Born in Ochagavía – Otsagabia, Navarre, de Andrés joined Athletic Bilbao's youth system, Lezama, in 1975, after reported interest from both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
De Andrés returned to his alma mater after two years with the reserves in the lower leagues and one season on loan to CD Castellón in the Segunda División, with the 21-year-old being awarded a chance in the main squad by Helmut Senekowitsch, formerly in charge of the Austria national side.
[6][7] 1986–87, in which legendary player José Ángel Iribar replaced Clemente as head coach, was disastrous for de Andrés: he suffered an injury against Sporting de Gijón in the first matchday, going on to experience several relapses,[8] and was suspended by the club after refusing to appear in a cup match against CD Logroñés;[9] reappearing against Real Madrid in the 31st round, as Bilbao struggled to avoid falling into the relegation group (the competition was, for the first and only time, divided into three groups after the regular season), his knee was shattered after opponent Ricardo Gallego fell on it, and he never appeared for the Lions again.
[12][13] Even though he made the list of 40 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup on home soil, with Santamaría again as coach, de Andrés did not make the final cut.
After Miguel Muñoz was appointed and Spain qualified for UEFA Euro 1984, he made his full debut on 18 January 1984 in a 0–1 friendly loss with Hungary in Cádiz;[14] three months later, he appeared ten minutes in the match with Denmark (2–1 in Valencia),[15] but was overlooked for the final squad which eventually finished second in France.