| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José María Bakero Escudero | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Goizueta, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Lech Poznań (coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Sociedad | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1980–1988 | Real Sociedad | 223 | (67) |
| 1988–1997 | Barcelona | 260 | (72) |
| 1997 | Veracruz | 17 | (3) |
| Total | 500 | (142) | |
| National team | |||
| 1980 | Spain U16 | 3 | (1) |
| 1980–1981 | Spain U18 | 9 | (2) |
| 1982–1986 | Spain U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 1986 | Spain U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1987–1994 | Spain | 30 | (7) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1999 | Puebla | ||
| 2005 | Málaga B | ||
| 2006 | Real Sociedad | ||
| 2009–2010 | Polonia Warsaw | ||
| 2010– | Lech Poznań | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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José María Bakero Escudero (born 11 February 1963) is a retired Spanish footballer, and the current coach of Lech Poznań in Poland.
Having played mainly for Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona, he began his career as a forward (not being a prolific goalscorer) but was converted into an attacking midfielder, who possessed passing and netting ability (with both his right foot and his head, the second despite his short stature) and great leadership skills.
During a 17-year professional career, Bakero amassed 483 games in La Liga, scoring a total of 139 goals and collecting a total of 18 titles. In the 2000s (decade), he embarked in a coaching career.
A Spanish international during seven years, Bakero represented the nation in two World Cups and one European Championship.
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Born in Goizueta, Navarre, Bakero made his senior debut with Real Sociedad on 6 September 1980 when only 17, coming from the bench in a 2–3 loss at Valencia CF, and finished his debut season with 27 appearances, but no goals. Appearing only in two games in 1981–82, he was however part of the Basque sides which won back-to-back first division titles, his teammates including Luis Arconada, Jesús María Zamora and Jesús María Satrústegui.
In 1988 Bakero signed for FC Barcelona, where he was joined by several other Real and Basque players: Txiki Begiristain, Luis López Rekarte, with Julio Salinas coming from Atlético Madrid but having also played with Athletic Bilbao, as another Real player, Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, joined two years later. They would form the backbone of the legendary Dream Team. Between 1988 and 1997, Bakero (who scored 47 league goals in his first four years) played 329 games overall for Barcelona, being instrumental in the Catalan side's league titles from 1990–94, while also appearing in the historic 1992 European Cup final.
Having appeared scarcely during 1996–97, his last game coming on 18 November 1996 in a 6–1 home thrashing of Real Valladolid (in which he scored), Bakero retired later that season, after a small abroad stint with Mexico's CD Veracruz. He also had unsuccessful trials with Middlesbrough and Norwich City.
After retiring in 1997, Bakero moved into coaching, first as an assistant, under both Llorenç Serra Ferrer and Louis van Gaal. He also worked as a sports adviser with the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2004–05, Bakero had his first head coaching experience, joining Málaga CF's B side in January 2005 and helping it narrowly escape relegation from the second level.
In August 2005 he was appointed director of football at first team Real Sociedad, and would be promoted to coach towards the end of 2005–06. Seven games into the following season, he was sacked.[1]
In October 2007, Bakero joined Ronald Koeman's (another Barcelona teammate) coaching staff at Valencia, being dismissed in April 2008. On 10 November 2009, more than a year after his last job, he signed with Polonia Warsaw, again as head coach.[2] While the team was last in the league at that point, not only did he manage to prevent relegation, but also led the club to a win against city neighbours Legia Warsaw, the first in ten years.[3][4] He was sacked on 13 September 2010, after suffering the first loss of the season.[5]
On 3 November 2010, 47-year old Bakero signed with another team in the Polish first division, Lech Poznań.[6] In his official debut, he led the club to a 3–1 win against Manchester City, in the season's UEFA Europa League.[7]
Bakero had 30 caps for Spain, scoring on seven occasions. His debut came on 14 October 1987 during an UEFA Euro 1988 qualifier against Austria. He replaced future Barça teammate Francisco Carrasco in a 2–0 home win.
Bakero would subsequently represent the nation at Euro 1988, as well as in two FIFA World Cup editions: 1990 and 1994.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 November 1987 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Albania | 1–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 2. | 18 November 1987 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Albania | 2–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 3. | 18 November 1987 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Albania | 5–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 4. | 19 December 1990 | Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain | Albania | 9–0 | 9–0 | Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 5. | 20 February 1991 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | France | 0–1 | 3–1 | Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 6. | 16 December 1992 | Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain | Latvia | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 7. | 24 February 1993 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Lithuania | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Málaga B | January 2005 | August 2005 | — | ||||
| Real Sociedad | 2006 | 2006 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 17.65 |
| Polonia Warszawa | 10 November 2009 | 13 September 2010 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 40.91 |
| Lech Poznań | 4 November 2010 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 50.00 | |
Bakero was the second of three children. His brothers, Santiago (also Santi) and Jon, were also footballers, and both forwards. The former played five seasons in the first division, with Hércules CF and Real Sociedad (where he coincided with José Mari from 1986–89), while the latter did not appear in higher than the second level (where he played namely for FC Barcelona B).[8][9] After he joined Polonia as a coach, he was accompanied, at his request, by Jon, as an assistant.
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| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by José Ramón Alexanko |
FC Barcelona captain 1993–1996 |
Succeeded by Gheorghe Popescu |