Iñaki Williams reaches 500 games for Athletic | OneFootball

Iñaki Williams made his 500th Athletic appearance by starting in Girona, the eighth player to reach it. Ernesto Valverde, who gave him his debut in December 2014 against Córdoba, was in charge. He now joins José Ángel Iribar, Óscar de Marcos, Iker Muniain, Txetxu Rojo, Joseba Etxeberria, Andoni Iraola and Markel Susaeta.

At six pm that day in San Mamés he called the welcome unforgettable, though a 0-1 defeat dimmed it. The club report said the positive was his debut. According to El Correo, he declined to discuss the milestone this week.

Two months later he scored his first Athletic goal at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin against Torino in the Europa League, opening a match that finished 2-2. He later recalled shelving a wilder celebration, settling for a chest-thump as the cameras flashed.

The Ghana international has worn 30, then 15 and 11, and now the number nine. He has often been most effective from the right while eyeing the centre-forward role. Across 12 seasons he has 114 goals, 19th in the club’s 128-year history, two behind Julen Guerrero.

He helped end a 40-year wait by lifting the 2024 Copa del Rey at La Cartuja, riding nerves in the shootout before relief with Berenguer’s decisive strike. Athletic will soon present a memento featuring his 500th armband, ikurriña colours, crest and date, above a stone from the old ground on an oak base laser-etched with his details. He is contracted until 2028, a one-club man.

Source: El Correo