Gorka Iraizoz · Biography

Gorka Iraizoz Moreno was born on 6 March 1981 and grew up in Ansoáin, a town on the edge of Pamplona. A 1.91-metre goalkeeper, he started out in futsal as a forward, coached by his uncle, before moving between the posts at UDC Chantrea, the club of the Pamplona neighbourhood of the same name. Between 2007 and 2017 he played 392 official matches for Athletic Club, winning the 2015 Spanish Super Cup; earlier he had won the 2006 Copa del Rey with Espanyol.

Youth football in Navarre and Biscay

After the 1998-99 season with Chantrea, he joined Athletic's academy system. In 1999-2000 he kept goal for CD Basconia, the club's feeder side in Basauri, making 20 appearances, and in 2000-01 he was part of the Bilbao Athletic squad without playing. In 2001 he went on loan to SD Gernika, who later signed him permanently. Across both spells he made 50 appearances for the Biscay club.

Espanyol: from the reserves to a European final

In July 2002 he joined RCD Espanyol, who placed him in their B team. He made 59 appearances there over two seasons before a loan to SD Eibar in 2004-05, where he played 41 league games. Back in Barcelona, he made his top-flight debut on 21 December 2005 at Riazor, in a 2-1 away win over Deportivo. That season he was on the bench for the Copa del Rey final that Espanyol won against Real Zaragoza in April 2006, and he later played the first leg of the 2006 Spanish Super Cup.

In 2006-07 he was second choice in the league behind Carlos Kameni but the starter in the UEFA Cup. He stood out in the quarter-final second leg away to Benfica (0-0, 3-2 on aggregate) and played in the final against Sevilla on 16 May 2007, which Espanyol lost on penalties. He left the first team with 23 league appearances.

Athletic Club: ten seasons at San Mamés

On 7 August 2007 he signed for Athletic Club, who brought him back as their first choice. He made his debut on 26 August 2007 at San Mamés against Osasuna (0-0), but a serious injury ruled him out for the second half of that season. From then on he was the team's starting goalkeeper for a decade. On 16 January 2010 he was named player of the match against Real Madrid.

Finals with Athletic

He played in five finals with Athletic. The first was the 2009 Copa del Rey final at Mestalla, won 4-1 by Barcelona, followed by the Spanish Super Cup that same year. Two more came in 2012: on 9 May Atlético Madrid won the Europa League final in Bucharest 3-0, and on 25 May Barcelona won the cup final at the Vicente Calderón by the same score.

The trophy came in August 2015. Athletic beat Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the Super Cup at San Mamés, with a hat-trick from Aritz Aduriz, and drew 1-1 at Camp Nou; Iraizoz started both games. It was the club's first trophy since the 1984 Copa del Rey. He was an unused substitute in the 2015 cup final. He left Athletic at the end of the 2016-17 season, when his contract expired, with 392 official appearances: 315 in the league, 29 in the cup, 45 in European competition and 3 in other competitions.

Girona and retirement

On 14 June 2017 he signed a two-year deal with Girona, newly promoted to the top flight for the first time. He made his debut on 19 August 2017 at Montilivi against Atlético Madrid (2-2) and spent most of his time there as back-up to Yassine Bounou, with 16 league appearances. He left the club in 2019, at the end of a season that finished in relegation, and retired that same year.

Basque Country team

He was never called up by Spain at any level. He did play 12 matches for the Basque Country representative side. He never played for the Navarre team.

Coaching career

In June 2020 he joined Barakaldo CF as goalkeeping coach under Aitor Larrazabal and, from August 2021, coached the club's top youth team. In 2022-23 he was Larrazabal's assistant at SD Gernika, and in 2023-24 he followed him to SD Logroñés in the Primera Federación. In June 2024 he took over as head coach of SD Gernika in the Segunda Federación, and on 4 May 2025 a win over Real Sociedad C secured the team's place in the division.