José Mari Bakero facts for kids
Bakero in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José María Bakero Escudero | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Goizueta, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.72 m | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Sociedad | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1980–1988 | Real Sociedad | 223 | (67) |
| 1988–1996 | Barcelona | 260 | (72) |
| 1997 | Veracruz | 17 | (3) |
| Total | 500 | (142) | |
| National team | |||
| 1980 | Spain U16 | 3 | (1) |
| 1980–1981 | Spain U18 | 9 | (2) |
| 1982–1986 | