Iñigo Idiakez

Infobox Football biography
playername = Iñigo Idiakez


fullname = Iñigo Idiakez Barkaiztegui
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1973|11|8
cityofbirth = San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa
countryofbirth = Spain
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
nickname =
height = height|m=1.83
weight =
currentclub = Free agent
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder/striker
youthyears = 1989-1992
youthclubs = Real Sociedad
years = 1992–2002 2002–2003 2003–2004 2004–2006
2006–2008
2007
clubs = Real Sociedad Real Oviedo Rayo Vallecano
Derby County Southampton
Q.P.R. (loan)
caps(goals) = 233 (33) 033 (4) 030 (5) 088 (20)
035 (2)
05 (1)
manageryears =
managerclubs =
nationalyears = 1990-1992
nationalteam = Spain U-21
nationalcaps(goals) = 5 (0)
pcupdate = 00:00, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = Iñigo Idiakez Barkaiztegui, Idiakez (born 8 November 1973 in San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa), is a Spanish football midfielder (occasionally striker), currently a free agent.

Club career

pain

In 1992 Idiakez joined Real Sociedad, starting in the youth team before moving up to the B team, where he joined his older brother, Imanol. He made his first team debut on 8 November 1992, on his 19th birthday, against Cádiz CF in the first division. Despite that early debut, he did not become a regular member of the first team squad until the 1994-95 season. Between 1992 and 1994 he played two seasons in the B team, then operating in the the third division.

From 1994-95 on, Idiakez amassed a further 8 league seasons, making 233 league appearances with 33 goals. During most of these seasons he was a regular substitute and, in 1998-99 and 2000-01, scored a career-best 7 league goals.

At the end of the 2001-02 season, having finished his link with Real Sociedad, he signed with Real Oviedo, who had just been relegated to the Spanish second division, and were in a deep financial crisis. He only spent one season with the Asturias side, playing 33 games with 4 goals, as Oviedo finished the season penultimate, being relegated to the third division. They were then demoted one stage further because of financial ireegularities.

Idiakez then moved to another Spanish second division side, Madrid's Rayo Vallecano. Again, his new club finished second from the bottom and were relegated. After two unsuccessful seasons, his future appeared quite uncertain in the summer of 2004.

England

George Burley (then Derby County F.C. manager) snapped Idiakez up on a free transfer. He immediately adapted to the Football League Championship, notching up 89 games and 22 goals by the end of the 2005-06 season. He quickly became one of the idols of the Derby fans and, in his debut season, was named player of the season, as Derby finished in 4th place, but failed to win promotion through the play-offs.

At Derby, he played in an advanced position and took most throw-ins and corners. At the end of the 2005-06 season, under managers Phil Brown (until January) and Terry Westley, the tem only finished in 20th position, narrowly avoiding relegation.

On 31 August 2006, Idiakez was once again signed by Burley, moving to Southampton F.C. for £275,000. After only a handful of appearances for the Saints, in March 2007 he moved to Queens Park Rangers F.C. on loan for a month, returning on 17 April. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/6559659.stm Saints recall Idiakez] ]

In the 2006-07 season Championship playoff semi-final, on 15 May, Southampton played Derby County. After the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate after extra time, the match went to a penalty shootout and Idiakez missed the crucial penalty helping send his former club through to the final. [ [http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10373~993664,00.html?ptvParm= Southampton-Derby, 2007 Championship playoff] ]

At the end of 2007-08, Southampton released Idiakez.

International career

Idiakez has never been selected for the Spanish national team, although he did play at under-21 level, and participated in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

He has also played in 4 friendly games for the Basque representative side Euskadi, scoring 2 goals.

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=22178|name=Iñigo Idiakez
* [http://www.idiakez.com Official website]
* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=5845 Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional] es icon