Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta used to be a professional football goalkeeper for Spain. He was born on October 23, 1961 in Vitoria, Spain, and he is known as the most capped player of the Spanish national team. He is best known for having lengthy stays at Athletic Bilbao as well as FC Barcelona. In fact, he has played more than 700 professional matches during his career in playing for clubs.
Zubizarreta spent his childhood in Aretxbaleta, Guipuzcoa, and that is where he began his football playing. After a brief stint at Deportivo Alaves, Zubizarreta joined Athletic Bilbao. He spent six successive seasons at Athletic Bilbao before he moved on to his next club.
Zubizarreta made his first debut playing in the first division on September 19, 1981. This was mainly due to Javier Clemente, the manager of the club. At this time, Zubizarreta was just one month shy before turning 20 years old. He then went on to become the undisputed starter for the rest of his time in the club, being instrumental in some of the club’s known conquests – such as the back-to-back leagues.
It was in 1986 that Zubizarreta moved to FC Barcelona for a position that costs 1.7 million Euros. He then rarely missed a match from the time he played his first event. He was a part of the club’s first ever European Cup win in 1992, in a match defeating U.C. Sampdoria.
Although currently retired, Zubizarreta is still in the football circuit, he first became a sporting director of Athletic Bilboa, then went on to become a television and radio commentator.
