Félix Zubizarreta

Félix Zubizarreta Ezpeleta was a Spanish footballer who was an outstanding striker for Athletic Club between 1913 and 1917. Even though he had a short footballing career, Zubizarreta managed to leave a considerable footprint in Spanish football, playing a pivotal role in Athletic's three Copa del Rey titles in a row between 1914 and 1916, in which he netted a goal in the 1915 final and a hat-trick in the 1916 final against Madrid FC (now known as Real Madrid).

His family emigrated to Venezuela after the Spanish Civil War. His grandson Iker Zubizarreta played in the football tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Biography Born in Bilbao, Zubizarreta began his career at his hometown club Athletic Club during the 1913–14 season, and quickly became one of the club's standout players at the time, scoring five goals on his debut in a 12–0 win over Sporting de Irún, thus becoming the first-ever player to score five goals in an official match with the Basque team, in addition to achieving the first-ever hat-trick at the San Mamés Stadium, which had been inaugurated five months earlier.

Zubizarreta was part of the legendary attacking front that Athletic boosted in the 1910s, which also included Severino Zuazo, Domingo Acedo and Pichichi, and together with them he helped the club win the very first edition of the regional North/Biscay championship in 1913–14, hence qualifying to the 1914 Copa del Rey which they also won, although he did not feature in the final. In the 1915 Copa del Rey, Zubizarreta netted a hat-trick in the second leg of the semi-finals Fortuna de Vigo to help Athletic reach the final in which he netted once in a 5–0 win over RCD Español. However, his career highlight came in the 1916 Copa del Rey Final where he netted a hat-trick against Real Madrid CF (then known as Madrid FC) to help his side secure a 4–0 victory Zubizarreta did not play any more matches with Athletic or with another team, retiring from football on that evening at the age of just 23, having scored 27 goals in 29 official matches for Athletic. So Madrid's first match in San Mamés was Zubizarreta's last.

He dedicated himself to his studies and his name only came up again 20 years later during the Spanish Civil War when he was appointed head of the Basque Government's enlistment and recruitment section. Due to his position and his nationalist significance, Zubizarreta went into exile in Venezuela with his wife, Juanita Torre, and his nine children. He set up a wood business in Caracas and died there at the age of 49. The other members of the family returned to the Basque Country.

Honours Athletic Club North/Biscay Regional Championship: Champions (3): 1913–14, 1914–15 and 1915–16 Copa del Rey: Champions (3): 1914, 1915 and 1916