Aitor Elizegi
Aitor Elizegi | |
|---|---|
| 32nd President of Athletic Bilbao | |
| In office 27 December 2018 – 24 June 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Josu Urrutia |
| Succeeded by | Jon Uriarte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Aitor Elizegi Alberdi 27 June 1966 Bilbao, Spain |
| Political party | Basque Nationalist Party |
| Profession | Entrepreneur, chef |
Aitor Elizegi Alberdi (born 27 June 1966) is a Spanish entrepreneur, chef and the president of football club Athletic Bilbao from 2018 to 2022.
Biography
Born in 1966, in Santutxu, Bilbao, Elizegi grew up supporting Athletic Bilbao, becoming a member of the club at the age of 25.[1] Elizegi entered the culinary industry in 1987, winning the Spanish Chefs Championship a year later and the Basque Gastronomy Award in 2000 for best restaurateur at his Gaminiz restaurant.[2] As of 2019, Elizegi is head of a number of Basque restaurants in Bilbao, including Txocook, Bascook and Basquery.[3]
On 27 December 2018, Elizegi won Athletic Bilbao's presidential election to succeeding former incumbent Josu Urrutia, defeating Alberto Uribe-Echevarría, treasurer under Urrutia, by a margin of just 85 votes.[a]
One of his first acts as president was to replace the long-serving sporting director José María Amorrortu with Rafael Alkorta and Andoni Ayarza, (both former players of the club),[5][6] as promised in his election campaign.[7]
He did not seek re-election at the end of his four-year term in 2022, with Jon Uriarte appointed to succeed him.[8]
Politics
Elizegi is a member of the Basque Nationalist Party.[9] Elizegi is a Basque nationalist and independentist,[10] and has expressed a desire for the admittance of a Basque national football team into UEFA.[11]
Notes
References
- ^ "Aitor Elizegi: "No ha sido lo mejor para el Athletic que Uribe-Echevarría haya sido el contador. Podría haber dejado un club mejor"" [Aitor Elizegi: "It was not the best for Athletic that Uribe-Echevarría was the accountant, he could have left a better club"]. Goal (in Spanish). 23 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "'Un restaurante es una de las pocas zonas neutrales que quedan en Euskadi'" ['A restaurant is one of the few neutral zones left in Euskadi']. El País (in Spanish). 30 April 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Aitor Elizegi, Athleticeko presidente berria" [Aitor Elizegi, new president of Athletic]. Berria (in Basque). 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Aitor Elizegi, new president of Athletic Club". Athletic Bilbao. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ ""Llevo preparando esto desde hace mucho tiempo"" ["I've been preparing this for a long time"]. Deia (in Spanish). 30 December 2018. Archived from the original on 31 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Amorrortu llega a un acuerdo "amistoso" para salir del Athletic" [Amorrortu reaches a "friendly" agreement to leave Athletic]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 3 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Alkorta y Ayarza serían director deportivo y secretario técnico del Athletic con Elizegi" [Alkorta and Ayarza would be sports director and technical secretary of Athletic with Elizegi]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 24 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ Jon Uriarte confirmed as Athletic Club's new president, Football España, 24 June 2022
- ^ "El cocinero que se comió al aparato institucional" [The cook who ate the institutional apparatus]. El País (in Spanish). 30 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Sid Lowe, Phil Kitromilides (29 December 2018). "No Festive Football" (Podcast). The Spanish Football Podcast. Event occurs at 3:52. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Elizegi: I would like to see the Basque Country in the European Championship". Marca. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
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