Xabi Prieto
Prieto with Real Sociedad in 2018
Personal information
Full name Xabier Prieto Argarate
Date of birth (1983-08-29) 29 August 1983 (age 40)
Place of birth San Sebastián, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Right midfielder
Youth career
Ikastola Santo Tomas Lizeoa
2000–2002 Real Sociedad
2000–2001 → Hernani (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 Real Sociedad B 48 (8)
2003–2018 Real Sociedad 479 (67)
Total 527 (75)
International career
2004–2005 Spain U21 5 (0)
2004–2016 Basque Country 14 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Xabier "Xabi" Prieto Argarate (born 29 August 1983) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played mainly as a right midfielder. A player of good dribbling skills, he was also a penalty kick specialist.[1][2] He spent his entire career with Real Sociedad, playing 530 competitive matches for the club.[3][4]

Club career

Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Prieto was a graduate of the youth system at his hometown club Real Sociedad, having joined from school aged 16 and spent time on loan with local amateurs CD Hernani.[3] He made his senior debut in 2002 with the reserves, helping them to achieve promotion to the Segunda División B in his first season.

After starting the next campaign with the B side, Prieto made his first-team debut on 8 October 2003, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against Real Oviedo in the Copa del Rey.[5] His La Liga bow took place 18 days later, coming off the bench in the 1–0 home victory over Navarrese neighbours CA Osasuna;[6] he would go on to collect a further eight substitute appearances – seven of them late in the game – during that season. However, on 23 May of the following year, with the league's outcome already decided, he profited from his second start to score twice at Real Madrid in a 4–1 win, one of the goals coming from the penalty spot.[7]

Subsequently, Prieto was definitely promoted to the first squad and, in 2005–06, participated in all 38 games and netted nine times, six of them being penalties. He was also ever-present the following campaign, but the Basques dropped down to the Segunda División.

Prieto played 35 matches in 2009–10, totalling exactly 3,000 minutes and contributing seven goals as Real Sociedad returned to the top flight after three years.[8][9][3] In the first fixture of the following season, at home against Villarreal CF, he scored the only goal after a backheel pass from newly-signed Joseba Llorente.[10]

On 6 January 2013, Prieto netted the first hat-trick of his professional career, albeit in a 4–3 loss at Real Madrid: he scored once through a penalty and twice after one-on-one situations against Iker Casillas.[11][12] He added a brace on 22 February 2015 in another seven-goal thriller, but now in a 4–3 home defeat of Sevilla FC;[13] in the interim, he made seven appearances for the Txuriurdin in the 2013–14 edition of the UEFA Champions League.

On 25 August 2017, Prieto played his 500th game for the Real Sociedad first team (only the fifth player to reach that milestone after Juan Antonio Larrañaga, Alberto Górriz, Jesús María Zamora and Luis Arconada) a few days prior to his 34th birthday, and marked the occasion with a goal in a 3–0 victory against Villarreal at the Anoeta Stadium. He also received an ovation from supporters in the tenth minute, his shirt number, and a few weeks later he broke the club record for most league appearances (including matches he played in the lower division, unlike the players he overtook).[14][3]

In April 2018, Prieto confirmed he would be retiring at the end of the season. To honour his contributions, Real Sociedad arranged for the club crest to be replaced with his portrait on the players' shirts for the final match of the campaign against CD Leganés (which would also be the swan song for long-serving defender Carlos Martínez).[15][16][17]

International career

Prieto was selected for the Spain under-21 team on several occasions,[18] but never received a cap for the full side. He did feature in several friendlies with the unofficial Basque Country regional XI,[19] and as of 2017 was the team's most-capped player with 14 appearances.[20]

