Muniain celebrates birthday against a favourite opponent

Athletic Club captain Iker Muniain turns 29 today. What’s more, his special day coincides with a LaLiga Santander fixture against Real Betis, one of Muniain’s favourite San Mamés rivals in recent years.

The playmaker made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old and has gone on to make 365 appearances and score 52 times over the last 13 seasons.

Since the 2016/17 campaign, in which he headed in the second during a 2-1 win over the Andalusians, the Pamplona-born footballer has netted four goals against Betis at San Mamés.

Iker followed that up by repeating the feat in the following two seasons. In 2017/18, he grabbed the opener as the Lions went on to beat the visitors 2-0. And in 2018/19, he was the only name on the scoresheet as he led Athletic to all three points, putting away a tidy finish after a smooth touch and turn in the box.

Muniain’s most recent strike against the Seville-based outfit came during last season’s 4-0 demolition in Bilbao. Our captain got the third of the night, scoring a diving header from a rebound off his initial shot.

This afternoon, at 16:15 CET, the Athletic captain will have an opportunity to add more goals to this recent streak. Hopefully, he can celebrate the day in the best possible way – with a goal at San Mamés and three points on the board for the Lions.

Happy birthday, Iker!