Elixabet_Ibarra
Elisabeth Ibarra
Spanish footballer
Elisabeth "Eli" Ibarra Rabancho (born 29 June 1981) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder or defender. She played club football for Eibartarrak FT from 1995 to 2002 and for Superliga/Primera División club Athletic Bilbao from 2002 to 2017.[3] She made 44 appearances for the Spain national team, scoring two goals.[3][1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Elisabeth Ibarra Rabancho[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-06-29) 29 June 1981 (age 42)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Azkoitia, Basque Country, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left midfielder, Left wing-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2002 | Eibartarrak FT | ||
| 2002–2017 | Athletic Bilbao | 367 | (104) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2002–2015 | Spain | 44 | (2) |
| 2006–2014 | Basque Country | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 May 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:29, 18 June 2015 (UTC)[1] | |||
Ibarra held the record for most appearances for the women's first-team of Athletic Bilbao (413)[3] until overtaken by former teammate Erika Vázquez in 2022.[4] Her 111 goals across all competitions made her their third-highest goalscorer of all time.[3] She is also the only player to have taken part in all five league championships that the club has won.[3]
Ibarra started playing football at the age of 13.[5] She played for Eibartarrak FT (now SD Eibar) for seven seasons, from 1995 to 2002,[6] before joining the newly-founded women's team of Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 2002, ahead of the 2002–03 Superliga Femenina season.[7][3] When she first arrived at the club, she chose the number 17 shirt, in homage to former Athletic footballer Joseba Etxeberria.[6] She made her debut in a 7–1 win over Torrejón at the Lezama Facilities, in what was the first ever match played by Athletic's women's team.[6]
Ibarra scored in Athletic's first two appearances in the UEFA Women's Cup. In December 2012, she played her 300th match for Athletic.[7] In 2016, she won her fifth league title with Athletic and agreed to remain with the club for another year.[8]
In May 2017, at the age of 35, she announced her retirement from football.[9][10] She made a total of 413 appearances for Athletic Bilbao – 367 in the league, 32 in the Copa de la Reina, and 14 in the Champions League.[3] She is the club's third highest goalscorer of all-time, behind Erika Vázquez and Nekane Díez, with 111 goals; of those, 104 came in the league, five in the Copa de la Reina, and two in the Champions League.[10][3]
Ibarra was a member of the Spanish national team,[11] where she was deployed by Ignacio Quereda as a left wing-back.[12] She was part of Spain's squads for UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in Sweden[13] and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.[1]
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 June 2010 | Estadio Municipal de La Albuera, Segovia, Spain |  Malta |
3–0 | 9–0 | 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification | [14] |
| 2 | 7–0 |
Club
- Athletic Bilbao
- "Squad lists" (PDF). FIFA. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- "Ibarra profile". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- "Eli Ibarra, a queen in the history of the Red and Whites". Athletic Club. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Erika Vázquez, una leyenda del Athletic que cuelga las botas [Erika Vázquez, an Athletic legend who hangs up her boots], Diario AS, 10 May 2022 (in Spanish)
- Menayo, David (14 January 2009). "Eli Ibarra: "Lucharemos por el título hasta el final"" (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Menayo, David (10 November 2014). "Una rojiblanca incombustible" (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- "Eli Ibarra alcanza la cifra de 300 partidos con el Athletic" (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- Zaballa, Carlos (23 June 2016). "Eli Ibarra y Vanesa Gimbert siguen un año más" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- Rubio, Eidan (15 June 2017). "La mundialista Leire Landa anuncia su retirada". sefutbol.com. Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Menayo, David (17 May 2017). "Tres leyendas del Athletic cuelgan las botas: Iraia Iturregi, Eli Ibarra e Irune Murua" (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- "Noticias - Real Federación Española de Fútbol". rfef.es (in Spanish). 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- Roldán, Isabel (21 July 2013). "Eli: "Cogí una excedencia para poder venir a la Selección"". AS.com (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- "Spain stick with tried and trusted". UEFA.com. UEFA. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- "Spain-Malta". UEFA.com. UEFA. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Elisabeth Ibarra – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Elisabeth Ibarra – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Profile at Athletic Bilbao
- Elisabeth Ibarra at Soccerway