Ignacio "Nacho" Ithurralde Sáez (born 30 May 1983 in

Durazno Durazno is the capital city of the Durazno Department, department of Durazno in Uruguay. Geography The city is located at the intersection of Route 5 (Uruguay), Routes 5 and 41, in the south of the department, close to the borders with the depar ...

) is a Uruguayan

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He is the current manager of

Defensor Sporting Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievement ...

Playing career

Club

Ithurralde began his playing career in 2002 with

where he spent 5 years. He played in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with

CF Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey Rayados, A.C., simply known as Monterrey or by its nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León, that plays in Liga MX, the top d ...

in 2007 and then in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

with Olimpo and

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

. In 2009, Ithurralde returned to Uruguay to play for

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

, and moved to Bolívar in the

Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

next year. In 2011, he had a brief spell with Paraguayan club

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

before moving to Chile to play for

Audax Italiano Audax Club Sportivo Italiano () is a Chilean football club based in La Florida playing in the Campeonato Nacional, having has spent most of its history in the top tier of Chilean football. History The club was founded by Italian residents in S ...

. He moved to Millonarios FC in the Colombian Primera A in January 2012. The following year he was repatriated by club

Rentistas Club Atlético Rentistas, known simply as Rentistas is a Uruguayan professional association football, football club based in Cerrito de la Victoria, Montevideo. Founded in 1933, the club competes in the Uruguayan Segunda División. History In 1 ...

. In 2014 Ithuarralde had a short spell with Bolivian side Blooming before returning to Rentistas later that year. Ithurralde subsequently represented Racing Montevideo and

Deportivo Maldonado Club Deportivo Maldonado is a football club from Maldonado, Uruguay. They currently play in the Uruguayan Segunda División following their relegation from the Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American ...

before retiring with Cerro in 2017.

International

After representing

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

at under-17 and under-20 levels, Ithurralde made his debut with the full side on 27 September 2006, in a 1–0 friendly loss against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Managerial career

In 2020, Ithurralde returned to his first club Defensor as a manager of the youth sides. On 23 June 2021, he replaced Juan Tejera at the helm of

Boston River Club Atlético Boston River, simply known as Boston River, is a Uruguayan sports club located in Montevideo. Founded on 20 February 1939, their football section is currently playing in the Uruguayan Primera División. At the futsal Futsal i ...

in the top tier. Ithurralde qualified Boston River to the

2023 Copa Libertadores The 2023 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 64th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. The final was played at the Estádio ...

, the club's first-ever participation in the tournament, but still left on 4 November 2022. He was named in charge of

Montevideo City Torque The Montevideo City Torque is an Uruguayan association football, football club based in Montevideo. The Torque currently plays in the Uruguayan Segunda División, the Second division of Uruguayan football league system, Uruguayan league system, h ...

seventeen days later, but was sacked the following 10 April. On 27 July 2023, Ithurralde replaced Gustavo Díaz at the helm of

River Plate Montevideo A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

. He was sacked from the club on 15 June of the following year. On 31 March 2025, Ithurralde returned to Defensor, now as first team manager.

References

External links

* * * 1983 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan men's footballers Uruguay men's international footballers Uruguayan people of Basque descent Defensor Sporting players Men's association football defenders Rosario Central footballers C.F. Monterrey players Club Olimpo footballers Peñarol players Club Bolívar players Audax Italiano footballers Club Guaraní players Millonarios F.C. players C.A. Rentistas players Club Blooming players Racing Club de Montevideo players Deportivo Maldonado players C.A. Cerro players Uruguayan Primera División players Chilean Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players Categoría Primera A players Bolivian Primera División players Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay Expatriate men's footballers in Bolivia Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Uruguayan football managers Uruguayan Primera División managers Boston River managers Montevideo City Torque managers River Plate Montevideo managers Defensor Sporting managers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Bolivia Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers 21st-century Uruguayan sportsmen {{uruguay-footy-defender-1980s-stub