Muniain reaches 400 games
Muniain reaches 400 games
The red-and-white Captain is now the youngest Lion who has played 400 official games for Athletic Club
Iker Muniain has become the youngest Lion to reach 400 official matches played with Athletic Club, a record that is now been added to the ones the captain from Txantrea has accomplished as a red-and-white player. A month after turning 27, and after the minutes played against RC Celta de Vigo at San Mamés, Muniain has entered the list of the 18 Lions who have managed to play that number of minutes in the official matches of the Club. Only two other footballers made it before the age of 30: Joseba Etxeberria, at the age of 28 years, 3 months and 12 days (season 2005/06); and Markel Susaeta, at the age of 28 years, 8 months and 14 days (season 2016/17).
Muniain started playing at Lezama’s youth academy when he was 12, and made his debut with the first team during a European competition on 30 July 2009, against Young Boys at San Mamés.
At the other end of the scale, the most veteran player to attain this goal was Aritz Aduriz, who played his game number 400 this very season, at the age of 38 years, 8 months and 19 days, during the fixture in which Athletic won 3-0 over RCD Espanyol in October last year. Coincidentally, that same day Muniain was the protagonist of the match after scoring two goals and forcing the last one, an own goal. Aduriz and Muniain have reached this round number during the same campaign, a fact that had not happened since Aitor Larrazabal and Josu Urrutia did it during the 2001/02 season, the forward in March and the midfielder in May.
Here is a breakdown of the official matches, separated into the different competitions, that have been played by Muniain wearing Athletic Club’s shirt:
- 304 in LaLiga
- 54 in the Europa League
- 35 in the Copa del Rey
- 7 in the Champions League
List of the 18 footballers who have played 400 or more official matches with Athletic Club:
- José Ángel Iribar: 614
- Txetxu Rojo: 541
- Joseba Etxeberria: 514
- Andoni Iraola: 510
- Markel Susaeta: 507
- Agustín ‘Piru’ Gainza: 494
- José María Orue: 481
- Aitor Larrazabal: 445
- Nicanor Sagarduy ‘Canito’: 437
- Julen Guerrero: 430
- Estanislao Argote: 427
- Ismael Urzaiz: 419
- José Luis Panizo: 413
- Carmelo Cedrún: 402
- Daniel Ruiz-Bazán: 402
- Josu Urrutia: 401
- *Aritz Aduriz: 400
- *Iker Muniain: 400
* (Still ongoing)