Unai Simón
Unai Simón Mendibil is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Spain national team. Simón was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Basque Country, and joined Athletic Bilbao’s youth system in 2011, from CD Aurrerá de Vitoria. He made his debut as a senior with the farm team in the 2014–15 season, in Tercera División. On 8 June 2016, Simón was promoted to the reserves, freshly relegated to Segunda División B. He immediately became a starter for the side, contributing with 29 appearances during the campaign. On 2 June 2017, Simón was called up to the main squad for the pre-season by new first team manager José Ángel Ziganda, but continued to appear exclusively for the Bs. On 13 July 2018, he signed a contract extension until 2023, and was loaned to Segunda División side Elche CF two weeks later. On 15 August 2018, after Kepa Arrizabalaga’s departure from the club and Iago Herrerín’s injury, Simón was recalled by Athletic.
Did you Know?
This shirt was worn by Unai Simón during the Euro 2020 Semi-Finals between Italy and Spain which took place in London, “Wembley Stadium”, on July 6th 2021. The shirt was swapped after the game with an Italy player whom we got it from. The shirt is still unwashed and very recognizable from match’s footages due the particular texture which is different in every shirt. Simón was selected for Spain at under-19 and under-21 levels. He was a member of the squad that won the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, albeit as the backup goalkeeper to Antonio Sivera during the tournament. On 1 September 2017, Simón debuted with the under-21 team against Italy. He was selected for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, playing the first game of the group stage as Spain once more finished as champions (Sivera was again first-choice). Simón received his first call up to the senior side on 20 August 2020, for the initial two matches of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. Despite having made an error which led to a goal at club level a few days earlier, he was selected for his full debut on 11 November 2020, playing the entirety of a friendly against the Netherlands. On 24 May 2021, Simón was included in Luis Enrique’s 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He started all of the team’s matches, and caused an own goal in the 5–3 last-16 win over Croatia when he was unable to control a long backwards pass by Pedri. Luis Enrique praised his mentality for having recovered from that mistake. He then managed to save two penalties as Spain won the shootout against Switzerland in the quarter-finals after a 1–1 draw, for which he was also awarded the Star of the Match. The semi-final against Italy ended with the same score, and Simón saved the first attempt in the shootout by Manuel Locatelli, but the Italians prevailed. Simón was also called up for the Spanish Olympic team for the delayed 2020 tournament in Japan.
