Agustín Gajate
# Agustín Gajate

Agustín Gajate Vidriales (born 23 March 1958) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

Not a skilled player (he was nicknamed Zapatones (Big shoes)), he excelled in man-marking, and played for Real Sociedad's first team for 15 years.

## Club career

Gajate was born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa. A Real Sociedad youth graduate, he played solely for the Basque club, making his first-team debut on 1 January 1978 away against Valencia CF (1–0 win, 90 minutes played); he appeared very rarely for the back-to-back La Liga champions – only four matches – as he his favoured position was occupied by another youth graduate, Alberto Górriz, but gradually carved a starting XI niche in place of veteran Inaxio Kortabarria, going on to form an effective centre-back partnership with Górriz.

After only missing a total of three games from 1986 to 1988 (adding five goals) as Real won the Copa del Rey in one season and finished league runners-up in the other, Gajate retired in June 1992, having appeared in 364 top-flight matches, 469 overall.

## International career

Gajate played three times for the Spain under-21 team, also appearing at the 1980 Summer Olympics as the nation exited in the group stage after three draws.

## Honours

Real Sociedad

* La Liga: 1980–81, 1981–82
* Copa del Rey: 1986–87
* Supercopa de España: 1982
