Markel Susaeta

Markel Susaeta Laskurain (Basque: [markel s̺us̺aeta las̺kuɾain], Spanish: [ˈmaɾkel susaˈeta laskuˈɾajn]; born 14 December 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a right winger for A-League club Macarthur FC.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Susaeta and the second or maternal family name is Laskurain.

Markel Susaeta
Susaeta playing for Athletic Bilbao in 2018
Personal information
Full name Markel Susaeta Laskurain
Date of birth (1987-12-14) 14 December 1987
Place of birth Eibar, Spain
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Macarthur
Number 33
Youth career
1997–2005 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Basconia 36 (4)
2006–2008 Bilbao Athletic 41 (3)
2007–2019 Athletic Bilbao 379 (38)
2019–2020 Gamba Osaka 5 (0)
2020 Melbourne City 10 (2)
2020– Macarthur 3 (1)
National team‡
2007–2008 Spain U21 3 (0)
2012 Spain 1 (1)
2010–2016 Basque Country 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 December 2016

He spent almost the entirety of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao after making his debut with the first team in 2007, appearing in 507 competitive matches and scoring 56 goals for the club. In 2019, he signed with Gamba Osaka.

Susaeta won one full cap for Spain.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Susaeta came through the ranks of Athletic Bilbao, spending one season with the farm team and another with the B side. At the start of 2007–08 he was also registered for the reserves, but was given his first-team debut on 2 September 2007 and managed to score in a 1–3 loss at FC Barcelona.[2] He finished with 29 La Liga appearances, netting on four occasions.

In the following years, Susaeta established himself firmly in Athletic's first team, although still not an undisputed starter for the Basques. On 31 January 2009, he scored four minutes from time to give his team a 3–2 home win against Málaga CF,[3] in an eventual narrow escape from relegation. He added six games in the campaign's Copa del Rey, as they reached the final against Barcelona.[4]

Susaeta netted a career-best 13 official goals in 2011–12, including five in the season's UEFA Europa League as Athletic reached the final[5][6][7][8][9]– the Lions also reached the decisive match in the domestic cup, once again against Barcelona.[10]

Susaeta prior to a UEFA Champions League match in 2014

Susaeta came on as a substitute in the 2015 Spanish Cup final, once more lost to Barcelona.[11] He took the field in both legs of the following edition of the Supercopa de España, in which his team finally overcame the same opponent.[12][13]

In September 2016, Susaeta broke the club record for appearances in European competition, passing the total of 55 set in the 1970s by goalkeeper José Ángel Iribar.[14] In January 2019, he played in his 500th competitive match for Athletic, becoming only the fifth player in their history to reach that milestone (but still some way short of the overall record held by Iribar).[15]

It was announced that Susaeta would leave at the end of the 2018–19 season when his contract ended; the player later commented that it had been his intention to play at San Mamés for his entire career and expressed disappointment at the circumstances.[16] The club's final home match involved tributes to him, as well as fellow long-serving squad members Ander Iturraspe and Mikel Rico who were also departing in similar circumstances.[17][18]

Later career

On 9 September 2019, Susaeta joined J1 League club Gamba Osaka.[19] The following 15 January, having made just seven appearances in Japan, he signed for Australia's Melbourne City FC for the rest of the A-League season;[20] he left in mid-July, the delay in his release being due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21]

Susaeta continued in the Australian top division in November 2020, teaming up with former Athletic teammate Beñat Etxebarria at Macarthur FC.[22]

International career

On 9 November 2012, following a series of good displays, Susaeta was called up to the Spain national team for the first time, being selected by manager Vicente del Bosque for a friendly against Panama on the 14th[23] and scoring the final goal in the 5–1 win in Panama City.[24] He also featured for the unofficial Basque Country regional side.[25]

Personal life

Susaeta's cousin, Néstor, was also a footballer and a winger. He unsuccessfully emerged through Basque neighbours Real Sociedad's youth system, and had a brief spell with Athletic's reserves.[26]

