Ager Aketxe

Ager Aketxe Barrutia (born 30 December 1993) is a Spanish footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for UD Almería.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Aketxe and the second or maternal family name is Barrutia.
Ager Aketxe
Personal information
Full name Ager Aketxe Barrutia
Date of birth (1993-12-30) 30 December 1993
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Almería
Number 10
Youth career
2003–2011 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Basconia 33 (9)
2012–2016 Athletic Bilbao B 89 (19)
2014–2018 Athletic Bilbao 14 (1)
2017 → Cádiz (loan) 18 (5)
2018 Toronto FC 11 (0)
2018 → Cádiz (loan) 15 (1)
2019 Cádiz 18 (3)
2019–2020 Deportivo La Coruña 39 (7)
2020– Almería 2 (1)
National team
2013 Spain U20 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 October 2020

He began his career with Athletic Bilbao, going on to represent both the first and the second teams and make 34 official appearances for the former. He also competed professionally in Major League Soccer, with Toronto FC.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Basque Country, Aketxe joined Athletic Bilbao's Lezama setup in 2003, aged nine. He made his senior debut with the feeder club CD Basconia in 2011, in Tercera División.[1]

In May 2012, Aketxe was promoted to the second team in Segunda División B.[2] He featured regularly for the side, playing all league games in his second season.

On 2 September 2014, Aketxe was promoted to the main squad in La Liga, being assigned number 23 jersey.[3] He appeared in his first match as a professional on 17 September, coming on as a substitute for Iker Muniain in the 75th minute of a 0–0 home draw against FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League;[4] however, he sustained a foot injury in that match which put him out of action for six weeks.[5]

Aketxe scored his first goal in the Spanish top flight on 17 May 2015, netting his team's first in a 3–2 away win against Elche CF to help Athletic come from behind 0–2.[6] In the beginning of 2016, he was moved down back to the B side to help them avoid relegation from Segunda División and gain some minutes.[7] On 27 February he scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 home victory over SD Ponferradina,[8] but the team eventually finished in 22nd and last position.

On 31 January 2017, after making no appearances during the first half of the campaign due to recovering from a serious knee injury suffered at the end of the previous season,[9] Aketxe was loaned to Cádiz CF in the second tier until June.[10] On 16 February 2018, Athletic cancelled his contract with immediate effect (retaining the right to re-sign him in the following years) to allow him to negotiate a move abroad.[11]

Toronto FC

Aketxe signed with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC on 23 February 2018, with Athletic holding a buy-back option at the conclusion of his contract.[12][13] He made his debut four days later, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 home draw against Colorado Rapids in the second leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League.[14] His first start came on 3 March in the opening match of the 2018 MLS season, a 0–2 home defeat to Columbus Crew SC.[15]

Cádiz

On 11 July 2018, Aketxe returned to Cádiz after agreeing to a six-month loan with an option to purchase.[16][17] In November, Toronto and player terminated the remaining term on their contract "by mutual consent".[18]

After cutting ties with the Canadian club, Athletic Bilbao did not exercise their buyback option and Aketxe's original loan with Cádiz became an official deal, expiring on 30 June 2019.[19]

Deportivo

On 13 July 2019, free agent Aketxe joined fellow second division side Deportivo de La Coruña on a one-year deal,[20] where he was given the number 10 shirt. He scored a goal on his official debut on 18 August, in a 3–2 home victory over Real Oviedo.[21]

Almería

On 7 September 2020, after being relegated, Aketxe agreed to a two-year contract with UD Almería in the same league.[22] He again scored in his very first appearance, helping to a 2–0 away win against CD Lugo.[23]

Personal life

Aketxe's older brother, Isaac, was also a footballer; he too was groomed at Athletic Bilbao's youth setup.[24] Their father, known as Isaac Aqueche due to spelling conventions of the time, played as a midfielder in the lower divisions of Spanish football[25][26] including a spell with Athletic's reserves.[27]

In May 2016, Aketxe and two others were put on trial for having caused minor injuries to an off-duty ertzaina the previous August during a local festival in his place of residence, the Getxo neighbourhood of Romo.[28]

