Aritz Solabarrieta Aranzamendi (born 22 July 1983) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right midfielder, currently a manager.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aritz Solabarrieta Aranzamendi | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-07-22) 22 July 1983 (age 40) | ||
| Place of birth | Ondarroa, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Zubi Zahar | ||
| 1996–2001 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | Basconia | 31 | (4) |
| 2002–2004 | Bilbao Athletic | 66 | (5) |
| 2004–2006 | Athletic Bilbao | 11 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Eibar (loan) | 27 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Atlético Madrid B | 48 | (1) |
| 2008–2010 | Jaén | 70 | (6) |
| 2010–2011 | Palencia | 36 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Melilla | 29 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Sestao | 36 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Aurrerá | ||
| Total | 354 | (20) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2000 | Spain U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2001 | Spain U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2002 | Spain U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2003 | Spain U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2004 | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016–2018 | Athletic Bilbao (youth) | ||
| 2018 | Basconia | ||
| 2018–2019 | Bilbao Athletic | ||
| 2020–2021 | Racing Santander | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in Ondarroa, Basque Country and a product of Athletic Bilbao's prolific youth ranks at Lezama, Solabarrieta played only one full season for its first team, 2004–05, helping with 11 matches as the Basque finished ninth. His La Liga debut came on 13 November 2004 in a 2–1 home win against Villarreal CF, as he came on as a substitute for Andoni Iraola in injury time.[1]
After a loan with neighbours SD EibarofSegunda División, which ended in relegation, Solabarrieta was released by the Lions in December 2006 and resumed his career in the Segunda División B, starting with Atlético Madrid B. He retired in June 2015 at the age of nearly 32, after two years with amateurs CD Aurrerá Ondarroa in his hometown.[2]
Solabarrieta won 16 caps for Spain at youth level, including two for the under-21 side. His first appearance for the latter occurred on 17 August 2004, as he featured 22 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw in France.[3]
After his playing days ended, Solabarrieta embarked on a career as a coach. In 2016, he was appointed as manager of Athletic Bilbao's Cadete A youth team.[4] The following year, he moved to control the Juvenil A squad.[5]
Due to a combination of a disappointing campaign for the CD Basconia farm team coached by Ander Alaña and Solabarrieta's good work with the youths, the two men swapped roles within the club's structure for 2018–19.[6] However, he was soon promoted again when Gaizka Garitano, coach of the reserve side, was selected to take the helm of the senior team in December 2018,[7] in turn leaving a vacancy at Athletic Bilbao B which Solabarrieta was nominated to fill.[8]
Solabarrieta signed as coach of third-tier Racing de Santander on 21 December 2020.[9]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Basconia | 
|
21 June 2018 | 4 December 2018 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 033.33 | [10] |
| Bilbao Athletic |
|
4 December 2018 | 22 May 2019 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 043.48 | [11] |
| Racing Santander |
|
21 December 2020 | 26 May 2021 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 047.37 | [12] |
| Career total | 57 | 24 | 13 | 20 | 91 | 73 | +18 | 042.11 | — | |||
Spain U17
Spain U19