José Ramón Esnaola Laburu (born 3 June 1946 in Andoain, Gipuzkoa) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
During his career, Esnaola played for Real Sociedad and Real Betis, with 17 of his 18 professional seasons being spent in La Liga. In that level, he appeared in 166 matches with the former and 303 with the latter, for which he signed in 1973 for 12 million pesetas, as the club was in Segunda División; in his first year, the Andalusians returned to the top division, as champions, and the best defensive record in the competition.
In the 1977 Spanish Cup final, against another Basque outfit, Athletic Bilbao, Esnaola gained his only piece of silverware, in an epic final: 2–2 after regulation, and 8–7 in the penalty shootout, where he stopped three shots and scored the winner, beating counterpart José Ángel Iribar; Betis was relegated at the end of the following season.
Esnaola retired in 1985 at the age of 39. He then managed Betis in two brief spells, the first in 1990–91, which finished in top flight relegation. In 2007, he returned to the club, now as goalkeepers' coach. He was never a Spanish international, only receiving one callup.
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