Gaizka Garitano

Gaizka Garitano

Personal information
Full name	Gaizka Garitano Aguirre
Date of birth	9 July 1975
Place of birth	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.84 m (6 ft ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1993–1999	Bilbao Athletic	112	(24)
1996–1997	→ Lleida (loan)	14	(0)
1998–1999	→ Eibar (loan)	18	(1)
1999–2001	Ourense	70	(8)
2001–2005	Eibar	146	(15)
2005–2008	Real Sociedad	81	(9)
2008–2009	Alavés	29	(2)
Total		470	(59)
Teams managed
2009–2010	Eibar (assistant)
2010–2012	Eibar B
2012–2015	Eibar
2015	Valladolid
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Gaizka Garitano Aguirre (born 9 July 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a current manager.

Over the course of 11 seasons he amassed Segunda División totals of 315 games and 37 goals, mainly with Bilbao Athletic and Eibar. In La Liga he represented Real Sociedad, during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.

In 2009 Garitano entered coaching with Eibar, and became the first team coach in 2012. He won consecutive promotions in his first two seasons, and reached the top division with the club in 2014.

Playing career

Garitano was born in Bilbao, Basque Country. Grown through the ranks of Athletic Bilbao the nephew of another famed club midfielder, Ander Garitano,^[1] would however never make it past the reserves, also serving loans with modest clubs. In 1999, he joined Segunda División B team CD Ourense.

Garitano finally settled at SD Eibar in Segunda División – his second spell – and, in the 2004–05 season, as club captain, led the side to a fourth place in the league, with chances of an historical La Liga promotion until the last matchday.^[2]

Incidentally, Garitano would make his first top flight appearances with Real Sociedad,^[3][4] his debut coming on 27 August 2005 in a 0–3 away derby loss (he was already aged 30).^[5] After three seasons as an important first-team member he joined neighbours Deportivo Alavés, retiring in June 2009 at 34 after the club's relegation into the third division.^[6]

Managerial career

Immediately after hanging up his boots, having appeared in more than 300 matches in Spain's second level, Garitano moved into coaching, serving as assistant at also freshly relegated Eibar. He was appointed first-team manager for the 2012–13 campaign,^[7] which ended in promotion.^[8]

Garitano repeated the feat the following season, leading Eibar to the first position and the subsequent top flight promotion, a first ever for the club. In June 2014, he renewed his contract.^[9]

In 2014–15, the team collected 27 points from the first 19 games but, after only eight in the following 19, was finally relegated back in spite of a 3–0 home win over Córdoba CF in the last matchday. Subsequently, Garitano presented his resignation, stating he did not merit to continue.^[10]

On 6 July 2015 Garitano was appointed at the helm of Real Valladolid, replacing fired Rubi.^[11] On 21 October, as the side ranked dead last, he was sacked.^[12]

Managerial statistics

As of 21 October 2015

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	Win %
Eibar B[13][14]		30 June 2010	6 June 2012	76	21	22	33	27.63
Eibar[15][16][17]		6 June 2012	9 June 2015	135	57	37	41	42.22
Valladolid[18]		6 July 2015	21 October 2015	10	2	3	5	20.00
Career Total				221	80	62	79	36.20

References

1. El sobrino de Ander es el capitán del mejor Éibar (Ander's nephew captains best Éibar); Diario AS, 12 April 2005 (Spanish)
2. Un 'milagro' llamado Eibar (A 'miracle' called Eibar); Mundo Deportivo, 19 June 2005 (Spanish)
3. Garitano, primer fichaje (Garitano, first signing); Mundo Deportivo, 21 June 2005 (Spanish)
4. La Real ya llora en plata (Real already cries in silver); Diario AS, 18 June 2007 (Spanish)
5. El Athletic arranca comiéndose a la Real (Athletic starts by eating Real up); Marca, 27 August 2005 (Spanish)
6. Gaizka Garitano negocia ser el segundo entrenador del Eibar con Viadero (Gaizka Garitano negotiates being Eibar's assistant manager with Viadero); Diario Vasco, 3 July 2009 (Spanish)
7. Gaizka Garitano, nuevo entrenador del Eibar (Gaizka Garitano, new Eibar manager); Diario Vasco, 6 June 2012 (Spanish)
8. El Eibar vuelve a Segunda cuatro años después (Eibar returns to Segunda four years later); Marca, 30 June 2013 (Spanish)
9. Chesters, Heath (21 June 2014). "Consecutive promotions earns manager Garitano a new deal at Eibar". Inside Spanish Football. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
10. "Garitano se marcha del Eibar: "Un entrenador que desciende no tiene potestad para seguir"" [Garitano leaves Eibar: "A coach that gets relegated does not have the right to continue"] (in Spanish). Marca. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
11. "Gaizka Garitano llevará el timón" [Gaizka Garitano will take the reins] (in Spanish). Valladolid's official website. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
12. "El Valladolid oficializa la destitución de Gaizka Garitano" [Valladolid makes dismissal of Gaizka Garitano official] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
13. "Tercera División". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
14. "Tercera División". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
15. "Garitano: Gaizka Garitano Aguirre". BDFutbol. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
16. "Garitano: Gaizka Garitano Aguirre". BDFutbol. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
17. "Garitano: Gaizka Garitano Aguirre". BDFutbol. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
18. "Garitano: Gaizka Garitano Aguirre". BDFutbol. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

External links

• Real Valladolid profile (Spanish)
• Gaizka Garitano profile at BDFutbol
• Gaizka Garitano manager profile at BDFutbol