Mikel Aguirregomezkorta Larrea

Mikel Aguirregomezkorta Larrea (born 26 August 1974), known during his playing career simply as Mikel, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre forward.

He represented several clubs in Spain, and played for two seasons in La Liga with Albacete Balompié. After retirement in 2009, he worked as a coach, including a brief spell as head coach of Barakaldo.

Playing career Early career

Mikel, a right-footed centre forward, was born in Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Basque Country. He began his career in 1994 with Bilbao club Leioa, then in the Primera División de Bizkaia in the sixth tier of Spanish football. After one season with Leioa, he jumped up to Segunda División B with Barakaldo, also located within Greater Bilbao.

He made his Barakaldo debut on 1 October 1995, coming on with 25 minutes left in a 0–0 away draw with Cultural Leonesa at Estadio Antonio Amilivia. His home debut came a week later in another 0–0 draw against Real Avilés Industrial, in which he was again a second half substitute. He found his way into the starting eleven for the next match, a 1–0 loss away at Numancia on 12 October, and held his place three days later for the 1–0 home win over Osasuna B. Overall, he made 14 appearances in his first season with the club, which ended badly as he was sent off in the 1–0 away loss to Izarra at Estadio Merkatondoa on 5 May.

In 1996–97, Mikel was a more integral part of the team, making 35 appearances in all competitions. The highlight of the season was the home fixture against Real Unión in which he came off the bench in the 77th minute with the scores at 1–1. He scored his first Barakaldo goal in the 83rd minute to give his side the lead, and added two more before the final whistle to secure a remarkable hattrick and a 4–1 win. He scored three more goals that season, coming in consecutive victories against Real Sociedad B, Athletic Bilbao B and Cultural Leonesa in April and May. However, of their six play-off games, they lost four and drew the other two, thus finishing bottom of their group and failing to be promoted. Mikel played in five of the games, but the 1–0 home loss to group winners Elche would prove to be his last for Barakaldo, as he left the club at the end of the season. He ultimately scored 8 times in 37 appearances that season, Mallorca B were ultimately the promoted team from Group C, in which Athletic finished third.

In 1998–99 Mikel played 36 times, and scored 10 times, the only time in his career he would reach double figures in a single season.

Lleida

Mikel's good form earned him a move up to the Segunda División, as he left his native Basque Country for the first time to join Lleida in Catalonia.

Despite 28 appearances, Mikel was unable to replicate his goal scoring form from the previous year, netting just once. The solitary goal came in the first leg of Lleida's Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie against Rayo Vallecano; despite Mikel's contribution, they lost the match 3–2 and the tie 6–3 on aggregate. His time at Lleida would prove to be just one season, and a 2–0 loss to Eibar at Ipurua Municipal Stadium on 28 May was his last for the club.

2001–02 saw Mikel feature less prominently, playing only seven times, although he did manage to score twice. The following season, though, was a better one for both player and club. 27 appearances in all competitions yielded 3 goals for Mikel, which helped Albacete to 3rd place in the league and promotion back to La Liga after seven years away.

2004–05 was less successful for both Mikel and his club. While he again played 29 matches in the league, plus two in the Copa del Rey, he failed to score all season, the first such failure since his debut season with Barakaldo in 1995–96. He departed Albacete after six years, having made 143 appearances and scored 17 goals. However, these would prove to be his only matches for the club. He was struggling with a knee injury, and finally formally retired in 2009, just before his 35th birthday.

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Mikel moved rapidly into management. On 24 March 2010, Javier González Etxeberria was dismissed as manager of his former club Barakaldo, and Mikel was appointed in his place. He led the team to two further victories in the remaining seven games of the season, plus three draws, and they finished in a respectable 11th position.

The 2010–11 season started badly, with a 2–0 loss against Mirandés at Estadio Municipal de Anduva on 29 August. Although they won their next match, 2–0 at home to Sporting de Gijón B, this would prove to be a false dawn. Following a 2–1 loss to SD Eibar at Ipurua on 18 December, they lay in the relegation zone in 18th place, having won just four of their eighteen matches. Mikel was sacked before the next match and replaced by Alfonso del Barrio. Del Barrio didn't improve the team's fortunes, and neither he nor Pedro Platas, who would also coach the team before the end of the season, won a single league match in charge. Unsurprisingly, Barakaldo were relegated after finishing bottom of the table.

After about half a season out of work, Mikel was appointed as the coach of Cultural Durango in the Tercera División ahead of the 2011–12 season. He led the team for two seasons, guiding them to a 7th and 8th place finish respectively.

Honours Albacete Balompié Segunda División third place: 2002–03 (earning promotion to La Liga)

Alicante Segunda División B: 2006–07 Segunda División B runners-up: 2007–08 (earning promotion to Segunda División)

Career statistics

As a player

1. Appearances in the 1997 Segunda División B play-offs 2. Appearances in the 1998 Segunda División B play-offs

As a manager

+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNatFromToRecord Barakaldo27 March 201018 December 2010