Iñigo Lekue
![]() Lekue in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Iñigo Lekue Martínez | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 4 May 1993||
Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain[1] | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Full-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Athletic Bilbao | ||
Number | 15 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2012 | Danok Bat | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2012–2013 | Basconia | 34 | (0) |
2013–2015 | Bilbao Athletic | 60 | (1) |
2015– | Athletic Bilbao | 186 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:52, 16 August 2024 (UTC) |
Iñigo Lekue Martínez (Basque: [iɲiɣo lekue maɾtines̻]; Spanish: [ˈiɲiɣo ˈlekwe maɾˈtineθ]; born 4 May 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right or left-back for Athletic Bilbao.
Formed at Athletic Bilbao, he has made over 200 appearances, winning the Supercopa de España twice and also the 2023–24 Copa del Rey.
Club career
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/I%C3%B1igo_Lekue_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-I%C3%B1igo_Lekue_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Born in Bilbao, Basque Country, Lekue graduated from Danok Bat CF's youth system.[2] In summer 2012 he moved to Athletic Bilbao, and made his debut as a senior with the farm team in the Tercera División.[3]
On 21 June 2013, Lekue was promoted to the reserves in the Segunda División B.[4] On 29 June 2015, after being an ever-present figure during the side's promotion to Segunda División after a 19-year absence,[5] he was promoted to the main squad in La Liga.[6]
Lekue made his official debut with the first team on 15 August 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for fellow youth graduate Sabin Merino in a 4–0 home rout of FC Barcelona in the Supercopa de España.[7][8] He made his first league appearance 15 days later, being taken off at half-time in a 2–0 loss at neighbouring SD Eibar.[9]
Lekue scored his first senior goal on 21 December 2015, equalising for the reserves in a 1–1 home draw against CD Lugo.[10] The following 3 April he scored for the first time in the top flight, opening a 1–1 draw with Granada CF at the San Mamés Stadium.[11] On 8 June 2016, he agreed to a contract extension until 2019.[12]
On 24 November 2016, Lekue netted his first European goal to win a UEFA Europa League group match 3–2 at home to US Sassuolo Calcio.[13] In January 2018, he extended his contract to 2023.[14] He missed most of the 2018–19 season with back issues,[15] returning as a late substitute on 16 March in a 2–0 home win over Atlético Madrid.[16]
Lekue played rarely under Gaizka Garitano, and looked for a new club in the January 2021 transfer window, but was reinstated by new manager Marcelino and won another Super Cup that month, again against Barcelona.[17] That April, he was involved in two Copa del Rey finals in one month, losing both to Real Sociedad and Barcelona respectively; he played the latter 4–0 defeat as a half-time substitute.[18]
In 2022–23, due to injuries to Yuri Berchiche and Mikel Balenziaga, Lekue played frequently. In April, during his own recovery, he prolonged his contract to 2025.[19]
International career
[edit]On 22 May 2016, Lekue was called up to the Spain national team by manager Vicente del Bosque, after Jonny withdrew due to "personal reasons".[20]
Career statistics
[edit]Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Basconia | 2012–13 | Tercera División | 34 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 0 | |||
Bilbao Athletic | 2013–14 | Segunda División B | 26 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
2014–15 | 31 | 0 | — | — | 6[a] | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||||
2015–16 | Segunda División | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||||
Total | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 66 | 1 | ||
Athletic Bilbao | 2015–16 | La Liga | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 34 | 1 |
2016–17 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 1 | — | 31 | 3 | |||
2017–18 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12[b] | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | |||
2018–19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
2019–20 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
2020–21 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
2021–22 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
2022–23 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
2023–24 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||||
2024–25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 186 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 243 | 4 | ||
Career total | 280 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 343 | 5 |
- ^ Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b Appearances in Supercopa de España
