What gets better with time? In football analogy fans will be inclined to say Ibrahimovic,Pirlo,Buffon..but Thursday night had one name to this tag and that is the Basque powerhouse named Aritz Aduriz.
Aduriz has proven that age does not matter in football
after improving on his goal scoring form, with 5-goals against Genk in their
Europa League tie which makes him the highest goal scorer in the UEL 16/17. Aduriz is presently Bilbao top scorer in all
competitions.
Aritz Aduriz, the Spanish striker is known for his
powerful aerial ability and deadly first touch. Aduriz boasts of being a
Centurion in the laliga with goals from Mallorca and Valencia in his other spells.
Aduriz who plays for the Basque country scoring eleven goals in just ten
appearances, he has also made just nine appearances for the Spanish national
team, latest being that he featured in the last Euro 2016 at age 35.
Aduriz who has had three (3) separate spells with
Athletic Bilbao, he also played for Burgos and Villadolid in the second
division, and Valencia and Mallorca in division one.
In 2002, Aduriz made his debut for Athletic Bilbao
against Barcelona. The next season he joined Burgos on loan for one season in
the division two where he netted 16 goals in 38 games for the club, He then
signed for Real Valladolid where he played for one and half seasons, scoring 20
goals in 46 games still in division two.
Bilbao noticed his goal scoring ability and decided to
sign his back, where he started playing in the La Liga proper. He managed to
score 22 goals in 86 apperance for the club, because of his lack of playing due
to Fernando Llorente form back then for Bilbao. He left just after two seasons
with the club.
He joined Mallorca in 2008, where he made a name for
himself for by being their highest goalscorer in the league with 10 goals in
his first season and the following season he topped his own record by scoring
12 league goals in his season with Mallorca finishing 5th on the table that
season and gaining Europa League qualification for them.
At Age 29, Aduriz made a move to Valencia where he
spent two seasons there. He recorded 17 goals in 58 games. He also made his
Champions League debut there, where he managed to score 2 goals in his first
campaign. But his rain didn’t last as Roberto Soldado was picked as the first
choice striker.
He made a stunning return to his Athletic Bilbao which
was his first professional club. In his first season he netted a brace in the
Europa League qualification playoff taking them to the competition proper. In
his return to the Mestalla (Valencia home ground) he scored a brace against
them but his team went on to lose the game. In his first season he scored 18
goals in just 14 starts and forced a starting shirt in his second season
forcing Llorente to leave to Juventus.
Aduriz continued his impressive form for Athletic
Bilbao helping Bilbao to a trophy and also gained some individual
accolades. On May 2015, Aduriz won the
Zarra trophy surpassing Vallecano’s Alberto Bueno, He was also named in the
Europa League team of the season and was also the highest goal scorer in the
competition. In August that same year Aduriz won the Supercopa de Espana for
Bilbao, scoring four goals in the two leg tie against the almighty Barcelona (a
team where he made his first team debut in 2002). All these he achieved at age
34.
Aduriz has recently been an ever present name in the
Spanish national team being preferred to the likes of Torres, Llorente. He also
played in the Euro 2016 where he had one start and two second half appearance.
Aduriz, who has scored 135 goals in 350 apperances in
the league, This is an impressive goal scoring record for a player who defied
the odds and reached his full potential at a late stage of his career where
many Spanish players have failed to impress at such age.
Aduriz has so far this season scored 5 goals in 9
league matches, and has also scored 5 goals in the Europa League and he is
presently joint top scorer with Giuliano of Zenith St Petersburg in the UEL.
The Athletic Bilbao fans will be hoping Aduriz will
stay at the club till he is up to 40 years or even more like Francisco Totti of
Roma. Aduriz will hope to win the Europa League with Bilbao and try to gain
Champions League qualification.
No comments:
Post a Comment