Andoni Zubizarreta - Club Career

Club Career

Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Zubizarreta spent his childhood in Aretxabaleta in Gipuzkoa, where he began his football trade. After a brief passage at another Basque side, Deportivo Alavés, he joined Athletic Bilbao, where he would spend the following six seasons.

Zubizarreta's debut in La Liga occurred on 19 September 1981 in a 0–2 away loss against Atlético Madrid, courtesy of manager Javier Clemente, one month shy of his 20th birthday; he would be an undisputed starter for the remainder of his tenure, being an instrumental element in the club's conquests, most notably the back-to-back leagues.

In 1986, Zubizarreta signed with FC Barcelona for a then record for a player in the position, €1.7 million, quickly removing established Urruti from the starting post and rarely missing a match onwards – for example, only four in the Catalan's four consecutive league wins combined. He added the club's first ever European Cup in 1992, a 1–0 triumph against U.C. Sampdoria.

After the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, where Barça lost heavily to A.C. Milan in the final (0–4), Zubi was deemed surplus to requirements and finished his career at Valencia CF, again at a high level. He retired after 1997–98 at nearly 37, having played in more than 950 official games (622 in the league alone – all-time best – conceding 626 goals).

On 2 July 2010, Zubizarreta was named Barcelona's director of football by incumbent president Sandro Rosell, taking over from former club and national teammate Txiki Begiristain. In the previous decade, he had served in the same capacity at Athletic Bilbao, also working as a radio and television commentator.