José Antonio Pikabea Explained

José Antonio Pikabea
Fullname:José Antonio Pikabea Larrarte
Birth Date:26 September 1970
Birth Place:Hondarribia, Spain
Height:1.790NaN0
Position:Centre-back
Youthclubs1:Hondarribia FT
Youthyears2:1987–1988
Years1:1988–1992
Caps1:88
Goals1:4
Years2:1992–2003
Caps2:292
Goals2:10
Totalcaps:380
Totalgoals:14
Nationalyears1:1993–1999
Nationalcaps1:7
Nationalgoals1:0

José Antonio Pikabea Larrarte (born 26 September 1970), also known as Kote, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central defender.

Club career

Born in Hondarribia, Basque Country, Pikabea joined Real Sociedad's youth system at the age of 17, going on to spend four seasons with their reserves. On 8 March 1992 he made his La Liga debut, playing 21 minutes in a 2–1 away win against Valencia CF; his first appearance was handed by John Toshack.[1]

Still under the Welsh manager, Pikabea became an undisputed starter for the Gipuzkoa side from the 1992–93 campaign onwards.[2] In 1997–98, he only missed two league games and totalled 3,214 minutes of action as the team finished in third position, thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

During most of his spell, Pikabea often partnered another Real Sociedad youth graduate, Loren. A continuous loss of form made him appear in just six matches in his penultimate season (again with Toshack, who was having his third stint as head coach), and none whatsoever in his last, with French Raynald Denoueix on the bench.[2] He retired in June 2003 at nearly 33, having taken part in 313 competitive games for his only club.[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: La Real sorprende al Valencia. Real surprise Valencia. Mundo Deportivo. Luis. Urrutia. es. 9 March 1992. 23 October 2012.
  2. Web site: Leyendas de la Real: Pikabea. Real legends: Pikabea. Vavel. Ignacio. Vázquez de Balmaseda. es. 26 April 2016. 7 March 2021.
  3. News: Eskerrik asko, Kote. Thank you, Kote. Mundo Deportivo. Ángel. López. es. 27 May 2003. 27 March 2020.