second season, but was also used as a full-back by manager Joaquín Caparrós, finishing the year with 15 games in all competitions. The following campaign, under Marcelo Bielsa, he played in that position and also in central midfield. On 17 December 2011, de…

In November 2015, de Marcos and Nacho were called up into the Spain squad as replacements for the injured Sergio Ramos and Juanfran, ahead of friendlies against England and Belgium. De Marcos did not play either match, with the latter in Brussels being cancelled due to a terrorism-related lockdown. De Marcos also featured for the unofficial Basque Country regional team.

Outside football, de Marcos is known for his humanitarian work, including non-publicised visits to see sick children in local hospitals on a weekly basis and frequent charity visits to Africa and South America, in addition to occasionally offering lifts in his car to supporters who attended training sessions at Lezama on foot. In 2019, he authored a short book in collaboration with Athletic Bilbao's community foundation, describing the high and low points of his first year at the club which were followed by a trip to the West African country of Togo (the book's title) which helped him put his newfound fame as a sportsman in perspective. He is red-green colour blind, which has occasionally caused him difficulty as a footballer required to make quick decisions based on visual information.

Athletic Bilbao

Copa del Rey: 2023–24; runner-up: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2020–21 Supercopa de España: 2015, 2021 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2011–12