his debut year as they finished in fourth place, but failed to win promotion through the play-offs; he was also included in the Championship PFA Team of the Year, having renewed his contract in April 2005 and later in August after reported advances from Wolverhampton Wanderers. At Derby, Idiakez played in an advanced position and took most free kicks and corners. In 2005–06, under Phil Brown first and Terry Westley after, the team only finished in 20th position, narrowly avoiding relegation; he ended his stint at the Pride Park Stadium with 22 competitive goals in 96 matches. On 31 August 2006, Idiakez was once again signed by Burley, moving to Southampton for a fee of around £250,000. In March of the following year, after only a handful of appearances for the Saints, he joined Queens Park Rangers on loan for a month, scoring once against Leicester City in a 3–1 away win and subsequently returning to St Mary's Stadium. In the 2006–07 campaign play-off semi-final, on 15 May 2007, Southampton played Derby County: after the tie finished 4–4 on aggregate at extra time the match went to a penalty shootout, and Idiakez missed the crucial penalty, helping to send his former club through to the final. Southampton released Idiakez at the end of 2007–08, and the player then underwent trials with Major League Soccer team San Jose Earthquakes and AFC Bournemouth, but was not offered a contract. International Idiakez played for Spain at under-21 level, his first cap arriving on 6 June 1995 in a 4–0 victory over Armenia held in Granada for the 1996 UEFA European Championship qualifying phase. He also participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, featuring three times for the quarter-finalists. Additionally, Idiakez appeared in four friendly games for the Basque Country unofficial team, scoring twice. Coaching career Idiakez returned to his hometown of in 2009, beginning his coaching career with the Añorga KKE youth team. Later, he was in charge of non-league sides SD Euskalduna and Berio FT also in the Basque Country. In 2011, Idiakez completed his coaching qualifications when he earned the UEFA Pro Licence. A year later, he joined his former Derby and Southampton boss Burley as assistant manager at Apollon Limassol in the Cypriot First Division, with the pair leaving after only two games. Idiakez returned to England in 2013, to take up the position of youth development coach at