Iker Muniain faces his fifteenth season as a lion. Apart from three league campaigns, the current Athletic captain has always appeared in the starting eleven in terms of minutes played by all members of the various red and white squads. The first of them was 2009-2010, when Caparrós made his debut when he was almost a child (16 years old).
His two other absences from Athletic’s League lineups with the most playing time were in 2015-16 and 2017-18. The two long-term absences dealt with serious knee injuries. The Navarrese, however, knew how to overcome adversity and continue to fight to this day.
There is one fact, however, that gets special attention. In the 2021-22 season there is only one lion who has played more minutes in the League than Muniain: Unai Simón (3060 minutes). Navarrese (2799) is behind the goalkeeper and ahead of Iñaki Williams (2782) and the rest of his teammates. That was Marcelino’s last campaign as the red and white coach.
The eleventh
Last season, the first of Valverde’s third period as coach of Athletic, Muniain was also part of the red and white starting eleven by League minutes played, although he occupied the eleventh position, without being surpassed the barrier of 2,000 minutes (1,688 ) which the other ten of them surpassed. That 2022-23 League was the first of all in which he was left without a visible goal.
So far in the league edition, Muniain is currently not among the top eleven in minutes played. Navarrese is twelfth.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
