Borja Ekiza Imaz (born 6 March 1988) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Club career Athletic Bilbao Born in Pamplona, Ekiza arrived at Athletic Bilbao's youth system at the age of 14, being eligible to represent the Basque through his Navarrese roots. He spent his first two senior seasons with Basconia, the club's third team.
Subsequently, Ekiza played with the reserves in the Segunda División B, being sparingly used over two years. On 8 January 2011, after a string of injuries to the defensive sector in the first team awarded him with promotion to the main squad, he made his La Liga debut in a 1–1 away draw against Málaga, playing the full 90 minutes; he finished his first top-flight campaign established in the starting XI, beating competition from seasoned veterans Fernando Amorebieta, Aitor Ocio and Ustaritz and being booked only once.
Ekiza lost his starting spot to Aymeric Laporte and Carlos Gurpegui in 2013–14 due to repeated injuries, and only appeared once in the league during the season, 37 minutes in a 2–1 win at Real Valladolid. On 31 July 2014, he terminated his contract with the Lions and signed a two-year deal with fellow top-tier side Eibar hours later.
Later years On 21 July 2017, Cypriot First Division club Omonia announced the signing of Ekiza from Ukraine's Zirka Kropyvnytskyi. Two years later, following a spell in the same country and league with Enosis Neon Paralimni, the 31-year-old announced his retirement from football.
In the summer of 2021, after two years of inactivity, Ekiza joined local amateurs UDC Txantrea alongside his former Athletic teammate (youth and senior) Adrien Goñi.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBasconia2006–07180––1802007–08230––230Total410––410Bilbao Athletic2008–09141––1412009–1080––802010–11140––140Total361––361Athletic Bilbao2010–1121000–2102011–1221020803102012–1324010302802013–141010–20Total67040110820Eibar2014–1511020–1302015–164031–71Total15051–201Zirka Kropyvnytskyi2016–1710110–111Omonia2017–186100–61Enosis Neon Paralimni2018–191000–10Career total17631011101974
Honours Athletic Bilbao Copa del Rey runner-up: 2011–12 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2011–12
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