Natxo Insa
Footballer (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ignacio 'Natxo' Insa Bohigues (born 9 June 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim.
|
Insa playing for Antalyaspor in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ignacio Insa Bohigues[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 9 June 1986[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Cocentaina, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Johor Darul Ta'zim | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Valencia | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2007 | Valencia B | 36 | (2) |
| 2007–2009 | Valencia | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | → Eibar (loan) | 56 | (3) |
| 2009–2011 | Villarreal B | 74 | (2) |
| 2011 | Villarreal | 1 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Celta | 46 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | Antalyaspor | 16 | (0) |
| 2015 | Zaragoza | 17 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Alcorcón | 34 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Levante | 35 | (2) |
| 2017– | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 83 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 2018–2024 | Malaysia | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:34, 30 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
He spent most of his career in the Segunda División, playing 244 matches and scoring ten goals for Eibar, Villarreal B, Celta, Zaragoza, Alcorcón and Levante. In La Liga, he represented Villarreal's first team and Celta.
Born in Spain, Insa appeared for Malaysia internationally, making his debut in 2018.
Club career
Insa was born in Cocentaina, Province of Alicante, Valencian Community.[2] A product of Valencia CF's youth ranks, he made his first-team debut in a friendly with Fenerbahçe S.K. in July 2006, but spent the vast majority of that season with the B side in the Segunda División B. He first appeared officially for the main squad on 5 December 2006, coming on as an early substitute in a UEFA Champions League game at AS Roma (1–0 group stage loss).[3] He played his first La Liga match on 17 June of the following year, featuring the last six minutes of the 3–3 home draw against Real Sociedad.[4]
Insa was loaned to Segunda División club SD Eibar in 2007–08,[5] scoring twice[6][7] in 33 appearances. The deal was renewed for the following campaign, where he appeared slightly less and also suffered relegation.[8]
In August 2009, Insa moved to Villarreal CF, spending his first season with the reserves also in the second division.[9] He played just one competitive match with the first team, 11 minutes in a 1–0 away defeat to CA Osasuna.[10]
From 2011 to 2013, Insa represented RC Celta de Vigo. In the latter campaign he scored two goals, the first in a 2–2 home draw against FC Barcelona[11] and the second in a 1–0 victory over RCD Espanyol also at Balaídos;[12] that last matchday win ultimately proved essential, as the Galicians eventually avoided relegation.[13]
After a one-year spell abroad at Turkey's Antalyaspor, Insa returned to Spain and its second tier in January 2015, appearing for Real Zaragoza,[14] AD Alcorcón[15] and Levante UD[16] in quick succession. On 6 June 2017, he signed with Malaysia Super League's Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. for a fee of nearly €400,000.[17]
International career
Insa obtained Malaysian citizenship through his grandmother, who was born in Sabah.[18] He won his first cap for their national team on 22 March 2018 at the age of 31, in a 2–2 friendly draw with Mongolia.[19]
In June 2023, five years after his first appearance, Insa was called up by the second time for friendlies against Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to be held that month.[20] He did not take the field on either match, only featuring again on 20 January 2024 in the 1–0 loss to Bahrain in the group stage of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup,[21] subsequently facing heavy criticism for his performance.[22]
Style of play
Insa was described as a defensive midfielder with a high work rate and tactical discipline. According to Malaysia national team coach Peter Cklamovski, he was capable of dictating the tempo of a match by either slowing down or accelerating play. His physical performance data was cited as satisfactory by the Asian Football Confederation, while he was considered to possess attributes that aligned with an attacking and structured tactical approach.[23]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of 11 January 2025
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valencia B | 2006–07[26] | Segunda División B | 34 | 2 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| Valencia | 2006–07[26] | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Eibar (loan) | 2007–08[26] | Segunda División | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 2 | |
| 2008–09[26] | Segunda División | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| Total | 56 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 57 | 3 | |||
| Villarreal B | 2009–10[26] | Segunda División | 34 | 2 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11[26] | Segunda División | 40 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | |||
| Total | 74 | 2 | — | — | 74 | 2 | ||||
| Villarreal | 2010–11[26] | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Celta | 2011–12[26] | Segunda División | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |
| 2012–13[26] | La Liga | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| Total | 46 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 49 | 3 | |||
| Antalyaspor | 2013–14[27] | Süper Lig | 16 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 20 | 1 | |
| Zaragoza | 2014–15[26] | Segunda División | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| Alcorcón | 2015–16[26] | Segunda División | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | |
| Levante | 2016–17[26] | Segunda División | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 2017[27] | Malaysia Super League | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 | — | 18 | 4 | |
| 2018[27] | Malaysia Super League | 14 | 3 | 4[c] | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 2019[27] | Malaysia Super League | 3 | 0 | 0[c] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2020[27] | Malaysia Super League | 6 | 0 | 0[c] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2021[27] | Malaysia Super League | 19 | 1 | 0[c] | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| 2022[27] | Malaysia Super League | 15 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| 2023[27] | Malaysia Super League | 7 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[27] | Malaysia Super League | 8 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Total | 81 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 123 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 383 | 19 | 24 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 429 | 21 | ||
- Appearances in Segunda División B relegation play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and AFC Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
International
Honours
Levante
Johor Darul Ta'zim
- Malaysia Super League: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022,[27] 2023, 2024–25[29]
- Malaysia FA Cup: 2022[30], 2023, 2024, 2025
- Malaysia Cup: 2017, 2019, 2022[27], 2023, 2024-25
- Malaysia Charity Shield: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Individual
- Malaysia Super League Player of the Month: October 2017[31]