Aritz Aduriz

On 16 August 2019, Aduriz scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Barcelona through a bicycle kick in the last minute of the first league fixture, helping his side to their first league win against that opposition since 2013 and also equalling Lionel Messi's record of scoring in 15 consecutive league seasons. He had a stoppage-time penalty saved in a match away to previous employers Mallorca four weeks later, and injuries then caused him to miss three months of matches over that winter. He returned to play a role from the bench in wins over Barcelona and Granada in February that helped the team qualify for the 2020 Copa del Rey Final, but did not score again himself before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain – his last appearance being as a last-minute substitute in a win over another former club, Valladolid. On 20 May 2020, Aduriz announced his retirement as a professional footballer.

Aduriz was named the league's Player of the Month for the second time, winning the January 2018 award after showing good sportsmanship during a derby match against Eibar: he fell in the penalty area going for a loose ball between two defenders, but immediately signalled to the referee and the supporters that no foul should be awarded (he also scored a few minutes earlier, one of two strikes during the month).

Aduriz renewed his contract with Athletic once more in November 2017, this time to run until summer 2019. The following month, he became the club's oldest goalscorer after surpassing Agustín Gaínza.

Despite the club being eliminated from the 2017–18 Europa League at the last-16 stage, 37-year-old Aduriz finished as the competition's top scorer – along with S.S. Lazio's Ciro Immobile – with eight goals in the tournament proper. His 2018–19 campaign was severely curtailed by injuries as the team generally struggled to score and collect points, and he scored only two league goals from 20 appearances. Both were penalties in successive home fixtures, the first in a Panenka-style against Girona FC past former teammate Gorka Iraizoz for a last-minute 1–0 victory, and the second against Valladolid an unusual precise kick with no run-up, described as a "remarkable... five-a-side... minimalist" technique; he agreed a new one-year contract in May 2019, later confirming at the outset of 2019–20 that it would be his last season as a player before retiring.

In addition to playing for Spain, Aduriz was a regular goalscorer for the Basque national side. He appeared for the former at Euro 2016, at the age of 35.

Aduriz again proved influential for his team on 5 November, scoring one goal and assisting a further two in a 5–1 defeat of FK Partizan in the Europa League group stage – in the process, he reached the 100-goal mark with the club. On 24 January 2016, he netted through a bicycle kick to help his team come back from a 0–1 deficit to win 5–2 over neighbouring SD Eibar. On 18 February, in the Europa League's round-of-32 tie at Olympique de Marseille, he scored what was described as a "wonderful" and "incredible" goal, the only one at the Stade Vélodrome.

Aduriz was the La Liga Player of the Month for March 2016 after scoring three goals, becoming the first Athletic player to win the award since its introduction in 2013. In that month, he also struck to eliminate former team Valencia from the last 16 in Europe. Even though the team was eliminated in the following round by eventual winners Sevilla FC, he finished as the competition's top scorer with ten successful strikes, totalling 36 overall and only trailing Telmo Zarra (47) and Bata (37) for goals during a single season with the club.

On 3 November 2016, in a Europa League group stage home fixture to K.R.C. Genk, Aduriz scored all five of his team's goals (including three penalties) in a 5–3 victory, becoming the first player to accomplish this feat in the competition in the process. Having previously been level with Llorente on 16, that achievement also took him clear as the club's top scorer in European matches.

On 12 November 2016, after contributing to a 4–0 win over Macedonia in the 2018 World Cup qualifying phase in Granada, Aduriz became Spain's oldest ever goal scorer at the age of 35 years and 275 days.

On 8 February 2015, Aduriz scored in a 2–5 home loss to Barcelona to complete a century of goals in Spain's top flight. In the last match of the campaign on 23 May, he netted twice in a 4–0 home victory over Villarreal CF to clinch the Zarra Trophy by surpassing Rayo Vallecano's Alberto Bueno, whilst also qualifying Athletic to the Europa League. In the 24th minute, he ceded a penalty kick to Andoni Iraola who was leaving the club after 16 years, but his teammate declined, so he converted it instead.

