Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Aldekoaotalora and the second or maternal family name is Astarloa.
Ustaritz
Personal information
Full name Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora Astarloa[1]
Date of birth (1983-02-16) 16 February 1983[1]
Place of birth Abadiño, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position Centre-back
Youth career
1999–2001 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Basconia 40 (1)
2003–2005 Bilbao Athletic 57 (0)
2005–2012 Athletic Bilbao 85 (1)
2011–2012 → Betis (loan) 7 (0)
2013–2014 Dinamo Tbilisi 14 (1)
2014–2015 Arouca 2 (0)
2015 Penafiel 7 (0)
Total 212 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora Astarloa (born 16 February 1983), known simply as Ustaritz, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Most of his career was spent with Athletic Bilbao, for which he appeared in 103 official matches in seven years. In 2013, he won the double with Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi.[2]

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Abadiño, Biscay,[3] Lezama youth graduate Ustaritz made his debut with Athletic Bilbao's first team during the 2005–06 season, taking part in 17 La Liga matches. However, he featured irregularly in the subsequent years, being mainly restricted to appearances in the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup; in the 2007–08 campaign he played a career-best 20 games, but the Basques could only finish in 11th position.[4]

From 2008 to 2011, Ustaritz totalled 36 league games, scoring his only competitive goal for the club on 29 November 2009 in a 4–1 away win against UD Almería.[5][4] In mid-August 2011, he was loaned to fellow top-division Real Betis in a season-long move,[6][4] after manager Joaquín Caparrós accused him of unprofessional behaviours such as feigning injury.[7]

Ustaritz's contract with Athletic was terminated by mutual consent on 31 August 2012.[8]

Dinamo Tbilisi

In February 2013, the 30-year-old Ustaritz moved abroad for the first time, signing with FC Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia and sharing teams with several compatriots.[9] He played six Premier League games until the end of the season as his team won the national championship, scoring in a 6–1 victory over FC Zestaponi in the last fixture on 18 May.[10] Four days later, a double was secured with a 3–1 defeat of FC Chikhura Sachkhere in the Georgian Cup final, with the player being dismissed late on.[11]

Ustaritz recorded two goals in four matches in Dinamo's third-qualifying round run in the UEFA Champions League in the summer, heading home from assists by his compatriot Xisco Muñoz.[12][13]

Later career

On 30 January 2014, Ustaritz returned to the Iberian Peninsula, signing an eighteen-month deal at Primeira Liga club F.C. Arouca.[14] Roughly one year later, after only two appearances, he switched to another side in the same division, F.C. Penafiel.[15][16][17]

Honours

Dinamo Tbilisi

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ustaritz" (in Spanish). Aupa Athletic. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  2. ^ "Ustaritz ficha por el Arouca de Portugal" [Ustaritz signs for Portugal's Arouca]. El Correo (in Portuguese). 31 January 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  3. ^ Hernández, Marta (17 September 2011). "Y Ustaritz buscó su camino" [And Ustaritz searched for a way]. Deia (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Fernández S., J. Julián (7 January 2014). "Yo jugué en el Real Betis: Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora" [I played for Real Betis: Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Bilbao chalk up convincing win". ESPN Soccernet. 29 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  6. ^ "El club bilbaino confirma la cesión de Ustaritz al Betis" [Club from Bilbao confirms loan of Ustaritz to Betis]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 18 August 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  7. ^ "La ojeriza de Caparrós" [Caparrós' spite]. El País (in Spanish). 2 September 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  8. ^ "Ustaritz' contract terminated". Athletic Bilbao. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  9. ^ Díaz, José M. (7 February 2013). "Oficial: Dinamo Tbilisi, firma Ustaritz" [Official: Dinamo Tbilisi, Ustaritz signs] (in Spanish). Todo Mercado Web. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  10. ^ ""Dinamo" Batumi stays beyond the tournament". World Sport. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  11. ^ a b c "Ustaritz y Mikel Álvaro logran el doblete en Georgia" [Ustaritz and Mikel Álvaro get double in Georgia] (in Spanish). EITB. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  12. ^ Tabagari, Lasha (16 July 2013). ""Dinamo" guaranteed the third qualifying round of Champions League". World Sport. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  13. ^ Zaharia, Paul (6 August 2013). "Solid Steaua see off Dinamo". UEFA. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  14. ^ Rosa, Melo (30 January 2014). "Ustaritz reforça defesa do Arouca" [Ustaritz bolsters Arouca's defence]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  15. ^ Frederico, Francisco (28 November 2014). "Arouca: Ustaritz em estreia para Belém" [Arouca: Debut for Ustaritz in Belém] (in Portuguese). TVI 24. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  16. ^ "Arouca: Ustaritz riscado da convocatória" [Arouca: Ustaritz scratched from the squad] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  17. ^ Geraldo, Inês (2 February 2015). "Penafiel oficializa Michel e Ustaritz" [Penafiel make Michel and Ustaritz official] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
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