Ajax present their 'battering ram': Bilbao's Ismael Urzaiz
19 July: Henk ten Cate recently pointed out that he would
like to add an extra striker to his squad. Not necessarily a
starter, but a 'battering ram' type: an experienced, tall,
physically strong centre forward. Sometimes a match
requires a type like that. Today, Ten Cate got the man he
wanted: Ismael Urzaiz, 35 year-old veteran of Spanish
outfit Athletic Bilbao, has penned a one year contract at
Ajax's hotel, De Bloemenbeek, in De Lutte. Urzaiz joins Ajax on
a free transfer.
"Urzaiz will be our second man, behind Klaas-Jan Huntelaar,"
technical director Martin van Geel explained. "He will be our
battering ram, our target man, if we have to break down a
defensive wall. Of course, he has agreed to this role in our
squad."
Ismael Urzaiz Aranda (born Tudela, Spain, 07 October 1971)
is a born Basque (his native town of Tudela is in the
Navarre district), but is a product of the youth development
program of Real Madrid, where he played for youth teams in
several age categories and became a Spanish youth
international: he won the European Championship of 1988 with
Spain U-17. His official début as a professional
footballer came in 1989 for Real Madrid B, the club's reserve
team, which operates as an independent side in the Segunda
División of the Spanish Liga. He scored 5
times in 10 appearances in his first season and was added
to the squad of the big Real Madrid in the summer of 1990.
He never got to make his league début
for Real, but did have one appearance for them in UEFA
competition: against Odense BK in 1990.
Before his contract at Real Madrid expired in the
summer of 1993, Urzaiz served brief spells on
loan at Spanish outfits Albacete Balompié (11 matches, 5
goals in 1991-1992) and Celta de Vigo (6 matches, 1 goal in
1992), as well playing an almost full season for Real
Madrid B in 1992-1993 (26 matches, 7 goals). In the summer
of 1993 he left Real, but not Madrid, committing to
Rayo Vallecano. He spent the 1993-1994 season at the capital's
third club, but scored only 1 goal in 20 league appearances. At
UD Salamanca, in 1994-1995, his strike rate hardly
improved: 3 goals in 21 league games.
When Urzaiz joined RCD Espanyol in the summer of 1995 he was
not known as much a goalscorer, but this would change soon
enough. At Barcelona's second club his career really
took off: not only did he score 13 goals in 41 domestic
appearances, but he also caught the eye of
the Spanish national team's coaching staff. He made his
début for Spain in October 1996, shortly after having
joined Athletic Bilbao, from his native Basque Country. Ismael
Urzaiz would spend no less than eleven seasons at Athletic,
scoring 122 goals in 361 domestic appearances for them. He
returned to the Spanish national team in 1999 and became the
absolute hero of their qualification campaign for Euro 2000,
netting six times in three matches. Naturally, he was in the
Spanish squad at Euro 2000. In total, Ismael Urzaiz won 25 caps
(8 goals) for his country.
Having played for seven different clubs in the Spanish Liga,
Ismael Urzaiz has now embarked on the first (and probably last)
foreign adventure of his career. He played in La Liga's first
and second divisions, he played for Spain, he played in the
Champions League (10 games, 1 goal) and he played for the
Euskadi XI, the Basque 'national' team. He finished
4th in Spain with Espanyol and 2nd with Athletic Bilbao... but
he never won a domestic championship. This will, no
doubt, be his ambition in Amsterdam.
Ismael Urzaiz underwent his medical in Amsterdam today,
under supervision of Ajax doctor Edwin Goedhart, and briefly
visited the Amsterdam ArenA before driving to De Lutte, where
he met his new team-mates at their hotel. Ajax have their extra
striker, and it is one of great reputation, with loads of
experience. He's 35 years old, but - in the words of Martin van
Geel - "very fit indeed".
"I really look forward to my time at Ajax," the striker said
after having penned his contract with general director Maarten
Fontein. "This is a great, new adventure. I hope I can be
valuable to this team. I think I have the qualities a striker
requires and I score with the head quite frequently. But more
than anything else I want to win with the team. I want to be
there for the other guys." (MP)
Sources: Ajax.nl, De Telegraaf, Wikipedia
Related links
