Born in Derio, Biscay, Garitano began his professional career at local powerhouse Athletic Bilbao. After appearing twice in the closing stages of 1987–88 he quickly imposed himself as a first-choice player with good free kick skills, scoring 35 La Liga goals over nine seasons; on 12 March 1988, two weeks after his 19th birthday, he made his official debut, starting in a 0–5 away loss against Real Madrid. Garitano moved to Real Zaragoza in 1996, and played there until his retirement in 2002, appearing in a further 147 league games and netting 15 times. He was still regularly used the Aragonese side's 2000–01 victorious run in the Copa del Rey, and finally retired the following summer at 33 – Zaragoza suffered top-flight relegation – with more than 500 official matches to his credit; from 1986 to 1988 he played 61 games for Bilbao Athletic, with that team in Segunda División.
Coaching career
Subsequently, Garitano moved into coaching, first taking charge of Zaragoza's youth teams. In mid-January 2008 he replaced the dismissed Víctor Fernández, first appearing in a Spanish Cup round-of-16 tie against Racing de Santander, a 2–4 loss. Just two days after his only league game, a 3–1 home win over Real Murcia, Garitano quit the job, quoting a lack of commitment. Zaragoza would have a further two coaches until the end of the campaign, which ended in relegation. Garitano returned to Real Zaragoza for 2008–09, now as a youth coach. However, in late 2009, he moved to the reserves following José Aurelio Gay's promotion as first-team coach.
Garitano was the younger brother of :eu:Angel Garitano|Angel Garitano who served for many years as assistant to Mané at managerial appointments including Deportivo Alavés and Athletic Bilbao, and the uncle of another footballer, Gaizka Garitano whom, after unsuccessfully graduating from Athletic's academy, went on to represent, among others, neighbours SD Eibar, Real Sociedad and Alavés. They were distantly related to :es:Juan Urquizu|Juan Urquizu who also served Athletic as player and manager. However, the Basque player and manager Asier Garitano is no relation.
