Ismael Urzaiz verlässt San Mamés

[chinomoreno]

Urzaiz Announces His Retirement

Ismael Urzaiz has announced that he will leave Athletic Club Bilbao when his contract expires at the end of June and retire from professional football.

The heavyweight striker is reported to have turned down offers from a number of clubs in the English Premiership, who were hopeful of snapping him up on a free transfer.

Rather than sit down to talk about an extra year at San Mamés, Urzaiz has opted to quit the game altogether and he already played his final match for the Basque Country club.

At 35, the veteran forward recognised that his chances of earning a regular first team place at Athletic were virtually impossible as he completed only five games all season.

Despite that record, he only missed five games all term and managed to knock in eight goals as the club won its' bid to stay in the Spanish top flight.

His strength in the air and physical presence had attracted English admirers, but Urzaiz was not keen to uproot and try a new league at his age,

After starting his career at Real Madrid, he moved to Albacete in 1991 on loan before making a first-team appearance for los Merengues.

Another temporary stint at Celta followed before another year with Real Madrid B was still not enough to impress the Bernabeú hierarchy.

The next three seasons saw him play at a trio of clubs as he joined Rayo Vallecano, Salamanca and Espanyol before finally making a permanent transfer to Athletic in 1996.

Between 1996 and 2001, Urzaiz played 25 times for the Spain national side and scored eight goals.

He will hold a press conference on Friday to explain the reasons behind his decision to call it a day.

goal.com

Schade, großer Verslust für die Liga, war aber absehbar in seinem Alter. Hab ihn immer für einen ziemlich genialen Stürmer gehalten, hat mich daher umso mehr gefreut, dass ihm letzten Dezember noch ein unvergesslcihes Traumtor gelingen konnte:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVuvyGvGnqE

bearbeitet 23. Juni 2007 von chinomoreno

[MILANISTA]

Den Kerl werd ich nie vergessen.

War einer der "Helden" des 0:9 gegen Spanien!

[chinomoreno]

Überraschung bei der gestrigen Pressekonferenz: Er verlässt Bilbao zwar nach 11 Spielzeiten, möchte aber eigentlich noch nicht aufhören zu spielen. Wenn sich ein interessantes Projekt finden lässt, könnte er sich vorstellen noch weiter zu machen.

Da es ein offenes Geheimnis ist, dass er zahlreiche Anfragen aus England vorliegen hat, könnte er vielleicht demnächst in die Premier League wechseln, um dort seine Karreire ausklingen zu lassen.