Career statistics

Club
As of 30 December 2020[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other[28] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Basconia 2005–06 Tercera División 364–––364
Bilbao Athletic 2006–07 Segunda División B 363–––363
2007–08 Segunda División B 50–––50
Total 413–––413
Athletic Bilbao 2007–08 La Liga 29452–="2"|–346
2008–09 La Liga 34160––401
2009–10 La Liga 35410901[lower-alpha 1]0464
2010–11 La Liga 28130––311
2011–12 La Liga 38692165–6313
2012–13 La Liga 3672084–4611
2013–14 La Liga 38651––437
2014–15 La Liga 3118191–483
2015–16 La Liga 283401322[lower-alpha 1]0475
2016–17 La Liga 261307000361
2017–18 La Liga 3431013000483
2018–19 La Liga 221300000251
Total 3793850675123050756
Gamba Osaka 2019 J1 League 5020––70
Melbourne City 2019–20 A-League 10200––102
Macarthur 2020–21 A-League 1000––10
Career total 4674752675123060265
  1. Includes appearances in Supercopa de España

International
As of 14 November 2012[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 201211
Total11

International goals
As of 14 November 2012 (Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Susaeta goal)
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 November 2012Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama Panama5–05–1Friendly[24]

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

References
  1. "Susaeta". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  2. Barcelona 3–1 Athletic Bilbao; ESPN Soccernet, 2 September 2007
  3. Athletic Bilbao 3–2 Málaga; ESPN Soccernet, 31 January 2009
  4. "El Barça se corona por aplastamiento" [Barça crowned through crushing] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  5. Muniain finish seals Athletic win at Slovan; UEFA, 15 September 2011
  6. Athletic attacking prowess puts paid to PSG; UEFA, 29 September 2011
  7. Athletic down Slovan to top Group F; UEFA, 1 December 2011
  8. Athletic stride past Schalke and into semi-finals; UEFA, 5 April 2012
  9. Athletic leave it late as Llorente sets up final date; UEFA, 26 April 2012
  10. "Barcelona end Guardiola era with Copa del Rey win over Athletic Bilbao". The Guardian. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  11. "Lionel Messi stars as Barcelona win Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao". Eurosport. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  12. "Athletic Bilbao 4–0 Barcelona: Aduriz hits hat-trick in Supercopa shocker". Goal. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  13. "Athletic Bilbao hold off Barcelona to claim Spanish Super Cup". The Guardian. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  14. "Susaeta supera a Iribiar" [Susaeta surpasses Iribar] (in Spanish). Marca. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  15. "Susaeta, 500 matches as a lion". Athletic Bilbao. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  16. "Susaeta 'hurt' by discussion around Athletic Bilbao exit". AOL. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  17. "Farewell tribute to Susaeta, Rico and Iturraspe". Athletic Bilbao. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  18. "Susaeta, Iturraspe y Mikel Rico, arropados y manteados" [Susaeta, Iturraspe and Mikel Rico, cheered and thrown in the air] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  19. "Markel Susaeta becomes latest La Liga icon to move to Japan with Gamba Osaka". Fox Sports. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  20. "Signing news: Spain international Susaeta moves to Melbourne City". A-League. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  21. "Susaeta departs Melbourne City for Spain return". The World Game. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  22. "Signing news: Susaeta makes A-League return with Macarthur, Japanese whizz-kid heads to Roar". A-League. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  23. Spain calls up Markel Susaeta; ESPN Soccernet, 9 November 2012
  24. España abre en canal a Panamá (Spain 'canal' Panama); Marca, 15 November 2012 (in Spanish)
  25. "Euskal Selekzioa 6–1 Bolivia" [Basque XI 6–1 Bolivia] (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  26. Primer enfrentamiento de los primos Susaeta (First head-to-head for Susaeta cousins); Diario AS, 27 October 2009 (in Spanish)
  27. "Susaeta". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  28. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.
  29. "Markel Susaeta". European Football. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
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