Jagoba Arrasate Elustondo (born 22 April 1978) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a forward. He is currently manager of the Basque Country national team.
After an amateur playing career, he rose through the coaching ranks of Real Sociedad where he made his La Liga debut in 2013, also leading Osasuna in the top flight and taking the latter club to the Segunda División title in 2019.
Born in Berriatua, Biscay, Arrasate only played for lower league clubs during his ten-year senior career, the majority in the Tercera División and all in his native Basque Country. In the Segunda División B, he represented Eibar B and Portugalete, being relegated with the latter team at the end of the 2005âÂÂ06 campaign.
Arrasate retired in 2007 at only 29, after one season in the fourth tier with Amorebieta.
Arrasate became a coach immediately after retiring, his first two clubs being amateur. In 2010, he returned to Real Sociedad where he had been developed, being appointed coach of the youth teams.
In July 2012, Arrasate was promoted to Real's first team as assistant to Philippe Montanier. The following year, as the Frenchman left for Rennes, he was named his successor. He debuted in La Liga on 17 August with a 2âÂÂ0 home win against Getafe, and led the team in their campaign in the UEFA Champions League, in which they defeated Lyon to qualify for the group stage for the first time in a decade, but finished bottom of the table.
In April 2014, after having taken Real to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey where they lost 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate to Barcelona, Arrasate had his contract renewed until 2016. He was sacked on 2 November after a 3âÂÂ1 loss to Krasnodar in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, followed by one win from ten at the start of the league season.
Arrasate was appointed at the helm of Numancia on 12 June 2015, replacing Juan Antonio Anquela. On his debut on 23 August, the team won 6âÂÂ3 at home to Tenerife on the first day of the second-division campaign; towards the end of a 10th-place finish, he was rewarded with one more season in the job.
In June 2017, despite finishing 17th â then the joint worst in Numancia's Segunda history â Arrasate received another extension at the Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos. In the ensuing season, he led the Sorians to the finals of the play-offs but missed out promotion after a 4âÂÂ1 aggregate loss to Real Valladolid; he stepped down on 18 June 2018.
On 20 June 2018, Arrasate was named Osasuna manager after agreeing to a one-year contract. He renewed his contract until 2020 the following 5 March, and achieved promotion to the top flight as champions.
Arrasate signed another new deal on 18 November 2019, tying him to the Rojillos until June 2022. Six days later, the team lost 2âÂÂ1 at home to local rivals Athletic Bilbao, ending a club-best 602 days unbeaten at the El Sadar Stadium.
On 7 March 2022, Arrasate's contract was extended for two more years, with the news being broken through a banner on the Avenida Carlos III in Pamplona. In the ensuing season, he led Osasuna to the Spanish Cup final for the first time in 18 years after a 2âÂÂ1 extra-time win at home to Sevilla in the quarter-finals and a 2âÂÂ1 aggregate defeat of Athletic in the next round; they lost the decisive match 2âÂÂ1 to Real Madrid. In the domestic league, a seventh-place finish meant qualification for the UEFA Europa Conference League in a return to Europe for the first time in 16 years.
On 10 June 2024, Arrasate was appointed at fellow top-tier Mallorca on a three-year deal. On 23 February 2026, with his side in the relegation zone after finishing tenth in his debut campaign, he was dismissed.
On 12 August 2020, Arrasate tested positive for COVID-19. As of 2023, he had three children.
Osasuna
Individual