Santiago Ezquerro

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ezquerro and the second or maternal family name is Marín.

Santi Ezquerro
Ezquerro playing for Barcelona in 2006
Personal information
Full name Santiago Ezquerro Marín
Date of birth (1976-12-14) 14 December 1976
Place of birth Calahorra, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position Forward
Youth career
1992–1993 Calahorra
1993–1994 Osasuna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Osasuna B 15 (1)
1995–1996 Osasuna 38 (8)
1996–1997 Atlético Madrid B 34 (11)
1996–1998 Atlético Madrid 8 (0)
1998 → Mallorca (loan) 14 (6)
1998–2005 Athletic Bilbao 222 (45)
2005–2008 Barcelona 24 (3)
2008–2009 Osasuna 10 (1)
Total 365 (75)
International career
1996 Spain U21 1 (0)
1998 Spain 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Santiago 'Santi' Ezquerro Marín (born 14 December 1976) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Having made a name for himself at Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 260 official games for the club in seven years, he subsequently signed with Barcelona, but struggled significantly during his tenure.[1]

Over 13 seasons in La Liga, Ezquerro amassed totals of 278 matches and 55 goals. In 1998, he made his only appearance for the Spain national team.

Club career

Osasuna and Atlético Madrid

Born in Calahorra, La Rioja, Ezquerro reached CA Osasuna's youth system aged 16, playing two Segunda División seasons with the Navarrese before signing with Atlético Madrid for the 1996–97 campaign.[2]

He made his La Liga debut on 21 September 1996 in a 3–0 away win against CD Logroñés,[3] but was mainly registered with the club's B side during his spell.[1]

Athletic Bilbao

Lack of playing opportunities with the Colchoneros prompted a January 1998 move to RCD Mallorca, which Ezquerro helped to reach the final of the Copa del Rey in his six-month stint.[1] He joined Athletic Bilbao subsequently (meeting the club's self-imposed recruitment criteria due to his period of development at Osasuna),[4] with whom he appeared in his first UEFA Champions League games while establishing himself as one of the most promising forwards in Spain's top flight.[1]

His stellar form in 2004–05 – 19 goals in 47 official matches, including a hat-trick in a 7–1 away rout of Standard Liège in the group stage of the UEFA Cup[5] and one in the 3–0 home victory over Real Sociedad in the Basque derby on 9 April 2005[6]– led to FC Barcelona securing his services on a three-year contract that included the possibility of an extension, on a free transfer.[7]

Barcelona

Ezquerro was never able to establish himself in Barcelona's first team, his progress at the club being further hindered after the emergence of youth graduate Lionel Messi.[1] His best league output consisted of 12 games in his first year (two goals, three starts, in 469 minutes).[8][9]

In 2007–08, Ezquerro was not given the free transfer by the Catalans and, not being signed by any team in the summer or the January transfer window,[10] was virtually absent for the duration of the campaign,[11] although he did score twice in January against lowly CD Alcoyano in the domestic cup's round of 32, a 2–2 second-leg home draw and 5–2 on aggregate.[12]

Osasuna return

In July 2008, Ezquerro was released by Barça and, later that month, rejoined Osasuna on an initial two-year deal.[13] During the first season after his return, he struggled with injuries[14] and also failed to fit newly appointed coach José Antonio Camacho's plans, failing to make a squad in any of the team's final matches.[15][16]

Ezquerro left after just one year – where he earned €1.2 million – and retired at the age of 33.[16][1]

International career

During his debut season for Athletic, Ezquerro won his sole cap for Spain, in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against Cyprus on 5 September 1998, which ended with a 3–2 away loss and the dismissal of manager Javier Clemente.[17]

Honours

Mallorca

Barcelona

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Castañeda, Ángela (10 February 2019). "Qué fue de Santi Ezquerro: el suplente de Eto'o y Ronaldinho que acabó convertido en 'superviviente'" [What happened to Santi Ezquerro: Eto'o and Ronaldinho's backup who ended up as a 'survivor']. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Jiménez, Mayca (16 March 2018). "¿Qué fue de Santi Ezquerro?: uno de los cinco riojanos de la Roja" [What happened to Santi Ezquerro?: one of the Reds' five Riojans]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  3. ^ Alacid, Jorge (22 September 1996). "Vuelve el Atlético campeón" [Return of the champions Atlético]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  4. ^ Castañeda, Eduardo (28 May 1998). "Presentan a Ezquerro y Luis responde a Zagalo" [Ezquerro is presented and Luis replies to Zagalo]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. ^ Hernández, Javier (17 December 2004). "El Athletic saqueó Lieja en su noche más grande" [Athletic looted Liège in their brightest night]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  6. ^ Hall, Andy (9 April 2005). "Athletic enjoy derby delight". UEFA. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Ezquerro to make Barça move". UEFA. 26 May 2005. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Ezquerro admite tener dudas sobre su continuidad en el Barcelona" [Ezquerro admits doubts over staying with Barcelona]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 11 April 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Memoria de La Liga de Fútbol Profesional | Temporada 2005/2006" [Memory of the Professional Football League | 2005/2006 season] (PDF) (in Spanish). La Liga. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Maxi debutó en la pretemporada" [Maxi made debut in the pre-season]. Sport (in Spanish). 6 August 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  11. ^ "Henry vuelve a ser convocado un mes después" [Henry makes squad again one month later]. Público (in Spanish). 22 December 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Regalo del Barça al Alcoyano en Copa" [Barça gift to Alcoyano in Cup]. Marca (in Spanish). 2 January 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Ezquerro ficha por Osasuna" [Ezquerro signs for Osasuna]. Marca (in Spanish). 29 July 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  14. ^ "El equipo se somete a pruebas físicas en la sesión previa a la llegada de Camacho" [Team undergoes physical tests in the session prior to Camacho's arrival]. Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 14 October 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Santi Ezquerro llega a un acuerdo para la rescisión de su contrato con Osasuna" [Santi Ezquerro reaches agreement to terminate his contract with Osasuna]. Marca (in Spanish). 15 July 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Ezquerro y Sola se van de Osasuna y llega Aranda" [Ezquerro and Sola leave Osasuna and Aranda arrives]. Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 16 July 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  17. ^ "España cae ante Chipre, un equipo repleto de aficionados" [Spain fall against Cyprus, team filled with amateurs]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 5 September 1998. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  18. ^ "Redação AM na memória: Inter bate o Barcelona no Mundial de 2006" [AM Newsroom in the memory: Inter beat Barcelona in 2006 World Cup final] (in Portuguese). Grupo Globo. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
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