Jon Koldo Iruarrizaga Arteche (born 31 March 1993), known as Jon Iru, is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Born in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, Basque Country, Jon Iru spent the vast majority of his childhood living in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

following the transfer of his father, also a professional footballer, to

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

in summer 1993. After spending some years in Elche's youth setup, he joined

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

in 2010, aged 17, and made his debut as a senior with the farm team in the 2011–12 campaign, in

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. On 31 August 2012 he was loaned to

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

side Sestao River, but a

metatarsus The metatarsal bones or metatarsus (: metatarsi) are a group of five long bones in the midfoot, located between the tarsal bones (which form the heel and the ankle) and the phalanges ( toes). Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are ...

injury shortened his appearances for the club. On 21 June 2013 Jon Iru was promoted to the reserves in

, after his loan ended. In July of the following year he suffered a severe

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury which sidelined him for eight months; he only contributed with 18 minutes during the whole season, as the B-side returned to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

after 19 years. Jon Iru made his professional debut on 24 August 2015, starting in a 0–1 home loss against

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

. He played several matches at

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

during the season due to injuries to other squad members. On 7 June 2016, after suffering relegation, he was released by ''the Lions'' and signed for

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

on 18 July. In January 2017 Jon Iru moved to

Barakaldo CF Barakaldo Club de Fútbol is a Basque football team based in Barakaldo, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded in 1917 it plays in , holding home stadium is '' Lasesarre'', with a 7,960 Seat Capacity. History Barakaldo pla ...

. He joined another third-tier club of his home region in July 2018, SD Leioa.

Personal life

Jon Iru's father and uncle, and Aitor Iru, were also footballers. Both were goalkeepers, and also groomed at Athletic Bilbao. His younger cousin Ander (son of Aitor) is another goalkeeper and Athletic trainee.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iru, Jon 1993 births Living people Footballers from Alicante Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Bilbao Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Elche CF players Athletic Bilbao footballers CD Basconia footballers Sestao River Club footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers Real Murcia CF players Barakaldo CF footballers SD Leioa players Haro Deportivo players Gernika Club footballers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen