Javier Irureta

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Javier Irureta
Personal information
Full name Javier Iruretagoyena Amianó
Date of birth April 1, 1948 (1948-04-01) (age 60)
Place of birth    Irún, Guipúzcoa, Spain
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club Unattached
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1965-1967
1967-1975
1975-1980		 Real Unión
Atlético Madrid
Athletic Bilbao		 X(X)
208 (48)
139 (22)   
National team2
1972-1975
1979		 Spain
Euskadi XI		 6 (0)
1(0)
Teams managed
1984-1988
1988-1989
1989-1993
1993-1994
1994-1995
1995-1997
1997-1998
1999-2005
2006
2008		 Sestao SC
CD Logroñés
Real Oviedo
Racing de Santander
Athletic Bilbao
Real Sociedad
Celta de Vigo
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Betis
Real Zaragoza

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of August 5 2006.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of August 5 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Javier Iruretagoyena Amianó (born April 1, 1948, Irún, Guipúzcoa), also referred to as Javier Irureta is a Spanish football manager and former player. Irureta had a distinguished career as a forward with both Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. Along with Adelardo, Luis Aragonés and José Eulogio Gárate, he was a prominent member of the successful Atlético Madrid team of the early 1970s. As a manager he has coached several La Liga clubs, most notably Celta de Vigo and Deportivo de La Coruña. In 1998 while at Celta he was awarded Manager Of the Year titles by both Don Balón and El País and in 2000 while at Deportivo he won the Don Balón award for a second time. Irureta guided Deportivo to five top three La Liga finishes and also established them as UEFA Champions League regulars. In 2000 he led Deportivo to their first ever La Liga title. He is the only person to have coached both the two major Basque clubs, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, and the two major Galician sides, Celta de Vigo and Deportivo de La Coruña.

Contents

[edit] Atlético Madrid

As a player Irureta made his senior debut for his local team, Real Unión in 1965. In 1967 he helped them reach the Segunda División play-offs before joining Atlético Madrid later that year. During his time at Atlético he was part of a team that won two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey. They also reached the European Cup final in 1974. After the winners, Bayern Munich, declined to participate in the Intercontinental Cup Atlético, as runners-up, were invited instead. Their opponents were Independiente of Argentina and, after losing the away leg 1-0, they won the return leg 2-0 with Irureta scoring one of the goals.

[edit] Athletic Bilbao

After eight seasons at Atlético Madrid, Irureta returned to the Basque Country and signed for Athletic Bilbao. The highlight of his career at Athletic was winning two runners-up medals in 1977 - one in the Copa del Rey and one in the UEFA Cup. Among his team mates were the veteran José Ángel Iribar and an emerging José Ramón Alexanko. Irureta returned to Athletic as coach during the 1994/95 season.

[edit] International career

Irureta also won 6 caps for Spain between 1972 and 1975. However this was not a successful era for Spain and he never played in a major tournament. Towards the end of his playing career Irureta also played one game for the Euskadi XI.

[edit] Deportivo de La Coruña

As a coach Irureta has managed several La Liga clubs. In 1991 he led Real Oviedo to 6th in La Liga and UEFA Cup qualification. He repeated the feat with Celta de Vigo in 1998. However his greatest successes came with Deportivo de La Coruña between 1999 and 2005. In 2000 he led Deportivo to their first ever La Liga title. They were also runners-up in 2001 and 2002 and finished third in 2003 and 2004. They were UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists in 2001 and 2002 and semi-finalists in 2004. In 2002 they also won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.

[edit] Real Betis

Javier Irureta quit as coach of La Liga side Real Betis after the club's poor start to the season. He had been with the club for a little over 7 months, when he made the decision to step down on Thursday, 22nd December 2006. Irureta, who had a one-year contract, has guided Betis to just three wins from its first 15 games of the season. "My contract has been rescinded by mutual agreement but I made the first move. We could have continued like this for much longer but it wasn't good" said Irureta.

[edit] Later Career

In October 2007 he put his name forward to be the new coach of English side Bolton Wanderers but lost out in the running to Gary Megson but by December of the same year he was being touted as a possible replacement for Real Sociedad manager Chris Coleman. But in the end he was the substitute of Real Zaragoza manager Víctor Fernández.On March 3 2008 he resigned his post as manager of Real Zaragoza, arguing that never before in his career as a manager had he lost 4 games in a row, and that he did not feel up to the task of stopping Real Zaragoza's slump into the relegation zone. He was quickly replaced by former Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Manolo Villanova, who at the time was acting as manager of Sociedad Deportiva Huesca.

[edit] Honours

Player

Atlético Madrid

Manager

Deportivo La Coruña

[edit] External links