Iribar was born in Zarautz, Gipuzkoa. After only three La Liga games in his first professional season at Athletic Bilbao, he proceeded to become the Basques' undisputed starter for the following 16 seasons; his senior starts were made at CD Basconia in 1961, when the latter was still not the feeder team: they eliminated Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Generalísimo, and the keeper's stellar performance prompted his signing for a then-record 1 million pesetas. At Athletic, Iribar profited from injury to Carmelo Cedrún in October 1963 and never looked back, winning two Spanish Cups and reaching the final of the 1976–77 UEFA Cup, lost to Juventus FC. During the 1970–71 campaign he kept a clean sheet at ten successive home games, which translated into a record of 1,018 minutes. Iribar was awarded a benefit match in 1971, a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion, having already played the same opponents a few weeks earlier in England for Bobby Hope's testimonial. He retired nine years later at 37, having played in 614 matches in all competitions, as another club great in the position, Andoni Zubizarreta, would arrive in the summer; he also held its appearance record in European competition until 2016, when his total of 55 was passed by Markel Susaeta. Subsequently, Iribar joined Athletic's coaching staff, taking charge of the goalkeepers. In 1983–84 he coached the reserve team Bilbao Athletic, leading them to the second place in the second division, a best-ever, although they were not eligible for promotion. Iribar also managed the first team in the 1986–87 season – for the only time, the league had a second stage divided in three groups, and Athletic 'won' the relegation section. From 1988 and for over two decades, he was in charge of the Basque Country representative team.
International career
Iribar made his debut for Spain on 11 March 1964, in the first leg of the 1964 European Nations' Cup's last qualifying stage, a 5–1 home win against the Republic of Ireland. He was the starter during the finals, and the nation emerged victorious on home soil. Iribar also represented Spain at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, playing all three group stage matches. He retained his position for a further ten years, his last game coming on 24 April 1976 in a 1–1 against West Germany for the unsuccessful UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying, and earned a total of 49 caps.
Style of play
Spanish 2010 World Cup winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas included Iribar in his list of the ten greatest goalkeepers of all time, and described him as "one of the greatest keepers Spain has ever produced. He was a big presence in goal and had that ability to intimidate opponents. But it wasn't all about his size, which is useless on its own. He combined his physicality with terrific positioning." In Italy, the former was given the nickname "Zoff's twin", due to his goalkeeping ability, leadership and physical resemblance to Italian counterpart Dino Zoff.