Honours
[edit]Athletic Bilbao
- Copa del Rey: 2023–24;[25] runner-up: 2019–20,[26] 2020–21[27]
- Supercopa de España: 2015,[28] 2021[29]
Individual
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Iñigo Lekue". Eurosport. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Ruiz, Pako (23 June 2015). "El lateral Lekue es uno de los 'cachorros' de moda" [Full-back Lekue is one of the fashionable 'pups']. Deia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Zubieta, Jon (22 June 2015). "Lekue llama a la puerta de Ernesto" [Lekue knocks on Ernesto's door]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ "Bilbao Athletic pre-season". Athletic Bilbao. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
- ^ "El Bilbao Athletic, a Segunda 19 años después y el Cádiz tendrá que esperar" [Bilbao Athletic, into Segunda 19 years later and Cádiz will have to wait] (in Spanish). EFE. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "Dismissals in Bilbao Athletic". Athletic Bilbao. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
- ^ "Athletic Bilbao 4–0 Barcelona: Aduriz hits hat-trick in Supercopa shocker". Goal. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ Estepa, Javier (14 August 2015). "Aduriz echa al Barça a los leones" [Aduriz throws Barça to the lions]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Martínez, Jonathan (30 August 2015). "El liderato lleva el nombre del Eibar" [The leadership carries Eibar's name]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ "Bilbao Athletic y Lugo no cumplen sus objetivos" [Bilbao Athletic and Lugo fail to complete their objectives]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Villarreal tighten grip on top four; Athletic Bilbao held by lowly Granada". ESPN FC. 3 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ "Iñigo Lekue's renewal". Athletic Bilbao. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ Campanale, Susy (24 November 2016). "EL: Il Sassuolo esce a Bilbao" [EL: Sassuolo go out in Bilbao] (in Italian). Football Italia. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ Velasco, Juanma (16 January 2018). "Lekue renueva hasta 2023" [Lekue renews until 2023]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Suso, Ramón (26 December 2018). "Lekue empieza otra vez de cero" [Lekue starts from square one again]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- ^ Velasco, Juanma (20 March 2019). "Lekue: "Quiero que lo que aporte sea de calidad"" [Lekue: "I want what I contribute to be of quality"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- ^ Velasco, Juanma (26 January 2021). "Marcelino sube al tren a Lekue, que ya tenía un pie fuera en este mercado de invierno" [Marcelino gets on board with Lekue, who already had one foot outside in this winter transfer window]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Agiriano, Jon (17 April 2021). "El sueño se convierte en pesadilla" [The dream becomes a nightmare]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Mallo, Juanma (23 April 2023). "Lekue renueva hasta 2025" [Lekue renews until 2025]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ "Lekue sustituye a Jonny en el grupo de promesas citado por Del Bosque" [Lekue replaces Jonny in the group of prospects called by Del Bosque]. Marca (in Spanish). 22 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ Iñigo Lekue at Athletic Bilbao
- ^ Iñigo Lekue – UEFA competition record (archive)
- ^ Iñigo Lekue at Soccerway
- ^ Iñigo Lekue at FBref.com
- ^ Reinoso del Real, Mario (7 April 2024). "Athletic 1–1 (4–2) Mallorca, en directo: final de Copa del Rey 2024 | Celebración del Athletic, campeón de Copa" [Athletic 1–1 (4–2) Mallorca, live: 2024 King's Cup final | Celebrations of Athletic, Cup champions]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (3 April 2021). "Real Sociedad beat Athletic to claim Copa del Rey and Basque glory". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (17 April 2021). "Messi stars as Barcelona thrash Athletic Bilbao to lift Copa del Rey". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ "Acta del partido celebrado el 14 de agosto de 2015, en Bilbao" [Minutes of the match held on 14 August 2015, in Bilbao] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
"Acta del partido celebrado el 17 de agosto de 2015, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the match held on 17 August 2015, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 24 January 2021. - ^ "Acta del partido celebrado el 17 de enero de 2021, en Sevilla" [Minutes of the match held on 17 January 2021, in Seville] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ "Nico Williams and Iñigo Lekue win LALIGA EA SPORTS Move of the Month for December". La Liga. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Iñigo Lekue at Athletic Club
- Iñigo Lekue at BDFutbol
- Iñigo Lekue at ESPN FC