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Edu Alonso
Personal information
Full name	Eduardo Alonso Álvarez
Date of birth	30 May 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years	Team
1992–1996	Bilbao Athletic
1996–2000	Athletic Bilbao
1996	→ Eibar (loan)
1997–1999	→ Salamanca (loan)
2000–2002	Las Palmas
2002–2008	Alavés
Total
International career
1993	Spain U21
2002–2006	Basque Country
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Eduardo 'Edu' Alonso Álvarez (born 30 May 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right midfielder.

He spent the better part of his career with Alavés after starting out at Athletic Bilbao, playing 180 competitive matches for the former club. Overall, he made more than 200 appearances in both La Liga and Segunda División.

Club career

Born in Bilbao, Basque Country, Alonso was formed at Athletic Bilbao. He spent four full seasons in the Segunda División with their B team, making his debut at the age of 18 in a 4–0 home win against SD Eibar where he came on as a second-half substitute.^[2]

Alonso was loaned to precisely Eibar for the 1996–97 campaign, being recalled by his parent club shortly after. He first appeared in La Liga on 17 November 1996, starting in a 4–2 away victory over Sporting de Gijón.^[3]

After two years at UD Salamanca also in the top tier – where he notably scored a goal for the hosts in a 2–1 home defeat of Athletic^[4] and another in a 1–1 draw with FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou the previous weekend^[5]– Alonso returned to San Mamés. He played 26 games in all competitions during the season, under manager Luis Fernández.

Following his release, Alonso represented fellow top-flight sides UD Las Palmas and Deportivo Alavés, signing for the latter as a free agent after leaving the Canary Islands due to unpaid wages.^[6]^[7] He made his debut in the UEFA Cup on 31 October 2002 in a 1–1 home draw against Beşiktaş J.K. in the second round,^[8] going on to be relegated twice during his spell.^[9]

In September 2008, after recurring injury problems, the 34-year-old Alonso parted ways with Alavés by mutual consent and announced his retirement.^[10]^[11]

International career

Alonso earned two caps for the Spain under-21s.^[12]^[13] Additionally, he represented the Basque Country regional team.^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Eduardo Alonso Álvarez". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ Castañeda, Eduardo (28 September 1992). "Goleada del Athletic en un derbi sin color" [Athletic rout in colourless derby]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Calleja, José Luis (18 November 1996). "Bronca y pañolada para un desacertado Sporting" [Boos and hankies for poor Sporting]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Martín, Carlos (26 October 1998). "Edu Alonso y Corino hacen méritos para volver a casa" [Edu Alonso and Corino doing all they can to return home] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Astruells, Andrés (18 October 1998). "Un tropiezo inexplicable" [Inexplicable fumble]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ "Edu Alonso: "El Alavés era mi principal opción, sin lugar a dudas"" [Edu Alonso: "Alavés was my first option, no doubt about that"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 16 July 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Viñayo, Patricio (23 July 2002). "Las Palmas quiere bajar la ficha a seis jugadores que no cobran hace meses" [Las Palmas want to revise contract to six players that have not been paid in months]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Cuenca, Nika (1 November 2002). "Abelardo mantiene la esperanza" [Abelardo keeps the hope]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Ortiz de Arri, Eduardo (23 July 2003). "Edu Alonso se tiene que bajar el sueldo para irse de vacaciones" [Edu Alonso has to earn less in order to go on vacation]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Martínez Viguri, J. A. (1 August 2008). "El Alavés negocia con Edu Alonso la rescisión de su contrato de dos años" [Alavés negotiate with Edu Alonso termination of his two-year contract]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ "Edu Alonso se despide de la afición alavesista tras retirarse del fútbol" [Edu Alonso says goodbye to Alavés fans after retiring from football]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 September 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ Di Cesare, Sergio (29 April 1993). "España se impone a Italia con un gol de Christiansen" [Spain down Italy with Christiansen goal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ "Los 'Sub-21' de España y Noruega empatan a uno" [Spain and Norway's ‘Under-21’ draw one all]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 8 September 1993. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^ "Basque XI 0–1 Wales". BBC Sport. 21 May 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2018.