Patxi Rípodas Oroz

Francisco José Rípodas Oroz (born 13 September 1960), known as Patxi Rípodas or simply Rípodas, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 217 La Liga appearances over ten years with Osasuna and four with Athletic Bilbao. He made his home debut at the El Sadar Stadium a week later, again starting the 2–2 draw against Getafe Deportivo before being substituted at half time, this time for Emilio Martínez. He played a major role that season, appearing in 22 matches and scoring a goal (at home to Cádiz on 28 October) as Osasuna were promoted to La Liga in third place.

Despite this success, Rípodas had to wait two years before making his next appearances, even returning to the B team for one match - away to Burgos in Segunda División B - in 1982. He finally made his La Liga debut on 11 September 1982, away to Las Palmas at Estadio Insular. He came on in the 56th minute for Clemente Iriarte, with the scores level at 1–1, although Osasuna went on to lose 2–1. He made his full debut in the competition eight days later, playing the full 90 minutes away to Real Sociedad at Atotxa Stadium as the visitors lost 2–0. Strangely, he had to wait until his fifth appearance of the season to make his home La Liga debut, again playing the full 90 minutes of the 4–2 win over Atlético Madrid on 24 October.

From then on, Rípodas was a mainstay of the Osasuna team, making at least 26 appearances in each of the next six La Liga campaigns. 1984–85 was a strong season for Osasuna, as he made 26 appearances and scored twice to help the team to 6th in the league, and qualification for the UEFA Cup. He made his European debut in Osasuna's first round match against Rangers of Scotland at Ibrox Stadium on 17 September, a match which the Spaniards won 1–0. He scored the opener in the return fixture on 2 October, with a 2–0 victory sending Osasuna through to the next round. He wasn't involved as Osasuna lost 2–0 away in Belgium to Waregem in the second round, and when he returned for the home leg, a 2–1 win wasn't enough to keep the Spanish side in the competition. Rípodas's final match for Osasuna was a 1–0 loss at home to Valencia on 28 May 1989.

Athletic Bilbao

After over a decade with his boyhood club, Rípodas moved to Athletic Bilbao when his contract expired in the summer of 1989. He signed a four-year deal with the San Mamés club, He made his debut for his new club at home to Real Sociedad on the opening day of the La Liga season, with Athletic emerging as 1–0 winners. His only goal during his first season in Bilbao came in the Copa del Rey, against Palamós at their new stadium in the first leg of Athletic's 5–1 aggregate first round victory. His final game proved to be the 2–0 home victory over Espanyol on the last day of the season, after which, reaching the end of his contract, Rípodas retired from football at the age of 32. Like his uncle, Tiko began his career with Osasuna and also had a successful spell with Athletic Bilbao. He was capped once by Spain,

Tiko's younger brother, like his uncle named Francisco and sometimes known as Txitxo, was also a midfielder, featuring solely in lower divisions, including for Osasuna B.

Career statistics