Mikel San José

Mikel San José

San José training for Athletic Bilbao in 2014.
Personal information
Full name Mikel San José Domínguez
Date of birth (1989-05-30) 30 May 1989
Place of birth Pamplona, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 6
Youth career
Chantrea
2005–2007 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Liverpool 0 (0)
2009–2010 → Athletic Bilbao (loan) 25 (1)
2010– Athletic Bilbao 181 (22)
National team‡
2007–2008 Spain U19 16 (0)
2009–2011 Spain U21 8 (1)
2012 Spain U23 1 (0)
2014– Spain 7 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:04, 25 September 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 June 2016
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is San José and the second or maternal family name is Domínguez.

Mikel San José Domínguez (Spanish pronunciation: [mi'kel san xo'se ðo'miŋɡeθ]; born 30 May 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao as a defensive midfielder or a central defender.

After starting out at Liverpool's reserves he joined Athletic Bilbao in 2009, initially on loan, and went on to make over 200 appearances for the club in La Liga.

San José won European Championships with Spain at under-19 and under-21 level. He also represented the country at the 2012 Olympics, and made his senior international debut in 2014, being part of the squad at Euro 2016.

Club career

Early years / Liverpool

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, San José progressed through the youth teams at Athletic Bilbao in the neighbouring Basque Country, playing for the Juvenil B team and moving to the A's in the 2006–07 season, where he made 27 appearances and scored five goals.[1]

Aged just 18, he signed a three-year contract with Liverpool, in August 2007, and subsequently played regularly for the reserves, in 2007–08[2] and 2008–09.[3]

Athletic return

In August 2009 San José returned to Bilbao on a season-long loan, to gain more first-team experience.[4] He was awarded the number 12 shirt, making his debut on 17 September 2009 in a 3–0 group stage home win against FK Austria Wien for the UEFA Europa League.[5] It was reported in early November 2009 that he was frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities, and that if this did not improve he would look to shorten the loan agreement and move either back to Liverpool or on loan to another club in January 2010;[6] on the 8th he finally made his La Liga debut, playing the last minute of the 2–0 win at Racing de Santander, and finished the campaign with 30 overall appearances, netting three times.

On 19 May 2010 San José was signed permanently by Athletic, for five years.[7] In his first year he was periodically charged with penalty-taking by manager Joaquín Caparrós, replacing longtime incumbent Andoni Iraola.

On 5 December 2010, in his first Basque derby, against Real Sociedad, San José committed a penalty which resulted in the first goal, and scored in his own net in the beginning of the second half, for the game's final 2–0 at the Anoeta Stadium.[8] The following season, he was an unused substitute in the Copa del Rey and the Europa League finals, both lost.

San José finished the 2012–13 campaign with six goals all competitions comprised, netting five goals in the league as the Lions finished 12th, and was often utilized as a defensive midfielder by coach Marcelo Bielsa.[9] His other successful strike was his first in a European competition, in a 3–3 draw at HJK Helsinki for the Europa League play-off round second leg.[10]

San José scored the first-ever goal for Athletic Bilbao at the new San Mamés Stadium (second overall) on 16 September 2013, netting from close range in a 3–2 win over Celta de Vigo.[11][12] He began to be overshadowed by fellow youth graduate Aymeric Laporte, however.

On 25 November 2014 San José scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, the only one in a group match away to FC Shakhtar Donetsk – nonetheless, the opponents advanced at Athletic's expense.[13] He also netted the opening goal in a 4–0 win against FC Barcelona for the first leg of the Supercopa de España, from 50 meters after a clearance from Marc-André ter Stegen.[14]

International career

San José was part of the Spanish team who captured the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Having made 16 appearances in that category, he progressed to the under-21s in early 2009.[15]

On 29 August 2014, San José was named by full side manager Vicente del Bosque in a 23-man squad for matches against France and Macedonia in September.[16] He made his debut on 4 September, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 friendly loss to the former,[17] and was subsequently selected for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament alongside Athletic teammate Aritz Aduriz.[18]

Club statistics

As of match played 24 September 2016[19][20][21]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Athletic Bilbao 2009–10 2510052—303
2010–11 31230——342
2011–12 2426180—383
2012–13 3452041—406
2013–14 25550——305
2014–15 2856192—438
2015–16 342711012[lower-alpha 1]0534
2016–17 5100100061
Total 206232933762027432
  1. ↑ Appearances in Supercopa de España

Honours

Club

Athletic Bilbao

Country

Spain U21
Spain U19

References

  1. ↑ Athletic Bilbao profile
  2. ↑ "Liverpool Results 2007–08". Liverweb. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "Liverpool Results 2008–09". Liverweb. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  4. ↑ "Mikel San José, cedido al Athletic Club" [Mikel San José, loaned to Athletic Club] (in Spanish). Athletic Bilbao. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "Irrepressible Athletic show their class". UEFA.com. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  6. ↑ "San Jose frustrated in Spain". Sky Sports. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "San José drafted". Athletic Bilbao. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Mikel San Jose horror Basque Derby debut gifts hosts easy victory". Goal.com. 5 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "San José: "No es normal que un defensa haga tantos goles"" [San José: "It's not normal for a defender to score this many goals"]. Marca. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Group stage guaranteed". Athletic Bilbao. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Athletic open stadium with win". ESPN FC. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  12. ↑ ""Seremos recordados", dice Mikel San José, autor del primer gol en el nuevo San Mamés" ["We shall be remembered", says Mikel San José, author of first goal in the new San Mamés]. Canal Athletic. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "San José shows way for Athletic at Shakhtar". UEFA.com. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Athletic Bilbao 4–0 Barcelona: Aduriz hits hat-trick in Supercopa shocker". Goal.com. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "San José international appearances". Liverweb. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  16. ↑ "These are the players called up for the matches against France and Macedonia". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "France 1–0 Spain". BBC Sport. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Euro 2016: Diego Costa, Juan Mata & Fernando Torres not in Spain squad". BBC Sport. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "San José". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "San José". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  21. ↑ Mikel San José at ESPN FC
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