Mikel Balenziaga
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mikel Balenziaga Oruesagasti | ||
Date of birth | 29 February 1988 | ||
Place of birth | Zumarraga, Spain | ||
Height | Script error: No such module "person height". | ||
Position(s) | Left back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team
|
Athletic Bilbao | ||
Number | 24 | ||
Youth career | |||
Real Sociedad | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2006–2008 | Real Sociedad B | 53 | (0) |
2008–2011 | Athletic Bilbao | 25 | (0) |
2009–2010 | → Numancia (loan) | 26 | (0) |
2011–2013 | Valladolid | 72 | (0) |
2013– | Athletic Bilbao | 98 | (0) |
International career | |||
2007 | Spain U19 | 5 | (0) |
2008 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 May 2016 |
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Mikel Balenziaga Oruesagasti (born 29 February 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao as a left back.
Club career
Born in Zumarraga, Gipuzkoa, Balenziaga started his football grooming at Real Sociedad, playing two full seasons with its B-team in the third division. However, in the 2008–09 campaign, he switched to neighbours Athletic Bilbao.
Initially thought of as a member of the reserve side, Balenziaga quickly beat competition from veterans Koikili and Javier Casas to become the undisputed first-choice for the vast majority of the season, making his first-team debut on 14 September 2008 in a 0–0 away draw against Málaga CF – another club graduate, Ander Iturraspe, also made his first La Liga appearance in that game.[1]
In July 2009, Athletic bought Xabier Castillo from neighbours Real Sociedad and Balenziaga, seeing his chances for the upcoming season dim, accepted a loan move to CD Numancia, freshly relegated from the top division. He transferred to Real Valladolid in the 2011 summer, after an unassuming campaign in which he made only one official appearance for the Lions.
After two solid years as first-choice in Castile and León, Balenziaga returned to Athletic for 2013–14 to challenge for a first-team spot under new manager Ernesto Valverde.[2]
Honours
- Athletic Bilbao
References
External links
- Athletic Bilbao profile
- Mikel Balenziaga profile at BDFutbol
- Mikel Balenziaga at Soccerway
- Pages using infobox football biography with height issues
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1988 births
- Living people
- People from Gipuzkoa
- Spanish footballers
- Basque footballers
- Association football defenders
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Segunda División B players
- Real Sociedad B footballers
- Athletic Bilbao footballers
- CD Numancia players
- Real Valladolid footballers
- Spain youth international footballers
- Spain under-21 international footballers