Igor Angulo, a sure value

The goal is expensive because, like all the most exclusive raw materials on the planet, it is scarce. And there is nothing more profitable than a striker for whom no transfer is paid ends up becoming the top scorer of your team. Is what he has achieved Igor Angulo in each and every one of his last 10 seasons as a footballer. It was in the two years that he competed with the Real Unión de Irún in Segunda B and has extended his streak during the eight seasons he has chained playing outside our borders. The Bilbao striker was born as a goal-man in Spain and, since 2013, has enjoyed his love affair with goalkeeping on two continents and four different countries. Five different teams have relied on him for their lead. The result? Goals. Many goals.

It is said soon, but Igor Angulo has been the 'Pichichi' of all the teams in which he has played since 2011, although today we will focus on reviewing the eight years that he has spent competing abroad. The Athletic youth squad – he debuted with the first team under the guidance of Jupp Heynckes in 2003 – is a sure asset. And his highly profitable signing if we consider that no club has ever paid one euro for their transfer. In his first year as the property of a foreign club – in 2006 he played in France, albeit on loan from Athletic – Angulo scored nine goals for Paralimni in the Cypriot First Division. The club suffered an administrative sanction and, even so, it was only a point of permanence. It was just one of many 'Igol' exhibits.

In the 2014/15 season, Igor Angulo competed in the Greek Second Division with Apollon Smyrnis, who celebrated 14 goals from the Spanish striker and fell just six points away from promotion to the elite. He did promote Angulo, who signed for a Platanias with which he scored eight league goals before taking a decision that would change his career as a footballer: sign for Górnik Zabrze, a historical player in Polish football who, however, was playing in the Second Division. “I wanted to go, but I was pushed back that they were not in the Ekstraklasa. So I called people who knew the club and they all told me to go without hesitation, that it would be a good experience for sure. I signed with some doubts,” acknowledged the Spanish striker in Migrants of the Ball.

Doubts that were dispelled sooner rather than later. In his first campaign in Poland, Igor Angulo was 'Pichichi' with 17 goals and achieved promotion to the Ekstraklasa, where not only did he not diminish his performance, but also improved it. His 23 goals led Górnik Zabrze to qualify for the Europa League qualifiers despite his newly promoted status. In the 2018/19 season, Angulo was the top scorer in the Polish First Division with 24 goals, and a year later he scored 16 fundamental goals for the mining team to avoid relegation several days in advance. Then, At the age of 37, he accepted FC Goa's offer and went to India. “I have an age and the economic issue matters. Although I feel good, it is a fact that the end of my career is closer than when I was 25 years old. And if players like Villa or Torres, who have their lives and their lives resolved great-grandchildren, hit one last pitch before retiring, imagine me, I don't have that money, “he discovered in AS before embarking on his first Asian adventure.

And, of course, Igor Angulo also completed a dream season with the FC Goa jersey. The Bilbao striker scored 14 goals in 21 games -18 as a starter- and reached the semifinals of the Super League (ISL), where his team fell on penalties against Sergio Lobera's Mumbai City. The second top scorer for the 'gaurs' is Jorge Ortiz with six goals, which exemplifies the importance of an 'Igol' who had the difficult challenge of making Ferran Corominas, the ISL's all-time top scorer, forget. Angulo now faces one of the biggest challenges of his career: the AFC Champions League. Next April, Goa will become the first Indian club to compete in the group stage of the Asian top competition. Juan Ferrando's men will face Al Rayyan (Qatar), Persepolis (Iran) and the winner of the tie between Al Wahda (United Arab Emirates) and Al Zawraa (Iraq) in the group stage. And they will do it with the certainty that their center forward is a safe value.