José María 'Txema' Añibarro Astondoa (born 26 July 1979) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
He spent his entire professional career – one that consisted of three seasons – with Eibar, having signed at the age of 29.Txema Añibarro no quiere «jugar en otro equipo que no sea el Eibar» (Txema Añibarro does not want to "play for a club other than Eibar"); El Correo, 17 July 2013 (in Spanish)Txema Añibarro: 'Messi igual piensa que Añibarro es un río de Eibar' (Txema Añibarro: 'Maybe Messi thinks Añibarro is a river in Eibar'); El Mundo, 14 March 2015 (in Spanish)
Playing career Born in Zeberio, Biscay, Añibarro played amateur football well into his 20s.Añibarro ; at Futbolistas Vascos de Bronce (in Spanish)43 novatos (43 rookies); Mundo Deportivo, 25 October 2002 (in Spanish) In the summer of 2005, he joined Sestao River Club of Tercera División, and appeared in 32 matches in his debut season, which ended in promotion.
On 5 June 2008, Añibarro signed with Basque neighbours SD Eibar.El Eibar ficha al central Txema Añibarro y al lateral Alvaro Martínez, del Sestao (Eibar sign stopper Txema Añibarro and full-back Alvaro Martínez, from Sestao); El Correo, 10 June 2008 (in Spanish) He played his first match as a professional on 3 September, starting and being sent off in a 1–0 loss at CD Castellón in the second round of the Copa del Rey.El Castellón ilusiona a su afición y pasa a la siguiente ronda (Castellón excite supporters and go through to the next round); Levante-EMV, 4 September 2008 (in Spanish) He made his Segunda División debut on the 20th in the 0–0 home draw against RC Celta de Vigo,El Celta consigue su primer punto en Ipurúa (Celta get their first point in Ipurúa); Marca, 20 September 2008 (in Spanish) and scored his first league goal on 25 April 2009, but in a 2–3 home defeat to Real Zaragoza.El Zaragoza coquetea con el desastre (Zaragoza flirt with disaster); Marca, 25 April 2009 (in Spanish)
Añibarro took part in 25 games in his first season, as the Armeros were relegated to the third tier.Una regeneración completa, o casi, para una nueva etapa (Complete regeneration, or nearly, for a new spell); Gara, 3 June 2009 (in Spanish) He remained a starter in the following years, contributing 27 appearances in the promotion campaign of 2012–13.El Eibar vuelve a Segunda cuatro años después (Eibar return to Segunda four years later); Marca, 30 June 2013 (in Spanish)
On 25 June 2014, after Eibar's promotion to La Liga,Añibarro: "Voy a cumplir mi sueño de pequeño de jugar en Primera y con el Eibar" (Añibarro: "I am going to fulfill my childhood dream of playing in Primera and with Eibar"); Marca, 17 July 2014 (in Spanish) The 34-year-old Añibarro renewed his contract for a further year.Txema Añibarro renueva por una temporada (Txema Añibarro renews for a season); SD Eibar, 25 June 2014 (in Spanish) He only made his debut in the competition on 16 January 2015, coming on as a second half substitute for Borja Ekiza in a 1–1 away draw against Córdoba CF.El Eibar aprovecha una mala noche (Eibar take advantage of a bad night); Marca, 16 January 2015 (in Spanish)
Coaching career Añibarro announced his retirement on 17 June 2015, being immediately appointed coach at Athletic Bilbao's Cadete C team.Organigrama de técnicos de Lezama (Lezama's coach organigram); Athletic Bilbao, 17 June 2015 (in Spanish)Añibarro se retira y ficha por el Athletic como técnico (Añibarro retires and signs for Athletic as coach); Marca, 18 June 2015 (in Spanish) Seven years later, following Jon Uriarte's election as president, he left the club.Solaun, Añibarro y Alaña no seguirán en Lezama (Solaun, Añibarro and Alaña will not continue in Lezama); Deia, 30 June 2022 (in Spanish)
Career statistics
ClubSeasonLeagueCupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSestao 2005–06Tercera División323——3232006–07Segunda División B31110—3212007–08Segunda División B30010—310Total93420—954Eibar 2008–09Segunda División25110—2612009–10Segunda División B30010403502010–11Segunda División B33110403812011–12Segunda División B30020203402012–13Segunda División B21060603302013–14Segunda División15020—1702014–15La Liga15010—160Total16921401601992Career total26261601602946
Honours Eibar Segunda División: 2013–14¡Campeones de Segunda! (Segunda champions!); Cadena SER, 8 June 2014 (in Spanish)
References
External links