Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Unai Simón Mendibil [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 11 June 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) [2] [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Athletic Bilbao | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010–2011 | Aurrerá Vitoria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011–2014 | Athletic Bilbao | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014–2016 | Basconia | 36 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016–2018 | Athletic Bilbao B | 58 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2018– | Athletic Bilbao | 179 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 | Spain U16 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 | Spain U18 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015–2016 | Spain U19 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017–2019 | Spain U21 | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2021 | Spain U23 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2020– | Spain | 40 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:23, 25 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:38, 8 June 2024 (UTC) |
Unai Simón Mendibil (born 11 June 1997) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team.
Simón's father, a member of the Guardia Civil from the Province of Zamora, was assigned to a security posting in the Basque Country where he met Unai's mother, a member of the Ertzaintza (the local police force); [4] their son was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, and raised in the nearby village of Murgia. [5] He joined Athletic Bilbao's youth system in 2011 from CD Aurrerá de Vitoria, [6] lodging with a family in the Bilbao area. [4]
Simón made his debut as a senior with CD Basconia, Athletic's farm team, in the 2014–15 season, in the Tercera División. [7] On 8 June 2016, he was promoted to the reserves, recently relegated to Segunda División B. [8] He immediately became a starter for the side, contributing with 29 appearances during the campaign. [7]
On 2 June 2017, he was called up to the main squad for the pre-season by new first team manager José Ángel Ziganda, [9] but continued to appear exclusively for the B-team. On 13 July 2018, he signed a contract extension until 2023, [10] and was loaned to Segunda División side Elche CF two weeks later. [11]
On 15 August 2018, after Kepa Arrizabalaga's departure from the club and Iago Herrerín's injury, Simón was recalled by Athletic before he had played a match for Elche. [12] He initially appeared to be behind the older Álex Remiro in the queue for selection, [13] but made his professional – and La Liga – debut five days later, starting in a 2–1 home win against CD Leganés. [14] [15] In just his third appearance in the top division, Simón played in a 1–1 draw with Real Madrid where he made several key saves and was named player of the match. [16] However, when Herrerín regained full fitness in October 2018 he was made the starting goalkeeper, with Simón's only appearances over the subsequent four months coming in the Copa del Rey. [7]
For the 2019–20 season, Simón was given the #1 squad number and began the campaign as first choice, keeping a clean sheet in an opening day win over FC Barcelona. [17] He continued his strong form throughout the season, missing two fixtures with illness and completing 33 matches in the league, conceding 29 goals [18] to finish third in the Zamora Trophy rankings. [19] On the 37th, penultimate, matchday, he was sent off during the first half against Leganés for a 'last man' challenge outside the penalty area, with the resultant suspension ending his season a game early; with ten men, Athletic Bilbao lost 2–0 to end their slim hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. [20]
In August 2020, he signed a new contract with the club running to the summer of 2025, with no buyout clause. [21] In January 2021, he saved a penalty from Getafe's Jaime Mata. [22] The following month he had a decisive role in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, stopping two of the three penalties in the shootout at the Benito Villamarín against Real Betis. [23] [24]
During the 2021–22 season, he kept his place in the starting lineup and had several impressive performances, the most notable being against Levante and Getafe (both matches ending goalless). [25] [26] In the following season, with the arrival of Ernesto Valverde, he maintained his role as an undisputed starter in the league and performed at a good level. [27] [28] [29] On 10 November 2023, in one of his best moments as a professional, [30] he saved a penalty from Celta de Vigo striker Iago Aspas to keep the score level in a game his team went on to win. [31] On 16 March 2024, he stopped a penalty from Luis Rioja of Alavés, starting a move which culminated in a goal for Athletic forty seconds later as they again went on to win; [32] in addition, Simón consolidated his position as leader in the Zamora Trophy with his fifteenth clean sheet in the league. [33] [34]
Simón was selected for Spain at under-19 and under-21 levels. He was a member of the squad that won the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, albeit as the backup goalkeeper to Antonio Sivera during the tournament. [35] In the same year he was in the Basque Country under-18 team that won the Spanish regional championship . [5]
On 1 September 2017, Simón debuted with the under-21 team against Italy. [36] He was selected for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, playing the first game of the group stage as Spain once more finished as champions (Sivera was again first-choice). [37] [38]
Simón received his first call up to the senior side on 20 August 2020, for the initial two matches of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. [39] Despite having made an error which led to a goal at club level a few days earlier, he was selected for his full debut on 11 November 2020, playing the entirety of a friendly against the Netherlands. [40]
On 24 May 2021, Simón was included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. [41] He started all of the team's matches, and caused an own goal in the 5–3 last-16 win over Croatia when he was unable to control a long backwards pass by Pedri. [42] Luis Enrique praised his mentality for having recovered from that mistake. [43] He then managed to save two penalties as Spain won the shootout against Switzerland in the quarter-finals after a 1–1 draw, [5] for which he was also awarded the Star of the Match. [44] The semi-final against Italy ended with the same score, and Simón saved the first attempt in the shootout by Manuel Locatelli, but the Italians prevailed. [45] Simón was also called up for the Spanish Olympic team for the delayed 2020 tournament in Japan. [46] With Simón as the starting goalkeeper they reached the final, but lost to Brazil. [47]
He was the starter at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in which Spain progressed from their group with a win, a draw and a defeat, then lost 3–0 on penalties to Morocco in the Round of 16 after a goalless draw – Simón saved from Badr Benoun, but three team-mates all failed with their efforts. [48] They had better fortune in the 2023 UEFA Nations League final six months later, where another 0–0, against Croatia, was followed by a 5–4 win in the shootout to claim the title, Simón blocking attempts from Lovro Majer and Bruno Petković. [4] [49]
Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Basconia | 2014–15 [51] | Tercera División | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
2015–16 [51] | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||||
Total | 36 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||||
Bilbao Athletic | 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2015–16 | Segunda División | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
2016–17 | Segunda División B | 29 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||||
2017–18 | 29 | 0 | — | — | 2 [a] | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||||
Total | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 0 | ||
Athletic Bilbao | 2016–17 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2018–19 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
2019–20 | 34 | 0 | 4 [b] | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||||
2020–21 | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 [c] | 0 | 43 | 0 | |||
2021–22 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 [c] | 0 | 36 | 0 | |||
2022–23 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||||
2023–24 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | ||||
Total | 179 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 195 | 0 | ||
Career total | 273 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 291 | 0 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Spain | 2020 | 3 | 0 |
2021 | 17 | 0 | |
2022 | 11 | 0 | |
2023 | 7 | 0 | |
2024 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 40 | 0 |
Athletic Bilbao
Spain U19
Spain U21
Spain U23
Spain
Individual