1. Early Life and Youth Career
Enrique Sola was born in Cascante, Navarre, Spain, on 25 February 1986. His youth football development began with CD Albion, before he joined Athletic Bilbao's youth system where he played from 1998 to 2003. He then returned to CD Albion from 2003 to 2004, and subsequently moved to the CA Osasuna youth system in 2004, where he remained until 2005. His formative years in these academies laid the groundwork for his professional career, particularly his time at Osasuna, which prepared him for his senior debut.
2. Club Career
Enrique Sola's professional club career spanned over a decade, encompassing various stints with Spanish and English clubs, marked by initial promising performances, periods of injury, and crucial loan spells.
2.1. Osasuna
Sola began his senior career with CA Osasuna's B team from 2005 to 2007, making 61 appearances and scoring 17 goals. He made his first-team and La Liga debut for Osasuna on 9 June 2007, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 5-0 away victory against Real Betis. In a memorable debut, he scored two goals. During the 2007-08 season, he played in 20 matches and scored 3 goals.
However, in the following two seasons, Sola appeared rarely, struggling with injuries and a loss of form. This led to his first loan move on 16 July 2009, when he joined Segunda División club CD Numancia for the season. This was part of a deal that saw Carlos Aranda move permanently to Osasuna. Despite the move, Sola's experience at Numancia was negative; even when fit, he often did not make the 18-man squad list. On 18 January of the following year, he terminated his contract with the Soria-based club and moved abroad to Levadiakos F.C. in Greece until June 2010. During his loan at Numancia, he scored one goal in 7 appearances. At Levadiakos, he made 10 appearances and scored 1 goal.
For the 2010-11 campaign, Sola was initially considered the fourth-choice striker behind Aranda, Walter Pandiani, and newly signed Dejan Lekić. However, he began to receive significant playing time after injuries sidelined Aranda and Pandiani. On 13 March 2011, in one of his first starts, he scored in a 3-1 home victory over Racing de Santander. He added another goal in the following matchday, scoring from a backheel in a 4-0 defeat of Hércules CF. Osasuna managed to avoid relegation that season, and Sola finished as the team's top scorer, despite featuring in less than half of the matches. On 11 May 2011, he contributed a brace in a 3-2 home win over Sevilla FC, helping his side come back from a 0-2 deficit at half-time.
The 2011-12 season saw Sola play only 7 scoreless games, as he was troubled by tendinitis for several months. He eventually underwent surgery in early March 2012, which sidelined him until June. On 25 February 2013, his 27th birthday, he played just 20 minutes after coming off the bench in an away game against Levante UD, but managed to score the second goal in an eventual 2-0 victory, his seventh of the season. On 31 March 2013, Sola again scored two goals as Osasuna came from behind to win 3-1 over Real Valladolid at the Estadio José Zorrilla. Overall, during his time with Osasuna's first team, he made 91 appearances and scored 22 goals.
2.2. Athletic Bilbao
In the summer of 2013, Sola joined Athletic Bilbao on a five-year contract that included a 30.00 M EUR buyout clause. This marked a return to the club where he had previously played youth football between the ages of 12 and 17. After spending four months recovering from another injury, he scored his first goal for Athletic on 26 January 2014, in a 5-1 away victory against his former club, Osasuna.
Sola played sparingly for the Lions. He remained an unused substitute when Athletic lost the 2015 Copa del Rey final to FC Barcelona. Later that year, against the same opponent in the 2015 Supercopa de España, he came on in the 80th minute of the second leg at the Camp Nou. Within seven minutes, he received a red card for a foul on Javier Mascherano. Despite his ejection, his team won 5-1 on aggregate, securing his first major honour.
In December 2015, Sola scored in both legs of Athletic's 8-0 aggregate win over Real Balompédica Linense in the domestic cup. Despite these contributions, his playing time remained limited. Overall, during his five-year stint at Athletic Bilbao, he played in 15 matches and scored 1 goal.
2.3. Loan Spells and Later Career at Clubs
On 15 January 2016, Sola moved abroad for a second time, joining English Football League Championship leaders Middlesbrough on a temporary basis until the end of the season. There, he reunited with several compatriots, including manager Aitor Karanka. His first appearance for Middlesbrough occurred on 6 February 2016, where he started and played the first half of a 1-1 home draw with Blackburn Rovers. He made 2 appearances for Middlesbrough, without scoring.
On 31 August 2016, Sola joined Getafe CF on a season-long loan for the 2016-17 season. He played in 6 matches for Getafe, but did not score. However, late into the following transfer window, this loan deal was cancelled, and he moved to fellow second-division side Numancia for a second temporary spell. During this second loan to Numancia in 2017, he made 10 appearances but again did not find the net.
During his four-year spell at the San Mamés Stadium with Athletic Bilbao, Sola was rarely used, averaging merely 366 minutes of play per season across his various stints and loan periods.
3. International Career
Enrique Sola represented Spain at the youth international level. He earned his only cap for the Spain under-21 team on 25 March 2008. He played the second half of a 5-0 home victory against Kazakhstan as part of the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifiers, coming on as a substitute for Bojan Krkić.
4. Retirement
On 1 June 2018, at the age of 32, Enrique Sola Clemente announced his retirement from professional football. He cited a "lack of motivation" as the reason for his decision to hang up his boots.
5. Honours
Athletic Bilbao
- Supercopa de España: 2015
6. Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Osasuna B | 2005-06 | Segunda División B | 30 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 30 | 7 | 2006-07 | Segunda División B | 31 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Osasuna B Total | 61 | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 61 | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Osasuna | 2006-07 | La Liga | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2007-08 | La Liga | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 22 | 3 | 2008-09 | La Liga | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 11 | 0 | 2010-11 | La Liga | 16 | 7 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 18 | 8 | 2011-12 | La Liga | 7 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 0 | 2012-13 | La Liga | 28 | 9 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 31 | 9 | |||||
| Osasuna Total | 81 | 21 | 9 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 90 | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Numancia (loan) | 2009-10 | Segunda División | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Levadiakos (loan) | 2009-10 | Super League | 10 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2013-14 | La Liga | 6 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 1 | 2014-15 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 2015-16 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Athletic Bilbao Total | 12 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 16 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middlesbrough (loan) | 2015-16 | Championship | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Getafe (loan) | 2016-17 | Segunda División | 6 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Numancia (loan) | 2016-17 | Segunda División | 10 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career Total | 189 | 41 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 203 | 44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||