.jpg) Susaeta playing forAthletic Bilbao in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Markel Susaeta Laskurain[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-12-14)14 December 1987 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Eibar, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2005 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Basconia | 36 | (4) |
| 2006–2008 | Bilbao Athletic | 41 | (3) |
| 2007–2019 | Athletic Bilbao | 379 | (38) |
| 2019–2020 | Gamba Osaka | 5 | (0) |
| 2020 | Melbourne City | 10 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | Macarthur | 21 | (5) |
| Total | 492 | (52) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Spain U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2016 | Basque Country | 7 | (1) |
| 2012 | Spain | 1 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Markel Susaeta Laskurain (Basque:[markels̺us̺aetalas̺kuɾain],Spanish:[ˈmaɾkelsusaˈetalaskuˈɾajn]; born 14 December 1987) is a Spanish formerfootballer who played as aright winger.
He spent almost the entirety of his professional career withAthletic Bilbao after making his debut with the first team in 2007, appearing in 507 competitive matches and scoring 56 goals for the club.[4][5] He also played in Japan withGamba Osaka, and in Australia withMelbourne City andMacarthur.
Susaeta won one fullcap forSpain in 2012.
Born inEibar,Gipuzkoa, Susaeta came through the ranks ofAthletic Bilbao, spending one season with thefarm team and another withthe B side. At the start of2007–08 he was also registered for the reserves, but was given his first-team debut on 2 September 2007 and managed to score in a 3–1 loss atFC Barcelona.[6] He finished with 29La Liga appearances, netting on four occasions.
In the following years, Susaeta established himself firmly in the first team, although still not an undisputed starter for theBasques. On 31 January 2009, he scored four minutes from time to give his team a 3–2 home win againstMálaga CF,[7] in an eventualnarrow escape from relegation. He added six games inthat campaign'sCopa del Rey, and they reachedthe final against Barcelona.[8]
Susaeta netted a career-best 13 official goals in2011–12, including five inthe season'sUEFA Europa League as Athletic went all the way tothe final.[9][10][11][12][13] TheLions alsoreached the decisive match in the domestic cup, once again against Barcelona.[14]
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Susaeta came on as asubstitute in the2015 Spanish Cup final, once more lost to Barcelona.[15] He took the field in both legs of thefollowing edition of theSupercopa de España, in which his team finally overcame the same opponent.[16][17]
In September 2016, Susaeta broke the club record forappearances in European competition, passing the total of 55 set in the 1970s by goalkeeperJosé Ángel Iribar.[18] In January 2019, he played in his 500th competitive match for Athletic, becoming only the fifth player in their history to reach that milestone (but still some way short ofthe overall record held by Iribar).[19]
It was announced that Susaeta would leave at the end of the2018–19 season when his contract ended; the player later commented that it had been his intention to play atSan Mamés forhis entire career and expressed disappointment at the circumstances.[20] The club's final home match involved tributes to him, as well as fellow long-serving squad membersAnder Iturraspe andMikel Rico who were also departing in similar circumstances.[21][22]
On 9 September 2019, Susaeta joinedJ1 League clubGamba Osaka.[23] The following 15 January, having made just seven appearances in Japan, he signed for Australia'sMelbourne City FC for the rest of theA-Leagueseason;[24] he left in mid-July, the delay in his release being due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[25]
Susaeta continued in the Australian top division in November 2020, teaming up with former Athletic teammateBeñat Etxebarria atMacarthur FC.[26] Both retired at the end ofthe campaign, aged 34.[27]
On 9 November 2012, following a series of good displays, Susaeta was called up to theSpain national team for the first time, being selected by managerVicente del Bosque for afriendly againstPanama on the 14th[28] and scoring the final goal in the 5–1 win inPanama City.[29] He also featured for the unofficialBasque Country regional side.[30]
Susaeta's cousin,Néstor, was also a footballer and a winger. He unsuccessfully emerged through Basque neighboursReal Sociedad's youth system, and had a brief spell with Athletic's reserves.[31]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other[32] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Basconia | 2005–06 | Tercera División | 36 | 4 | – | – | – | 36 | 4 | |||
| Bilbao Athletic | 2006–07 | Segunda División B | 36 | 3 | – | – | – | 36 | 3 | |||
| 2007–08 | Segunda División B | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 41 | 3 | – | – | – | 41 | 3 | |||||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2007–08[33] | La Liga | 29 | 4 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 34 | 6 | ||
| 2008–09[33] | La Liga | 34 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10[33] | La Liga | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 46 | 4 | |
| 2010–11[33] | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2011–12[33] | La Liga | 38 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 5 | – | 63 | 13 | ||
| 2012–13[33] | La Liga | 36 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | – | 46 | 11 | ||
| 2013–14[33] | La Liga | 38 | 6 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 43 | 7 | |||
| 2014–15[33] | La Liga | 31 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1 | – | 48 | 3 | ||
| 2015–16[33] | La Liga | 28 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 2[a] | 0 | 47 | 5 | |
| 2016–17[33] | La Liga | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| 2017–18[33] | La Liga | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 3 | |
| 2018–19[33] | La Liga | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| Total | 379 | 38 | 50 | 6 | 75 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 507 | 56 | ||
| Gamba Osaka | 2019[34] | J1 League | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | ||
| Melbourne City | 2019–20[34] | A-League | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 2 | ||
| Macarthur | 2020–21[34] | A-League | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 23 | 5 | |
| Career total | 492 | 52 | 52 | 6 | 75 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 624 | 70 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2012 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 November 2012 | Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  Panama | 5–0 | 5–1 | Friendly[29] |
Athletic Bilbao
