Javier Clemente facts for kids
Clemente in 2008
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Javier Clemente Lázaro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 March 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Barakaldo, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barakaldo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1968 | Athletic Bilbao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1973 | Athletic Bilbao | 47 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Bilbao Athletic | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 54 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Spain U23 | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | Arenas Getxo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1978 | Basconia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | Bilbao Athletic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1986 | Athletic Bilbao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1989 | Español | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Atlético Madrid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Athletic Bilbao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Español | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Spain U21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1998 | Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Betis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Real Sociedad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Marseille | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Tenerife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Espanyol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Athletic Bilbao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Serbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Murcia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Valladolid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Cameroon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Sporting Gijón | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Libya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Basque Country | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Libya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Javier Clemente Lázaro (born 12 March 1950) is a famous Spanish football manager and former player. He played as a midfielder, which is a player who helps both attack and defense.
Javier Clemente had to stop playing football when he was only in his early 20s because of a serious injury. After that, he started a new career as a coach in 1975. Over more than 40 years, he managed many different club teams and national teams. These included Athletic Bilbao, where he also played, and the Spanish national team. He won the top Spanish league, La Liga, twice with Athletic Bilbao in 1983 and 1984.
People sometimes called him El rubio de Barakaldo, which means "The blond from Barakaldo." This nickname came from his hair color and his hometown. Clemente coached the Spanish national team in two World Cups and one Euro tournament.
Contents
Playing Career: From Player to Coach
Javier Clemente was born in Barakaldo, Biscay, Spain. He joined the youth team of Athletic Bilbao when he was 16 years old. Before that, he played for a local team called Barakaldo CF.
At just 18, his manager, Agustín Gaínza, brought him to the main team. His first official game was against Liverpool in a European competition. He also played in the 1969 Copa del Generalísimo final, where his team won 1–0.
Clemente played 18 games in the La Liga season of 1969–70, which was his best year as a player. However, on 23 November 1969, he got a very bad leg injury during a league game. He had four operations, but he never fully recovered. Because of this, he had to retire from playing football at the young age of 24.
Coaching Career: Leading Teams to Victory
Early Coaching Days and Athletic Bilbao Success
After his playing career ended, Clemente immediately started coaching. His first coaching jobs were with local teams like Arenas Club de Getxo and CD Basconia. He also coached Bilbao Athletic, which is the reserve team for Athletic Bilbao.
In 1981, when he was 31, Clemente became the manager of Athletic Bilbao. He led the team to win the national league, La Liga, two years in a row: in 1983 and 1984. During this successful time, he also had a strong rivalry with César Luis Menotti, who was the manager of FC Barcelona.
Clemente left Athletic Bilbao in 1986 after a disagreement with a star player. He then joined RCD Español, another team in the same league. He helped them finish third in the league in 1987, which was their best-ever finish. The next year, they reached the final of the UEFA Cup, a big European competition. He left Espanyol in 1989.
After this, Clemente also coached Atlético Madrid and had more short periods back at Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol.
Coaching the Spanish National Team
In 1992, Javier Clemente became the manager of the Spanish national team. He took over after Spain did not qualify for the Euro 1992 tournament. His first game was a friendly match against England, which Spain won 1–0.
He led Spain to three major international tournaments:
During his time, Spain had an amazing run of 31 matches without losing! His last game as Spain's coach was a surprising 3–2 loss to Cyprus in 1998.
Club Coaching After Spain
After leaving the national team, Clemente returned to coaching club teams. He managed several teams in Spain's top division, including Real Betis, Real Sociedad, and CD Tenerife. He also had a second period coaching Espanyol.
In 2000–01, he coached Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1, the top league in France. He also returned to Athletic Bilbao for another time. He helped them avoid being relegated (moved down to a lower league) in the 2005–06 season. However, he was fired before the next season started because of a disagreement with the club's chairman.
Clemente managed Athletic Bilbao in 289 official matches across his three different times there. This was a club record for many years.
