Luis Prieto (footballer, born 1979)

Luis Prieto Zalbidegoitia (born 19 February 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Prieto and the second or maternal family name is Zalbidegoitia.
Luis Prieto
Prieto during presentation with Valladolid
Personal information
Full name Luis Prieto Zalbidegoitia
Date of birth (1979-02-19) 19 February 1979
Place of birth Dima, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1995–1997 Arratia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Basconia 34 (1)
1998–2002 Bilbao Athletic 34 (2)
1998–1999 → Barakaldo (loan) 27 (1)
2000–2002 → Eibar (loan) 63 (0)
2002–2008 Athletic Bilbao 134 (5)
2008–2010 Valladolid 48 (3)
2010–2011 Ponferradina 19 (0)
2011–2012 Alavés 23 (0)
Total 382 (12)
National team
2003-2006 Basque Country 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He amassed La Liga totals of 182 games and eight goals over the course of eight seasons, representing in the competition Athletic Bilbao and Valladolid.

Football career

Prieto was born in Bilbao, Biscay. Coming through the ranks of Athletic Bilbao, he spent three seasons on loan at two Basque neighbours before establishing himself in the main squad. His first-team debut came in 2002–03's opening round, a 2–4 away defeat against Real Sociedad.[1]

In the 2005–06 campaign, as Athletic finished 12th in La Liga, Prieto scored four goals in 36 games, notably the deciders (1–0 wins) at RCD Mallorca and with CA Osasuna.[2][3][4][5] After having appeared just three times during 2007–08, he left the Lions and joined fellow top flight club Real Valladolid, on 10 July 2008:[6] a regular starter in his first year, he saw time at stopper and right back.

On 31 July 2009, Prieto was involved in a pre-season game against Ipswich Town, played in honour of the late Bobby Robson who died that morning, and scored an own goal in an eventual 1–3 loss to the Championship side.[7] He appeared slightly less in the 2009–10 league campaign, mainly due to the signing in January 2010 of Portuguese Henrique Sereno.[8] On 16 May, he opened the score as Valladolid certified its relegation after three years after losing 0–4 at eventual champions FC Barcelona.[9]

After retiring as a player, Prieto became a coach focussing on fitness aspects. He spent time working with the youth categories of Athletic Bilbao at the club's Lezama training centre.[10]

References
  1. "La Real se toma la revancha ante el Athletic" [Real gets revenge against Athletic]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 1 September 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  2. "Athletic Club 3 Real Sociedad 0: An excellent start to the season". Athletic Bilbao. 28 August 2005. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  3. "Corominas deja a Clemente con la miel en los labios en su debut" [Corominas leaves Clemente with a bad taste in his debut]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 November 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  4. "El Athletic despierta en su isla maldita" [Athletic awakens in cursed island]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 26 November 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  5. "El Athletic se agarra a Primera" [Athletic holds on to Primera]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 26 March 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  6. "El Real Valladolid ficha al central Luis Prieto" [Real Valladolid signs stopper Luis Prieto]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 10 July 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  7. Town 3 Valladolid 1; Ipswich Town, 31 July 2009
  8. "Luis Prieto, del campo a la grada" [Luis Prieto, from the pitch to the stands]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 6 February 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  9. Barcelona 4–0 Valladolid; ESPN Soccernet, 16 May 2010
  10. "Lezama technical chart". Athletic Bilbao. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
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