Urko Vera Mateos (; born 14 May 1987) 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 for Santutxu FC as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

Club career

Born in

Barakaldo Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...

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 ...

, Vera played mostly amateur football until the age of 23, having represented

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

giants

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 ...

as a youth from ages 10–12. During his spell at

SD Lemona Sociedad Deportiva Lemona was a Spanish football team based in Lemoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1923, it last played in Segunda División B – Group 2, holding home matches at '' Estadio Arlonagusia'', with a c ...

, he received part of his wage by taking the team's kits to the

laundry Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this u ...

. In the last minutes of the 2011 January

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, after impressing with Lemona in

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 ...

(the club was coached by legendary Athletic player

Aitor Larrazábal Aitor Larrazábal Bilbao (born 21 June 1971) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played solely for Athletic Bilbao, currently a manager. A left-back of attacking penchant, he appeared in 445 competitive matches for his only club and ...

), Vera was acquired by the ''Lions'', signing a one 1/2-year contract and initially being assigned to the reserve side,

Bilbao Athletic Athletic Club "B", officially Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Club, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country in Spain. The team currently compete in the . Founded in 1964, the team holds ho ...

. He made his first-team – and

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

– debut on 5 February, coming on as a substitute for

Iker Muniain Iker Muniain Goñi (, ; born 19 December 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a winger but also as a forward for Argentine Primera División club San Lorenzo. He began his professional career with Athletic Bilbao, deb ...

for the final 15 minutes of a 3–0 home win against

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

. On 14 March 2011, again appearing from the bench, Vera scored his first goal for Athletic Bilbao, heading home in

injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the ga ...

in a 2–2 draw at

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

. After being released he resumed his career in

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 ...

, representing five clubs in just four years, including

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Miranda de Ebro, Province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 3 May 1927, the club competes in the Segunda División ...

for which he netted 20 times in all competitions. Vera moved to

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

in the

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

in late July 2015. On 10 January of the following year, he returned to his country and joined

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

in the second level. On 19 August 2016, Vera signed a one-year deal with

SD Huesca Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club based in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in th ...

, still in the second tier. The following 23 January, he returned to Mirandés after leaving by mutual consent. On 18 May 2017, Vera moved to Romania with

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

. In January 2019, after a short loan spell at

FC Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club last based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spe ...

also in the country's

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

, he signed with English League Two club

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. His contract at the latter was mutually terminated on 24 January 2020, and he returned to the Spanish lower leagues shortly after with

CD Guijuelo Club Deportivo Guijuelo is a Spanish football team based in Guijuelo, Province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1974 it plays in , holding home games at the 1,500-seat '' Estadio Municipal de Guijuelo''. ...

. Vera returned to his native region on 28 August 2020, with the 33-year-old agreeing to a deal at third-tier

Club Portugalete Club Portugalete is a List of football clubs in Spain, Basque football team based in Portugalete, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded in 1909, it plays in , holding its home games in the '' ...

Honours

Eibar *

: 2013–14 Jeonbuk Hyundai *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

CFR Cluj *

: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vera, Urko 1987 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Barakaldo Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Tercera Federación players Santutxu FC players CD Laudio players Club Portugalete players SD Eibar B footballers SD Eibar footballers SD Lemona footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Hércules CF players SD Ponferradina players AD Alcorcón footballers CD Mirandés footballers CA Osasuna players SD Huesca footballers CD Guijuelo footballers K League 1 players Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players Liga I players CFR Cluj players FC Astra Giurgiu players English Football League players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Romania Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Spanish sportsmen