Aduriz scored a hat-trick as Athletic won 4–0 against Barcelona in the first leg of the Supercopa de España, on 14 August 2015, and equalised in a 1–1 draw in the return match to hand his team the trophy, the first of his career. On 16 October, after starting the season strongly with 11 goals in 14 matches in all competitions, the 34-year-old agreed to a contract extension until 2017.

Llorente left for Juventus F.C. in summer 2013, and Aduriz was made the starter by new manager Ernesto Valverde. On 28 February of the following year, he scored three of his team's goals to help the hosts defeat Granada CF 4–0.

Six years later, at the age of 35, Aduriz was recalled by manager Vicente del Bosque for friendlies with Italy and Romania. He started and scored in the first match, a 1–1 draw at the Stadio Friuli, and was selected for UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He made two substitute appearances in the group stage, always replacing Juventus' Álvaro Morata in the second half; on 27 June, in the round-of-16 clash against Italy at the Stade de France, he came out for Nolito at the start of the second half, but had to leave the pitch injured in an eventual 0–2 loss.

On 27 June 2012, Aduriz rejoined first professional club Athletic Bilbao for a fee in the region of €2.5 million, signing for three years. On 23 August he scored his first goals in his second spell, netting a brace in a 6–0 home win against HJK Helsinki in the Europa League playoff round (9–3 on aggregate); on 20 October he returned to the Mestalla Stadium to face his previous team and netted twice, albeit in a 2–3 loss.

Aduriz continued with his form on 4 November 2012, scoring two goals in a 2–1 away win over Granada CF. He quickly profited from Llorente's shaky contractual situation to become first-choice, and finished his first season in his second spell with 18 official goals, 14 in the league.

After an impressive start to his Valencia career, 29-year-old Aduriz earned a first call-up to the Spain national team, being picked for two UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers in October 2010. He made his debut on the 8th, replacing Llorente for the last 15 minutes of a 3–1 home win against Lithuania.

From January 2011, after the arrival of Brazilian Jonas in the winter transfer window, and due to the fact manager Unai Emery often only played with one pure striker – Roberto Soldado – Aduriz found himself on the bench more often than not. He still managed to finish his first season as a Che with 14 competitive goals, including two in their campaign in the UEFA Champions League, one in each of the games against Bursaspor.

Aged 29, Aduriz moved to Valencia CF on 14 July 2010, for about €4 million. He scored on his official debut on 28 August, opening the scoresheet at Málaga CF in an eventual 3–1 win.

On 4 August 2008, Aduriz became the first player to score at the Colchester Community Stadium, in a friendly match with Colchester United. He was sold to RCD Mallorca on the 23rd, signing a four-year contract.

On 26 October 2008, Aduriz scored a brace for his new club in a 3–0 home success over RCD Espanyol, and finished his first year as team top scorer, for a final ninth position. He repeated the individual feat in 2009–10 – improving to 12– as the Balearic Islands side ranked fifth, with qualification to the UEFA Europa League.

Aduriz showed continuous progress, attested by his nine La Liga goals in 34 games in 2006–07, including a hat-trick against Real Zaragoza on 19 May 2007, albeit in a 3–4 defeat. He was overshadowed by the younger Fernando Llorente in the following campaign, but still managed to net seven times in 33 league appearances.

Aduriz made his debut for the Basque representative team on 8 October 2006, opening a 2–2 draw at the Camp Nou against Catalonia. He also scored braces in victories over FIFA members Estonia, Bolivia and Peru. He had 12 goals in friendly matches for the Basque team as of 2017, making him their record goalscorer.

After two seasons in the reserves, Aduriz made his first-team debut on 14 September 2002 against FC Barcelona in a 0–2 home loss, but made only two more league appearances during the campaign, still turning out for the B-side where he made just short of 100 appearances in Segunda División B. He went on to spend almost three seasons elsewhere (one with Burgos CF, one and a half at Real Valladolid in Segunda División) before returning to Athletic in December 2005.

Aritz Aduriz Zubeldia (Basque: [aɾits̻ aðuɾis̻] ; Spanish: [ˈaɾits aˈðuɾiθ] ; born 11 February 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.