Marta Unzué Urdániz (born 4 July 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and occasionally as a right-back for Primera División club Athletic Bilbao.

Marta Unzué
Unzué in 2012
Personal information
Full name Marta Unzué Urdániz
Date of birth (1988-07-04) 4 July 1988 (age 35)[1]
Place of birth Berriozar, Spain
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, right-back
Team information
Current team
Athletic Bilbao
Number 15
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2006 Osasuna
2006–2020 FC Barcelona 278+ (21+)
2018–2020Athletic Bilbao (loan) 39 (2)
2020– Athletic Bilbao 33 (0)
International career
2014– Basque Country 5 (0)
2017– Navarre 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2021

She spent over a decade with Barcelona, winning several trophies and featuring in the UEFA Women's Champions League.[2][3]

Club career edit

Unzué arrived at Barcelona in 2006 from CA Osasuna, along with her twin sister Elba.[4][5] The team performed poorly and were relegated in her first season. Elba left the club after four years, but Marta remained and was appointed captain after the departure of Vicky Losada in 2015.[6] She maintained her role of first captain for two years.

On 24 July 2018, a deal was agreed for 30-year-old Unzué to join Athletic Bilbao on a two-year loan contract.[7]

At the end of her loan contract, in April 2020, she announced her departure from FC Barcelona after 14 years with the club to permanently transfer to Athletic Bilbao.[8] She left having recorded the second-most appearances of all time for Barcelona with 360.[9]

Education edit

Unzué has obtained a degree in physical activity and sport science in 2010, and a master's degree in nutrition and food in 2014 from the University of Barcelona. She also has a Level 2 certificate in football coaching.[10][5]

Personal life edit

Unzue's uncle is Movistar Team general manager, Eusebio Unzué. Her other uncle, Juan Carlos Unzué played football for CA Osasuna, FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC as a goalkeeper.[11][6]

Honours edit

FC Barcelona

References edit

  1. ^ "Barca Femeni". Archived from the original on 16 September 2015.
  2. ^ Profile in UEFA's website
  3. ^ Unzué, BDFutbol
  4. ^ Elba, BDFutbol
  5. ^ a b c "Marta y Elba Unzué, reinas del fútbol" [Marta and Elba Unzué, queens of football] (in Spanish). Noticias de Navarra. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b Villarrubia, Begoña (30 October 2015). "Las herederas de Unzué" [The heiresses of Unzué] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Marta Unzué, new player of Athletic Club". Athletic Bilbao. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Marta Unzué se despide del Barça y seguirá en el Athletic". sport.es. SPORT. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Melanie tops all-time ranking for appearances". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  10. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marta-unzue-urdaniz-9a537171 [self-published source]
  11. ^ "Juan Carlos Unzué. Un guardameta legendario" (in Spanish). Sevillismo en Vena. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2016.

External links edit