Career statistics
As of 6 July 2020[29]
Club League Season League Domestic Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Basconia Tercera División 2011–12 339——339
Total 339————339
Athletic Bilbao B Segunda División B 2012–13 305——305
2013–14 386——386
Segunda División 2015–16 218——218
Total 8919————8919
Athletic Bilbao La Liga 2014–15 81301[lower-alpha 2]0120
2015–16 30106[lower-alpha 3]0100
2017–18 30207[lower-alpha 4]0120
Total 14160140341
Cádiz (loan) Segunda División 2016–17 18500—185
Total 1850000185
Toronto FC Major League Soccer 2018 110003[lower-alpha 5]0140
Total 1100030140
Cádiz (loan) Segunda División 2018–19 15120—151
Cádiz 18300—183
Total 33420——354
Deportivo Segunda División 2019–20 35720—377
Total 35720——377
Career Total 2334510017026045
  1. Appearances in the Copa del Rey
  2. Appearances in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearances in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

References
  1. "Athletic Club and CD Basconia extend partnership agreement through 2023". Inside Athletic. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  2. "From Basconia to Bilbao Athletic". Athletic Bilbao. 30 May 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  3. "Ager Aketxe es jugador de la primera plantilla y llevará el dorsal 23" [Ager Aketxe is a first team player and will don the number 23 jersey]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2 September 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  4. "Honours even as Athletic hold Shakhtar Donetsk". UEFA. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  5. "Una lesión en el pie empaña el esperado debut de Aketxe" [Foot injury tarnishes Aketxe's anticipated debut]. Gara (in Spanish). 19 September 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  6. Rincón, Jaime (17 May 2015). "Williams señala a Europa" [Williams points to Europe]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  7. Velasco, Juanma (4 January 2016). "Aketxe se recalifica en el filial" [Aketxe undergoes makeover in reserves]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  8. "Un 'hat-trick' de Aketxe mantiene la fe del Bilbao Athletic" [Aketxe hat-trick keeps Bilbao Athletic's faith]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  9. "Aketxe tiene roto el ligamento cruzado de la rodilla derecha" [Aketxe tears the cruciate ligament in his right knee]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 May 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  10. "Cesión de Ager Aketxe" [Ager Aketxe loan]. Athletic Bilbao. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  11. "Athletic Bilbao clear Ager Aketxe to complete move to MLS". ESPN. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  12. "Toronto FC signs former Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ager Aketxe". ESPN. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  13. "Toronto FC sign Spanish midfielder Ager Aketxe". Toronto FC. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  14. Molinaro, John (27 February 2018). "TFC takes care of business against Colorado in Champions League". Sportsnet. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  15. Molinaro, John (3 March 2018). "Toronto FC squander chances as Crew spoil historic party". Sportsnet. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  16. "Toronto FC loan Ager Aketxe to Spanish 2nd Division Side Cádiz CF". Major League Soccer. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  17. "Ager Aketxe still with Toronto FC amid rumors of imminent return to Cádiz". Pro Soccer USA. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  18. Molinaro, John (27 November 2018). "Toronto FC decline contract options on Irwin, Ricketts". Sportsnet. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  19. Bejarano, Isabelo (4 February 2019). "Ager Aketxe es agente libre y el Cádiz lo valora" [Ager Aketxe is a free agent and Cádiz weighing their options]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  20. "Aketxe, nuevo jugador del Dépor 2019–2020" [Aketxe, new player of Dépor 2019–2020] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  21. "Los fichajes empiezan a funcionar en A Coruña" [The signings begin to work in A Coruña] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  22. "Almeria signs top-notch left-footed Aketxe on two-year deal". UD Almería. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  23. Lorenzo, Álvaro (27 September 2020). "Akieme y Aketxe firman un estreno redondo del Almería" [Akieme and Aketxe sign cracker of a debut for Almería]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  24. Crespo, Iñigo (24 February 2013). "Reparto entre hermanos en Las Llanas" [Brothers get sharing at Las Llanas]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  25. "Aqueche: Isaac Aqueche Aranceta". BDFutbol. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  26. "Aqueche, 112 partidos" [Aqueche, 112 matches] (in Spanish). Miranda Deportiva. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  27. "Isaac Aketxe Aranceta". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  28. Velasco, Juanma (18 May 2016). "El club apoya a Aketxe y confía en su inocencia" [Club supports Aketxe and trusts in his innocence]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  29. Ager Aketxe at Soccerway
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