Aitor Paredes Casamichana (born 29 April 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team.
 Paredes in 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aitor Paredes Casamichana | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 29 April 2000 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Athletic Bilbao | |||||||||||||
| Number | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Etorkisun | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2018 | Athletic Bilbao | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Basconia | 49 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Bilbao Athletic | 53 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2021– | Athletic Bilbao | 58 | (2) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Spain U18 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Spain U19 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2023 | Spain U21 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Club career
editBorn in Bilbao, Biscay, Basque Country, Paredes joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup in 2010, from Etorkisun Alea GE. He made his senior debut with the farm team during the 2018–19 season, in Tercera División.
Paredes made his debut with the reserves on 6 December 2019, starting in a 0–1 Segunda División B away loss against SD Leioa.[1][2] Definitely promoted to the B-side in June 2020, he subsequently became a regular starter for the team, playing in 18 matches (play-offs included) of the 2020–21 campaign, scoring once in a 3–0 home success over Barakaldo CF on 3 January 2021.[3]
On 26 May 2021, Paredes renewed his contract with the Lions until 2025.[4] He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 29 August 2022, coming on as a late substitute for Iñigo Lekue in a 4–0 away routing of Cádiz CF.[5] A short time prior to his debut he was the sixth-choice central defender in the squad, behind Iñigo Martínez, Yeray Álvarez, Daniel Vivian, Unai Núñez and Peru Nolaskoain; however, the latter pair departed on loan, and injuries to the others gave Paredes some opportunities (nine starts and seven further appearances from the bench) during 2022–23.
From the start of the next season, with Martínez having joined FC Barcelona and Yeray still absent with physical issues, the relatively inexperienced Vivian and Paredes (aged 24 and 23 respectively) formed an effective defensive partnership as the team challenged at the top end of the table,[6][7] and won the Copa del Rey to end the club's 40-year unsuccessful sequence in the competition.[8] Paredes scored his first goal in the top tier on 4 January 2024, in a 2–0 away win over Sevilla FC,[9][10] and renewed his contract until 2029 on 21 March.[11][12][13]
International career
editParedes featured in the under-18, under-19, and under-21 categories of the Spanish national team. On 30 June 2018, he was proclaimed champion of the Mediterranean Games with the under-18 team coached by Luis de la Fuente, where he was a starter.[14]
On 17 March 2023, he was called up to the under-21s led by Santi Denia.[15] On 2 June of that year, he was called up to the squad taking part in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Georgia and Romania;[16] he was part of the starting eleven in five of the six matches at the tournament, including the final against England.[17]
Paredes made his debut for Spain national team on 18 November 2024 in a Nations League game against Switzerland at Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López. He played the full game as Spain won 3–2.[18]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 10 November 2024
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Basconia | 2018–19 | Tercera División | 29 | 2 | — | — | — | 29 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | Tercera División | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 49 | 2 | — | — | — | 49 | 2 | |||||
| Bilbao Athletic | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Segunda División B | 16 | 1 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 18 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Primera Federación | 30 | 3 | — | — | — | 30 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 4 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 55 | 4 | ||||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2022–23 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 34 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| Total | 58 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 69 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 161 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 174 | 9 | ||
- ^ Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
edit- As of match played 18 November 2024[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
editAthletic Bilbao
Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2023[20]
References
edit- ^ "Aitor Paredes, el pasajero 24 del filial" [Aitor Paredes, the 24th passenger of the reserves] (in Spanish). El Correo. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Aitor Paredes makes Bilbao Athletic debut in loss to Leioa". Inside Athletic. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "El Bilbao Athletic se sube al liderato a costa del colista" [Bilbao Athletic reach the leadership at the expense of the last-placed team] (in Spanish). Deia. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "El Athletic oficializa la renovación de otros tres cachorros" [Athletic turn official the renewal of another three puppies] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "El Cádiz es un regalo para el Athletic" [Cádiz is a gift to Athletic] (in Spanish). Marca. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Una defensa reconstruida en el Athletic" [A rebuilt defence at Athletic] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "El Chelsea, atento a la evolución de Paredes" [Chelsea, attentive to the evolution of Paredes] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ a b Real, Mario Reinoso del (7 April 2024). "Athletic 1-1 (4-2) Mallorca, en directo: final de Copa del Rey 2024 | Celebración del Athletic, campeón de Copa". Diario AS.
- ^ "El Athletic merienda roscón y se lleva el regalo del Sánchez-Pizjuán". MARCA (in Spanish). 4 January 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Aitor Paredes se estrena en Primera". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 January 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ Ensunza, Julen (21 March 2024). "El Athletic blinda el eje de su defensa con la renovación de Paredes hasta 2029". El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ VanDerPoel (7 April 2022). "Win79". Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "El Athletic renueva a Paredes y se asegura la línea de centrales". MARCA (in Spanish). 21 March 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Juegos Mediterráneos Tarragona 2018: Un triplete de Abel Ruiz baña a España en oro" [A hat trick from Abel Ruiz bathes Spain in gold]. Marca.com (in Spanish). 30 June 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Guillamón y Yeremy Pino 'descienden' a la sub 21" [Guillamón and Yeremy Pino 'relegated' to the under-21s]. MARCA (in Spanish). 17 March 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Agirrezabala, Paredes y Sancet tendrán menos vacaciones" [Agirrezabala, Paredes and Sancet will have fewer holidays]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2 June 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ CANENCIA, ÓSCAR LÓPEZ (8 July 2023). "Inglaterra contiene a España y se proclama campeona del Europeo sub-21" [England contains Spain and is proclaimed champion of the U21 European Championship]. RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Spain v Switzerland game report". ESPN. 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Aitor Paredes". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ England 1-0 Spain: James Trafford saves last-gasp penalty as England win dramatic UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Ben Southby, TNT Sports, 9 July 2023
External links
edit- Aitor Paredes at Athletic Club
- Aitor Paredes at BDFutbol
- Aitor Paredes at ESPN FC
- Aitor Paredes at FBref.com
- Aitor Paredes at Soccerway