Oscar de Marcos

Athletic Bilbao's record outfield appearance-maker and Copa del Rey winner.

Óscar de Marcos Arana (Basque: [os̺kar de maɾkos̺ aɾana]; Spanish: [ˈoskaɾ ðe ˈmaɾkos aˈɾana]; born 14 April 1989) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a full-back. He began his career at Alavés but went on to spend most of it at Athletic Bilbao, making 573 official appearances (setting the club record for an outfield player) and winning the 2023–24 Copa del Rey as well as two Supercopa de España titles.

Quick Facts

Full name: Óscar de Marcos Arana
Born: 14 April 1989
Birthplace: Laguardia, Spain
Height: 1.82 m / 6 ft
Position: Full-back, midfielder
Total caps: 472
Total goals: 32

Lore & Background

Born in Laguardia, Álava, de Marcos made his professional debut for nearby Alavés. He first appeared in the Segunda División in the home fixture against Tenerife on 21 December 2008, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–1 loss. He eventually played 20 games with the first team, as they dropped down a level at the season's end. He started his career as a forward. In July 2009, de Marcos went straight into La Liga, penning a four-year deal with Athletic Bilbao for about €350,000. He made his club debut on 6 August in a 2–1 win at Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League (2–2 aggregate, victory on the away goals rule), as a starter. Ten days later, he opened the scoring against Barcelona in the season's Supercopa de España, as the Basques eventually lost 2–1 at home and 5–1 on aggregate. Having been signed initially for the reserve squad, de Marcos had more impact than expected – as did 16-year-old Iker Muniain – making 29 official appearances during 2009–10 and scoring three goals. He played his only match with the B team on 14 April 2010 against Zamora, in a campaign where they narrowly avoided relegation from Segunda División B. De Marcos appeared less in his second season, but was also used as a full-back by manager Joaquín Caparrós, finishing the year with 15 games in all competitions. The following campaign, under Marcelo Bielsa, he played in that position and also in central midfield. On 17 December 2011, de Marcos played roughly one hour of the league fixture against Real Zaragoza (2–1 home win) with a tear in his scrotum, which later required 25 stitches. On 4 January of the following year he extended his contract with the Lions until June 2016, with a release clause of €32 million. De Marcos scored both legs of the 2011–12 Europa League round of 16 against Manchester United, as Athletic won both games and went through 5–3 on aggregate. He also scored in the next round against Schalke 04, playing in a total of 15 ties to help his team reach the final in Bucharest, where they were defeated by Atlético Madrid. They also made it to the decisive match in the domestic cup, losing to Barcelona. On 13 October 2014, de Marcos agreed to a new three-year extension until 30 June 2019, with a buyout clause being set at €40 million.

Did You Know?

He is red-green colour blind, which occasionally caused him difficulty as a footballer.
He authored a short book in 2019 about his first year at Athletic Bilbao and a trip to Togo.