Joseba Irazusta, born in Lasarte in 1972, moved to Amezketa sixteen years ago, driven by his passion for rural life and the Basque language. From childhood, his two great dreams were to become a footballer and a baserritarra (farmer). As a footballer, he debuted with Real Sociedad at 19 and spent a decade in Spanish Second and Second B Division teams, including Eibar, Sabadell, Córdoba, León, Avilés, and Alavés' second team, before retiring at 36.
His professional career provided him with important life lessons, such as the importance of nutrition, learning to cook, and becoming self-reliant. He met diverse people in the locker rooms, which taught him that, despite ideological differences, projects can thrive through collaboration. He emphasizes that sport is fair, as everyone competes with their own abilities, and this has been valuable to him in life.
Currently, he is the school sports coordinator in Zumadi, a role he has held for six years. He started with two teams and this academic year manages five, competing in basketball, football, and handball. Additionally, they engage in other sports such as canoeing, diving, climbing, table tennis, and traditional Basque sports. Children from Abaltzisketa and Orendain also join, totaling around 45 children. He decided to create girls' teams because, after a certain age, girls tended to fall behind in mixed teams, which he says has increased their participation and enjoyment.
“"We made the right decision to create a girls' team: they participate more in the game."
Irazusta believes that school sports and federated sports are complementary, and advocates for teaching competitiveness in a healthy way. In his opinion, sport teaches humility and teamwork, and it is essential for all children to feel that they contribute to the team, valuing equally those who score a goal and those who steal a ball.
Beyond sports, Irazusta also works as an apprentice farmer, raising Highland cattle on his Behigorri farm. These cows are raised for meat and graze freely in Aralar for many months of the year. He chose this breed because it offers healthy, low-cholesterol, and very tasty meat, as the animals are raised naturally and freely. He states that Aralar possesses a special energy and that there he feels his roots, as the place where he has found his spot in life.
