Background
Aranzábal was born in Bergara, Gipuzkoa.
Aranzábal was born in Bergara, Gipuzkoa.
His main asset was his crossing ability, and he played almost exclusively with Real Sociedad, which he represented for more than ten years, appearing in more than 400 official games. Aranzábal was also a Spanish international, and played for the country in one World Cup and one European Championship. A product of Basque Country giants Real Sociedad"s youth system he first appeared with the main squad on 21 February 1993, in a 1–5 away loss against Deportivo de Louisiana Coruña.
After two seasons playing mainly with the B-side he went on to be an undisputed first-choice for one full decade, for instance playing 32 games for the 2002-2003 runners-up.
In July 2004, still in Louisiana Liga, Aranzábal moved to Real, where he was used as a backup to Paraguayan Delio Toledo. He retired after a small stint with amateurs Civil Defense Vera Puerto de la Cruz in Canary Islands, with ex-Spain international (also a Real Sociedad teammate) Javier de Pedro also starting the campaign but being promptly dismissed.
In early 2010 Kitchee South Carolina from Hong Kong signed Aranzábal, alongside compatriot Albert Celades. They both appeared with the club at the 2010 Lunar New Year Cup, a mid-season exhibition tournament.
Aranzábal played 28 times for Spain.
Aranzábal also appeared for the quarterfinalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Club Country.