Coaching National Teams: Serbia, Cameroon, and Libya
On 21 July 2006, Clemente became the manager of the Serbian national team. His first game was a 3–1 win against the Czech Republic. He brought in new players and started their qualification campaign for Euro 2008 with good results. However, Serbia did not manage to qualify for the tournament, and Clemente left his role in December 2007.
After coaching Real Murcia and Real Valladolid in Spain, Clemente became the coach of the Cameroon national team on 17 August 2010. He took over after Cameroon had a tough time in the 2010 World Cup. He won his first game with Cameroon, but the team did not qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. He was dismissed in October 2011.
In February 2012, Clemente returned to Spain to manage Sporting de Gijón. He coached them until the end of the season, but the team was relegated. During this time, he reached his 500th game as a manager in the Spanish first division.
On 20 September 2013, Clemente was named manager of the Libyan national team. He led Libya to win their first ever major trophy, the 2014 African Nations Championship. They won the final against Ghana in a penalty shootout. He was later sacked by Libya in October 2016.
Basque Country and Second Return to Libya
In March 2019, Clemente was appointed manager of the Basque Country team. This is an unofficial national team. He planned to invite players with Basque family history to play for the team.
Clemente returned to coach Libya again in May 2021. However, the team did not qualify for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup or the 2022 World Cup. His contract ended in 2022.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | Year | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| Arenas Getxo |  |
1975–1976 | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 52.63 | ||||
| Basconia | |
1976–1978 | 76 | 26 | 11 | 39 | 34.21 | ||||
| Bilbao Athletic | |
1979–1981 | 76 | 30 | 21 | 25 | 39.47 | ||||
| Athletic Bilbao | |
1981–1986 | 213 | 117 | 44 | 52 | 54.93 | ||||
| Español | |
1986–1989 | 124 | 41 | 27 | 56 | 33.06 | ||||
| Atlético Madrid | |
1989–1990 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 46.88 | ||||
| Athletic Bilbao | |
1990–1991 | 31 | 11 | 3 | 17 | 35.48 | ||||
| Español | |
1992 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 45.45 | ||||
| Spain U21 | |
1992–1996 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 33.33 | ||||
| Spain | |
1992–1998 | 62 | 36 | 20 | 6 | 58.06 | ||||
| Betis | |
1998–1999 | 36 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 41.67 | ||||
| Real Sociedad | |
1999–2000 | 37 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 27.03 | ||||
| Marseille |  |
2000–2001 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 29.63 | ||||
| Tenerife | |
2002 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33.33 | ||||
| Espanyol | |
2002–2003 | 35 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 25.71 | ||||
| Athletic Bilbao | |
2005–2006 | 31 | 11 | 3 | 17 | 35.48 | ||||
| Serbia |  |
2006–2007 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 43.75 | ||||
| Murcia | |
2008 | 31 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 19.35 | ||||
| Valladolid | |
2010 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 37.50 | ||||
| Cameroon |  |
2010–2011 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 50.00 | ||||
| Sporting Gijón | |
2012 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 31.25 | ||||
| Libya |  |
2013–2016 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 23.08 | ||||
| Basque Country | |
2019–2021 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | ||||
| Libya | |
2021–2022 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 36.36 | ||||
| Career total | 969 | 400 | 233 | 336 | 41.28 | ||||||
Honours and Achievements
As a Player
Athletic Bilbao
- Copa del Rey: 1969 (a major Spanish cup competition)
As a Manager
Athletic Bilbao
- La Liga: 1982–83, 1983–84 (Spanish League Champions)
- Copa del Rey: 1983–84; runner-up: 1984–85
- Supercopa de España: 1984 (Spanish Super Cup)
Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1996 (finished second in the European Championship for players under 21)
Libya
- African Nations Championship: 2014 (won a major African tournament)
Individual Awards
- Don Balón Award – Best La Liga Manager: 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87 (awarded as the best manager in the Spanish league)
See also
In Spanish: Javier Clemente para niños