Personal life

Prieto married Amaya Magaña in 2011.[21]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Sociedad B 2002–03 Tercera División 34 5 — — 34 5
2003–04[22] Segunda División B 14 3 — — 14 3
Total 48 8 0 0 0 0 48 8
Real Sociedad 2003–04[22] La Liga 11 2 2 0 — 13 2
2004–05[22] La Liga 23 0 2 1 — 25 1
2005–06[22] La Liga 38 9 0 0 — 38 9
2006–07[22] La Liga 33 3 1 0 — 34 3
2007–08[22] Segunda División 36 4 1 0 — 37 4
2008–09[22] Segunda División 32 4 1 0 — 33 4
2009–10[22] Segunda División 35 7 1 0 — 36 7
2010–11[22] La Liga 37 7 2 0 — 39 7
2011–12[22] La Liga 34 2 4 2 — 38 4
2012–13[22] La Liga 35 9 2 0 — 37 9
2013–14[22] La Liga 30 2 6 0 7[a] 0 43 2
2014–15[23] La Liga 35 4 3 0 4[b] 3 42 6
2015–16[23] La Liga 36 3 1 0 — 37 3
2016–17[23] La Liga 38 8 5 0 — 43 8
2017–18[23] La Liga 26 3 2 0 6[b] 0 34 3
Total 479 67 33 3 17 3 529 73
Career total 527 75 33 3 17 3 577 81
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Real Sociedad

See also

References

  1. ^ Ramajo, Roberto (24 February 2015). "Xabi Prieto solo ha fallado un penalti en Primera División" [Xabi Prieto has only missed one penalty in Primera División]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. ^ López, Ángel (15 May 2017). "Prieto rebautiza el penalti: alegría máxima" [Prieto rechristens penalty: maximum joy]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Lowe, Sid (20 October 2017). "Xabi Prieto as happy as ever as Real Sociedad's long-serving heart and soul". ESPN FC. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. ^ Pérez, Javier (25 August 2017). "Andrés Fernández se lesiona de gravedad en el homenaje con goleada de la Real a Xabi Prieto" [Andrés Fernández seriously injured in Real's homage with goals to Xabi Prieto]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Real Sociedad le ganó al Oviedo" [Real Sociedad beat Oviedo] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 8 October 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Kovacevic lleva la tranquilidad a la Real Sociedad" [Kovacevic brings tranquility to Real Sociedad]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 26 October 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Real Madrid 1–4 Real Sociedad". ESPN Soccernet. 23 May 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  8. ^ "La Real, a las puertas de Primera División tras ganar al Villarreal B" [Real, at the doors of Primera División after defeating Villarreal B]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 30 May 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b García, Gregorio (13 June 2010). "El cielo de Primera vuelve a abrirse para la Real Sociedad" [Primera heaven reopens for Real Sociedad]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Sociedad make winning return". ESPN Soccernet. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Casillas benched again but Madrid win". ESPN FC. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Xabi Prieto, un triplete sin premio" [Xabi Prieto, triple without prize]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  13. ^ Campos, Tomás (22 February 2015). "Real locura" [Royal madness]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Xabi Prieto scores as Real Sociedad remain perfect; Real Betis edge Celta". ESPN FC. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  15. ^ Badallo, Óscar; French, Oliver (6 May 2018). "Real Sociedad confirm Carlos Martinez will leave after 18 years". Marca. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ Badallo, Óscar; Yu, Cronan (10 May 2018). "Prieto's head to replace Real Sociedad crest against Leganes". Marca. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Xabi Prieto: Picture of Real Sociedad legend will replace club crest for Leganes game". BBC Sport. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  18. ^ "La nueva etapa de Sáez, con tablas" [Sáez's new era, all square]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 18 August 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Euskal Selekzioa 6–0 Perú" [Basque XI 6–0 Peru] (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  20. ^ Encinas, Mikel (26 December 2016). "Para Prieto todo empezó contra Honduras" [For Prieto everything started against Honduras]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  21. ^ "Xabi Prieto se casa con Amaya Magaña en San Sebastián" [Xabi Prieto marries Amaya Magaña in San Sebastián]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 28 May 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Xabi Prieto: Xabier Prieto Argarate". BDFutbol. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  23. ^ a b c d "Xabi Prieto". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 March 2015.

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