Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga

Not to be confused with Ion Andoni Goikoetxea.
Andoni Goikoetxea
Personal information
Full nameAndoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga
Date of birth23 May 1956
Place of birthAlonsotegi, Spain
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionCentre back
Youth career
Arbuyo
1973–1974Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1974–1975Bilbao Athletic25(8)
1975–1987Athletic Bilbao279(35)
1987–1990Atlético Madrid35(0)
Total339(43)
National team
1975Spain U181(0)
1977Spain U213(0)
1983Spain amateur1(0)
1983–1988Spain39(4)
Teams managed
1992–1996Spain U21
1995Spain U20
1996–1998Salamanca
1998–1999Compostela
1999–2000Numancia
2000–2001Racing Santander
2001Rayo Vallecano
2004–2005Salamanca
2005–2007Numancia
2007–2008Hércules
2010–2011Ceuta
2013–2015Equatorial Guinea
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Goikoetxea and the second or maternal family name is Olaskoaga.

Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga (born 23 May 1956), Goiko for short, is a Spanish retired footballer, and a current manager.

During his career, the aggressive central defender (dubbed "The butcher from Bilbao"[1][2][3][4]) played mainly for Athletic Bilbao, also having been a Spain and Euskadi XI international. Among the followers of his main club, he was also known as El Gigante de Alonsotegui (Alonsotegui's giant).

Having gained nearly 40 caps for Spain in the 1980s, Goikoetxea represented the country in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Playing career

Club

Born in Alonsotegi, Biscay, Goikoetxea began his playing career as a youth with Arbuyo, before joining Athletic Bilbao in 1974 – before establishing himself in the senior team, he played for the reserve side. In his debut season in La Liga he scored four goals in 27 games, being somewhat absent in the following years with only 26 appearances combined from 1976 to 1979.

During the 1980s, along with Dani, Manuel Sarabia, José María Nuñez, José Ramón Gallego and Andoni Zubizarreta, Goikoetxea was a prominent member of the successful Bilbao side coached by Javier Clemente. In 1984 the Basque renewed its league title, also achieving the double (league and Copa del Rey) in that year.

On 24 September 1983, Goiko achieved notoriety for an infamous action on Diego Maradona in a league match against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, ferociously tackling the Argentine from behind and leaving him severely injured, and reportedly later keeping "the boot he had used to destroy...(Maradona's) ankle ligaments" at home in a glass case.[2] Two seasons previous to this incident, Goikoetxea had also severely injured Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster when the latter played with the Catalans, leaving him with a serious right knee injury from which the German never fully recovered to his level of earlier seasons. When the two teams met in the 1984 Cup final in May, the match ended 1–0 for Athletic and with a mass brawl on the pitch; Goikoetxea connected with a high kick to Maradona's chest.[5][6]

After three years with Atlético Madrid where he featured sparingly, Goikoetxea retired at almost 34 after appearing in 369 official matches for Athletic, netting 44 goals.

International

Goikoetxea played 39 times for Spain, making his debut against Holland on 16 February 1983.[7] He represented the nation at both UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup; during the latter competition he scored one of his four international goals in the game against Denmark, in a round-of-16 5–1 triumph – all remaining four were scored by Emilio Butragueño.[8]

Goikoetxea also played two games for the Basque Country national football team, in 1979 and 1988.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 26 May 1984 Charmilles, Geneva, Switzerland   Switzerland 0–4 0–4 Friendly
2. 14 November 1984 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 2–1 3–1 1986 World Cup qualification
3. 18 June 1986 La Corregidora, Querétaro, Mexico  Denmark 1–3 1–5 1986 FIFA World Cup
4. 15 October 1986 Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany  West Germany 2–2 2–2 Friendly

Manager career

Goicoechea became a coach two years after retiring, starting to work at club level in 1996 and going on to be in charge of UD Salamanca (twice), SD Compostela, CD Numancia (two spells), Racing de Santander and Rayo Vallecano. In 1996–97 he guided Salamanca to a top flight promotion, after finishing second; he was also assistant of the Spanish national team to former club boss Clemente, during the World Cup held in the United States in 1994.

In the 2007 summer Goikoetxea joined Alicante-based Hércules CF in the second division,[9] being released at the season's end after being suspended by the club for implying its internal structures "stank".[10] In late February 2013 he was appointed coach of Equatorial Guinea,[11] being sacked in January 2015 just three weeks before the start of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations due to poor performance in friendlies, which included a loss to a lower league club in Portugal.[12]

Honours

Player

Club

Athletic Bilbao

Country

Manager

Spain U21

Club statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
1974–75Athletic BilbaoLa Liga0020----20
1975–7627410----284
1976–7710020--40160
1977–786100--3091
1978–7910130--00131
1979–80303124----427
1980–8127491----365
1981–823167020--406
1982–83244500010304
1983–84282702041413
1984–85313620020395
1985–8631561--60436
1986–8724250--30322
1987–88Atlético MadridLa Liga13040----170
1988–8914080--00220
1989–908000--20100
Total Spain 314357784025142044
Career total 314357784025142044

References

  1. ↑ "Top 50 hardest footballers". Empire. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Football's 50 greatest hard men
  3. ↑ Goikoetxea: "Me crucificaron por lo de Maradona, pero de Figo nadie dice nada" (Goikoetxea: "I was crucified for the Maradona bit, but no one says anything about Figo"); Marca, 13 August 2007 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Andoni Goikoetxea, el segundo futbolista más duro de la historia según ‘The Sun’ (Andoni Goikoetxea, second hardest footballer in history for ‘The Sun’); 20 Minutos, 10 January 2008 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Jimmy Burns. (2011). "Maradona: The Hand of God". pp.121-122. A&C Black
  6. ↑ "Diego Maradona gives hot, hot heat to The Butcher of Bilbao". The Guardian. 24 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Andoni Goicoechea Olascoaga – International Appearances; at RSSSF
  8. ↑ "5–1: ¡Buitre, que grande eres!" [5–1: Vulture, you're so great!] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 19 June 1986. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Andoni Goikoetxea entrenará al Hércules en la próxima temporada (Andoni Goikoetxea to manage Hércules next season); Super Deporte, 11 June 2007 (Spanish)
  10. ↑ El Hércules CF abre proceso disciplinario a Andoni Goikoetxea (Hércules CF starts disciplinary proceedings against Andoni Goikoetxea); Diario Información, 11 April 2008 (Spanish)
  11. ↑ Goikoetxea, seleccionador de la Nzalang Nacional (Goikoetxea, Nzalang national team coach); Iratzar Blogspot, 27 February 2013 (Spanish)
  12. ↑ "Africa Cup of Nations hosts Equatorial Guinea sack Andoni Goikoetxea". The Guardian. January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.

External links