Ibai Gómez · Biography

Ibai Gómez won his first trophy on 17 January 2021. That day Athletic Club beat FC Barcelona 3-2 after extra time to win the Spanish Super Cup at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville. Ibai Gómez Pérez was born in Bilbao on 11 November 1989 and played as a left winger. Before that trophy he had lost three Copa del Rey finals and a Europa League final. He retired in 2023 and became a coach. He took a national team to the Olympic Games and won promotion with Arenas Club de Getxo. In June 2026 he was appointed by Real Zaragoza.

Santutxu, Sestao and the move to Lezama

He came through at Santutxu FC, the club from his Bilbao neighbourhood. He played for their first team in 2008-09, scoring 7 goals in 31 games, and won the club's Golden Ball in February 2009. The next year he moved to Sestao River in the Spanish third tier, Segunda División B, where he scored 8 goals in 36 games. In June 2010 Athletic signed him for their reserve side, Bilbao Athletic. He scored 14 goals in 28 games for them between 2010 and 2012.

First spell at Athletic (2010-2016)

He made his La Liga debut on 17 October 2010 against Real Zaragoza. A knee injury forced him off before three minutes were up. In 2011-12 he scored twice in the Europa League. Athletic reached the 2012 Europa League final and lost it to Atlético de Madrid. That spring they also lost the Copa del Rey final to Barcelona, who beat them again in the 2015 final. His best year was 2013-14, when he scored 8 league goals and Athletic qualified for the Champions League. Knee tendinitis kept him out for most of 2015-16. In his first spell he played 101 La Liga games and scored 13 goals.

Deportivo Alavés (2016-2019)

Deportivo Alavés announced his signing on 30 July 2016. In September that year he scored in the club's 2-1 win at the Camp Nou. He started the 2017 Copa del Rey final, which Barcelona won 3-1. In December 2017 he scored the first hat-trick of his professional career. In three seasons in Vitoria he played 81 La Liga games and scored 15 goals.

Back in Bilbao and final years as a player

Athletic announced his return on 10 January 2019. Injuries hampered this second spell, in which he played 44 league games without scoring. He was still in the squad that won the 2021 Super Cup. He was also in the squad that lost the 2019-20 Copa del Rey final to Real Sociedad. In March 2022 he moved to Iran to join Foolad FC, playing four AFC Champions League games for them. On 27 July that year he signed for Deportivo de La Coruña in Primera Federación, the Spanish third tier, and played 7 games there. He announced his retirement on 8 November 2022. Later that month he went back to playing for Santutxu, and he played his last game for them on 3 June 2023.

The Basque Country team

He played 4 games for the Basque Country team between 2012 and 2018 and scored 2 goals. He made his debut on 29 December 2012 in a 6-1 win over Bolivia. On 12 October 2018 he scored in a 4-2 win against Venezuela.

From Santutxu to Real Zaragoza

He started coaching in 2023 with Santutxu's youth team, with Fernando Amorebieta as his assistant. In February 2024 the Dominican Republic appointed him head coach of their under-23 side for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In March his team won 2-1 away to Paraguay in Asunción. At the Games they drew with Egypt and Uzbekistan and lost 3-1 to Spain. They finished third in Group C and went out. His record was one win, two draws and three defeats in six games. In May 2024 he took over Arenas Club de Getxo in Segunda Federación, the Spanish fourth tier. He won 21 of his 34 games, drew 7 and lost 6. In 2025 he led them to the title and promotion to Primera Federación. On 25 June 2025 he joined FC Andorra in the Spanish second division. He left on 23 November 2025 after eight games without a win. His record there was 5 wins, 5 draws and 6 defeats in 16 games. On 4 June 2026 Real Zaragoza announced him as head coach after the club had been relegated to Primera Federación.