C.D. Leganés reached an agreement on Monday with 50-year-old coach Imanol Idiakez Barkaiztegi to become the new Pepinero coach for the next two seasons. Idiakez arrives from Villarreal C.F., where he has been assistant coach to Unai Emery for the last two seasons.
A native of San Sebastian, Idiakez trained as a footballer in the Real Sociedad youth academy, developing an extensive career over seventeen seasons with nearly four hundred games in the Second and Second Division 'B' in the nineties and until 2007. The following year he began his coaching career with Real Sociedad 'B', later moving on to Polideportivo Ejido, Guijuelo and Real Unión de Irún.
Extensive career in our football with an experience in Cyprus
In the 2013/14 season he took charge of C.D. Toledo, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which he was eliminated by Lleida, a team he would manage for the following two seasons, falling just short of promotion in 2016 after losing on penalties to Sevilla Atlético in the final.
At the end of that season, Idiakez lived his first experience away from our football when he signed for AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, with whom he stayed for two seasons and won a Cup title, as well as playing in both years in the Europa League. In 2018 he returned to our league to coach Real Zaragoza in the coach's debut in LaLiga SmartBank, returning to AEK Larnaca the following season.
Member of the best Villarreal in history, Europe League champion and Champions League semi-finalist
Since 2020, or in other words, in the last two seasons, Imanol Idiakez has been assistant coach of Unai Emery at Villarreal C.F. With the Castellón team, Idiakez won the Europa League in the 2020/21 campaign, while in the recently completed season he was part of the coaching staff that took the Yellow Submarine to UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Idiakez now begins a new chapter in Butarque for the next two seasons. The date of his presentation will be announced soon. Welcome, Imanol!
