Pichi Alonso

Pichi Alonso
Personal information
Full name Àngel Alonso Herrera
Date of birth (1954-12-17) 17 December 1954
Place of birth Benicarló, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
CD Benicarló
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1975–1977 Castellón 57 (20)
1977–1982 Zaragoza 160 (92)
1982–1986 Barcelona 54 (13)
1986–1989 Español 79 (25)
Total 350 (150)
National team
1979 Spain U23 5 (1)
1981 Spain B 1 (2)
1978–1980 Spain 3 (0)
Teams managed
1992–1993 Figueres
1995–2005 Catalonia
2006 Metalurg Donetsk
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Àngel "Pichi" Alonso Herrera (born 17 December 1954) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.

A player with a prolific scoring rate who never won the Pichichi Trophy he represented, amongst others, both Barcelona major teams during his career. He amassed La Liga totals of 265 games and 108 goals over the course of 11 seasons and won five major titles, all with Barcelona.[1]

Playing career

Born in Benicarló, Castellón, Valencian Community, Alonso made his professional debut with local CD Castellón in the second division, in 1975. Two years later he moved to Real Zaragoza, playing 33 La Liga matches in every season he remained there and never netting less than 15 goals; in his debut year, he scored five in an 8–1 routing of RCD Español.[2]

For the 1982–83 campaign, Alonso moved to FC Barcelona, being used frequently in his first year but losing his importance after the purchase of Scotland's Steve Archibald, and never regaining it again. Still, he scored three goals against IFK Göteborg in the 1986 European Cup semi-finals, allowing the Catalans to reach the final of the competition against FC Steaua Bucureşti in Seville,[3] where he came on as a substitute in extra time, in an eventual penalty shootout loss; he was one of four players that had his attempt saved by opposing goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam.[4]

Alonso regained his scoring prowess at Barça neighbours Espanyol, helping the side finish third in his first season with 17 goals. In 1987–88 another penalty shootout loss occurred, now in the UEFA Cup against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.[5] He retired the following year at the age of 36, having gained three caps for the Spain national team – his debut came on 21 December 1978 in a 0–1 friendly loss with Italy, in Rome.[6]

Coaching career

Alonso started his manager career as assistant to former Barcelona teammate Víctor Muñoz, at RCD Mallorca. He then coached the autonomous team of Catalonia for several years, while also working as a television pundit for Televisió de Catalunya.

In 2006, Alonso had a brief managerial spell at Ukraine's FC Metalurh Donetsk.

Honours

Barcelona
Español

References

  1. ↑ Jonathan Stevenson and Chris Bevan (22 April 2008). "When Bryan Robson tamed Barca". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "8–1: Debacle españolista en Zaragoza" [8–1: Españolista debacle in Zaragoza]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 26 February 1979. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "La noche mágica de Pichi Alonso" [Pichi Alonso's magical night] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 1 December 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Duckadam inspires Steaua; UEFA.com, 18 April 2006
  5. ↑ "Ángel "Pichi" Alonso" (in Spanish). Hall of Fame Perico. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "1–0: Los jóvenes «Kubala-Boys» vendieron cara su piel" [1–0: Young «Kubala-Boys» made opposition sweat it out] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 22 December 1978. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
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