Naia Landaluze Marquínez (born 25 September 2000) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a defender for Athletic Club.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Naia Landaluze Marquínez | ||
| Date of birth | 25 September 2000[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Orozko, Spain[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Athletic Club | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | Campbellsville Tigers | 20 | (3) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Laudio | ||
| 2015 | Altzarrate | ||
| 2016 | Lakua | ||
| 2016–2019 | Pauldarrak | ||
| 2020–2022 | Athletic Club B | 52 | (10) |
| 2021– | Athletic Club | 51 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 October 2024 | |||
Club career
editLandaluze began her career at local teams Laudio, Altzarrate and Lakua (playing at senior level from the age of 14)[3] then spent three seasons with one of the Basque region's stronger amateur clubs, Pauldarrak.[4] In 2019, aged 18, she moved to the United States to study at the Campbellsville University, as part of her degree in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Deusto.[5] There she played for the Campbellsville Tigers[6] and received an 'All-America Honorable Mention' from the NAIA.[7][8] However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic she returned home, and in the summer of 2020 was offered a contract by Athletic Club so opted not to go back to America (but would continue her studies in Deusto).[4][5]
Initially assigned to Athletic's C-team, she quickly impressed the coaches with her determination and was instead placed in the B-squad,[4] where she would make more than 50 appearances in the second tier over the next two seasons. She made her debut for the senior team in the Primera División (now Liga F) on 22 June 2021 in a 4–0 defeat to Barcelona, but during the following campaign was only an unused substitute in a handful of fixtures.[1]
With the retiral of veteran Vanesa Gimbert, Landaluze was promoted to the main squad ahead of the 2022–23 season and began to feature more regularly (her debut as a starter coming against Real Madrid on 28 January 2023),[4] a factor being long-term injuries to established defenders Naroa Uriarte and Garazi Murua and the departure of Ainhoa Moraza, with Landaluze often filling in on the right if Oihane Hernández was unavailable, rather than in her preferred role in the centre.
Her progress continued in 2023–24 with 28 appearance (17 starts) and two goals in the league[9] despite the emergence of right-back Ane Elexpuru to replace Hernández and the signing of Maddi Torre, as Oihane Valdezate's move to Roma freed up a place to be fought over between two of Torre, Bibiane Schulze and Landaluze, who in June 2024 signed a new contract running to 2026.[10]
At the start of 2022–25, a serious injury to Schulze meant that Torre and Landaluze were the regular defensive partnership for Athletic.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Naia Landaluze at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ "Landaluze". BDFutbol. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ Naia: Naia Landaluce Markinez, Txapeldunak (in Spanish)
- ^ a b c d "Naia Landaluze: "La liga está complicada, pero veo un equipazo que va a salir a flote"" [Naia Landaluze: “The league is complicated, but I see a great team that will come out on top”]. Deia (in Spanish). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Naia Landaluze, la jugadora del Athletic y estudiante de Ciencia de Datos e Inteligencia Artificial en Deusto que quiere trabajar en la NASA" [Naia Landaluze, the Athletic player and student of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Deusto who wants to work at NASA]. El Correo (in Spanish). 6 November 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2024 – via University of Deusto.
- ^ Naia Landaluce, Campbellsville Tigers
- ^ 2019 NAIA Women’s Soccer All-America Teams Announced, NAIA, December 11, 2019
- ^ Naia Landaluce becomes first Lady Tiger freshman to earn NAIA All-America honors, Campbellsville Tigers, December 11, 2019
- ^ "Naia Landaluze seguirá en el Athletic hasta 2026" [Naia Landaluze will continue at Athletic until 2026]. El Correo (in Spanish). 18 June 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ Naia Landaluze renews contract until 2026, Athletic Bilbao, 18 June 2024
- ^ "Naia Landaluze adquiere un papel protagonista" [Naia Landaluze takes on a leading role]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 26 September 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
External links
edit- Naia Landaluze at Athletic Club
- Naia Landaluze at ESPN FC
- Naia Landaluze at FBref.com
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