Jorge Azkoitia

Jorge Azkoitia
Personal information
Full name	Jorge Azkoitia Gabiola
Date of birth	27 April 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1993–1996	Sestao
1996–2001	Alavés
2001–2004	Rayo Vallecano
2004–2005	Elche
2005–2006	Eibar
2006–2009	Alicante
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Template:Spanish name 2 Jorge Azkoitia Gabiola (born 27 April 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Football career

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Azkoitia started playing professionally with local Sestao Sport Club in the third division, but eventually helped to the club's promotion to the second level. However, the team was relegated back in 1996, and he signed with Basque neighbours Deportivo Alavés.

At Alavés, Azkoitia proved essential in the 1997–98 season, appearing in 39 games and scoring four goals in an eventual La Liga return after a four-decade absence. He was relatively used in the following years, but had few opportunities in the 2000–01 campaign as the side achieved an historical runner-up position in the UEFA Cup.

Afterwards, Azkoitia joined Rayo Vallecano, being scarcely used in his first season. He was an important first-team element in the next two, but the Madrid team dropped two consecutive divisions and he was sent off four times combined.

Subsequently, Azkoitia served second division spells with Elche CF and SD Eibar – in 2005–06 he netted a career-best 11 goals, but the latter were relegated. He then moved to Alicante CF for the following season, helping it to a 2008 promotion to the second tier.

In the 2008–09 campaign, Azkoitia was once again instrumental for Alicante by scoring nine times in 33 league matches, but the Valencians were immediately relegated back. He subsequently retired from football at the age of 35, with professional totals of 310 games and 39 goals.

External links

Jorge Azkoitia at BDFutbol