Javier Irureta facts for kids
Irureta in 1973
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javier Iruretagoyena Amiano | ||
| Date of birth | 1 April 1948 | ||
| Place of birth | Irun, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.76 m | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1965–1967 | Real Unión | 48 | (14) |
| 1967–1975 | Atlético Madrid | 208 | (48) |
| 1975–1980 | Athletic Bilbao | 136 | (22) |
| Total | 392 | (84) | |
| National team | |||
| 1969–1971 | Spain U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 1967 | Spain amateur | 4 | (2) |
| 1972–1975 | Spain | 6 | (0) |
| 1979 | Basque Country | 1 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1984–1988 | Sestao | ||
| 1988–1989 | Logroñés | ||
| 1989–1993 | Real Oviedo | ||
| 1993 | Basque Country | ||
| 1993–1994 | Racing Santander | ||
| 1994–1995 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| 1995–1997 | Real Sociedad | ||
| 1997–1998 | Celta Vigo | ||
| 1998–2005 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
| 2006 | Real Betis | ||
| 2008 | Real Zaragoza | ||
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Javier Iruretagoyena Amiano (born 1 April 1948), known as Irureta, is a Spanish former football player and manager. He played as an attacking midfielder.
Irureta had a great playing career with teams like Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. He played in 344 La Liga games for these clubs, scoring 70 goals.
After retiring as a player, Irureta became a successful football manager. He managed many top Spanish clubs. His most famous time was with Deportivo. He is the only person to have managed both major teams from Galicia (Deportivo and Celta Vigo) and Basque Country (Athletic and Real Sociedad).
Contents
Irureta's Playing Career
Javier Irureta started his football journey in his hometown. He became a professional player and later joined some of Spain's biggest clubs.
Playing for Atlético Madrid
Irureta was born in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Spain. He started playing for his local team, Real Unión, in 1965. Two years later, he helped them get close to the second division.
In 1967, he joined Atlético Madrid. During his eight seasons there, he helped the team win two La Liga titles. They also won the Copa del Rey, which is Spain's main cup competition. He played alongside famous players like Luis Aragonés.
Atlético Madrid also reached the European Cup final in 1974. Even though they lost, they were invited to play in the Intercontinental Cup. They faced Independiente from Argentina. Atlético Madrid won the cup 2–1 over two games. Irureta scored one of the goals in their 2–0 home victory.
Playing for Athletic Bilbao
After his time at Atlético, Irureta moved back to the Basque Country. He signed with Athletic Bilbao. A big moment for him there was reaching two cup finals in 1977. They were runners-up in both the Spanish Cup and the UEFA Cup. He played with legendary goalkeeper José Ángel Iribar.
Irureta stopped playing football in 1980 when he was 32 years old. He had played over 400 official matches and scored almost 100 goals.
Playing for Spain's National Team
Irureta played six games for the Spanish national team. His first game was on 23 May 1972, in a friendly match against Uruguay in Madrid. He did not play in any major international tournaments.
Towards the end of his career, he also played one game for the Basque Country national team.
Irureta's Coaching Career
After his playing days, Irureta became a football coach. He started with smaller clubs and worked his way up.
Early Coaching Years
Irureta began coaching with Sestao Sport Club. Four years later, he joined Logroñés. He then led Real Oviedo to a sixth-place finish in the 1990–91 season. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup. He achieved this again with Celta Vigo in 1998. For his work at Celta Vigo, he was named Manager of the Year by two important Spanish sports magazines.
In 1994, he briefly returned to coach Athletic Bilbao. After that, he coached their local rivals, Real Sociedad.
Success with Deportivo La Coruña
Irureta's most successful time as a coach was with Deportivo de La Coruña. He spent seven years there. In his second year, 1999–2000, he led Depor to win their first-ever La Liga title. This was a huge achievement for the club. He also won another Don Balón coaching award that year.
Under his leadership, Deportivo finished second in the league in 2001 and 2002. They also finished third in the next two years. In the UEFA Champions League, they reached the quarter-finals in 2001 and 2002. They even made it to the semi-finals in 2004. In 2002, Deportivo also won the Spanish Cup. They beat Real Madrid in their home stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Later Coaching Roles
In June 2006, Irureta became the coach of Real Betis. However, he left the club in December of the same year. He explained that he decided to leave because the team was not performing well.
In 2008, he took over as coach at Real Zaragoza. But after only one and a half months, he resigned. He said he had never lost four games in a row as a manager before. He felt he could not stop the team from falling into the relegation zone. Zaragoza later dropped to a lower league.
Managerial Statistics
Javier Irureta managed many teams throughout his career. Here is a summary of his coaching record:
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Sestao |  |
10 June 1984 | 22 May 1988 | 186 | 87 | 41 | 58 | 46.77 | |
| Logroñés | |
22 May 1988 | 30 January 1989 | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 23.81 | |
| Real Oviedo | |
27 June 1989 | 5 February 1993 | 156 | 54 | 49 | 53 | 34.62 | |
| Racing Santander | |
3 July 1993 | 9 June 1994 | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 40.48 | |
| Athletic Bilbao | |
9 June 1994 | 20 March 1995 | 35 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 37.14 | |
| Real Sociedad | |
28 November 1995 | 6 July 1997 | 72 | 31 | 19 | 22 | 43.06 | |
| Celta Vigo | |
6 July 1997 | 18 May 1998 | 44 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 50.00 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | |
18 May 1998 | 31 May 2005 | 377 | 187 | 90 | 100 | 49.60 | |
| Real Betis | |
11 June 2006 | 22 December 2006 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 23.53 | |
| Real Zaragoza | |
22 January 2008 | 3 March 2008 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 | |
| Career Total | 956 | 421 | 241 | 294 | 44.04 | — | |||
Honours and Awards
Javier Irureta won many titles and awards during his career as both a player and a manager.
As a Player
Atlético Madrid
- La Liga (Spanish League):
- Won: 1969–70, 1972–73
- Copa del Generalísimo (Spanish Cup):
- Won: 1971–72
- Runner-up: 1974–75
- Intercontinental Cup:
- Won: 1974
- European Cup (now Champions League):
- Runner-up: 1973–74
Athletic Bilbao
- UEFA Cup (now Europa League):
- Runner-up: 1976–77
- Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup):
- Runner-up: 1976–77
As a Manager
Deportivo
- La Liga (Spanish League):
- Won: 1999–2000
- Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup):
- Won: 2001–02
- Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup):
- Won: 2000, 2002
Individual Awards
- Don Balón Award: Best Coach 1999–2000
See also
In Spanish: Javier Irureta para niños
