Ane Elexpuru

Ane Elexpuru
Personal information
Full name Ane Elexpuru Añorga
Date of birth (2003-05-02) 2 May 2003 (age 21)[1]
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain[2]
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
Athletic Club
Number 20
Youth career
2013–2017 Loiola Indautxu[3]
2017–2018 Bizkerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2023 Athletic Club B 139 (24)
2022– Athletic Club 40 (0)
International career
2019 Spain U17 4 (0)
2021–2022 Spain U19 11 (2)
2022 Spain U20 6 (1)
2022– Spain U23 9 (1)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Spain
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Winner 2022 Costa Rica
UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Winner 2022 Czech Republic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 December 2023

Ane Elexpuru Añorga[a] (born 2 May 2003) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a right back or right winger for Athletic Club.

Club career

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Elexpuru joined Athletic Club's academy from Bizkerre in 2018, aged 15.[4][5] She was immediately assigned to the B-team and was a regular in the side for the next five seasons, amassing well over 100 appearances in the second tier (her expected progression to the main squad was delayed mainly due to the good form of Ane Azkona and Oihane Hernández in the right-sided positions). She also continued to pursue her education, attending the University of the Basque Country to study teaching.[6]

She made her professional debut in the Liga F as a starter against Real Madrid Femenino in October 2022, aged 19;[5] she was mainly used as a substitute in the 2022–23 Liga F campaign, continuing to feature for the reserves in around half of their fixtures. Ahead of the 2023–24 Liga F, with Oihane having moved on to Real Madrid, Elexpuru was promoted officially to the main squad.[7][8]

International career

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Elexpuru made her debut for the Spain under-17 team in 2019 against Slovakia, one of four appearances that year. After a hiatus due to restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was first capped at under-19 level in October 2021. She became a regular in the team and was a member of the squads which won the 2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in the Czech Republic (scoring in a win over the hosts then in the final against Norway)[9][6] followed by the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica[5] (alongside clubmates Clara Pinedo and Maite Zubieta).[10][11]

Honours

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Spain U19

Spain U20

References

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  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Elexpuru and the second or maternal family name is Añorga.
  1. ^ Ane Elexpuru at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Elexpuru". BDFutbol. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  3. ^ "La jugadora alevín Ane Elexpuru convocada por el Athletic" [The junior player Ane Elexpuru called up by Athletic]. Loiola Indautxu Futbol (in Spanish). 17 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Elexpuru". Txapeldunak (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Aimara Gil (3 October 2022). "Elexpuru debutó en la élite después de un verano inolvidable" [Elexpuru debuted in the elite after an unforgettable summer]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Ane Elexpuru: «A las pequeñas lo único que les diría es que luchen por sus sueños»" [Ane Elexpuru: "The only thing I would say to the little girls is to fight for their dreams"]. University of the Basque Country (in Spanish). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. ^ Carlos Zaballa (7 September 2023). "Ane Elexpuru y Maite Zubieta dan el salto definitivo en el Athletic" [Ane Elexpuru and Maite Zubieta make the decisive jump to Athletic]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  8. ^ Carlos Zaballa (18 September 2023). "El nuevo Athletic de David Aznar" [David Aznar's new Athletic]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  9. ^ Spain take title as Norway denied again, UEFA, 9 July 2022
  10. ^ Carlos Zaballa (29 August 2022). "Elexpuru, Zubieta y Pinedo se proclaman campeonas del mundo Sub-20" [Elexpuru, Zubieta and Pinedo are proclaimed Under-20 world champions]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  11. ^ San Mamés tribute for our World U-20 and European U-19 champions, Athletic Bilbao, 3 September 2022
  12. ^ "2022 Women's U19 EURO: Road to the title". UEFA.com. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Paralluelo propels Spain to revenge and glory". FIFA.com. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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