Ander Iturraspe

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Abadiño, Biscay, Iturraspe joined Athletic Bilbao in 1999, at the age of 10; he returned to his hometown four years later due to homesickness, but went back to Lezama to complete his development shortly after. He spent several seasons in the various junior levels of the club and, in 2007, moved to farm team CD Basconia in the Tercera División. On 12 March 2008, Iturraspe started for the first team in a 6–1 friendly win against Zalla UC. Towards the end of the league campaign, he also played in exhibition matches with Club Portugalete and Aviron Bayonnais FC. On 23 June 2008, Iturraspe was officially promoted to the main squad, being issued with the squad number 26. He made his La Liga debut on 14 September, starting in a 0–0 draw at Málaga CF in the same match as another youth graduate, Mikel Balenziaga; his second appearance came as a substitute, in the 2–0 home victory over Real Valladolid. Iturraspe made his second start for Athletic in a Copa del Rey match against Recreativo de Huelva, being replaced at half-time by Pablo Orbaiz. He continued appearing almost exclusively for the reserves until the end of the season, however.

Benefitting from physical problems to veteran Carlos Gurpegui, Iturraspe played 58 official games in 2011–12 under new manager Marcelo Bielsa; Athletic reached both the UEFA Europa League and the domestic cup finals. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he was voted into the La Liga Team of the Year by the reporters of…

Following a strong 2013–14 season, Iturraspe was called up by Spain national team manager Vicente Del Bosque to his 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making his debut on 30 May in a friendly with Bolivia in Seville where he played the full 90 minutes (2–0 win). However, the following day, he was omitted from the final list.

Club

International

Iturraspe's younger brother, Gorka, also came through Athletic's academy and became a professional in the same position.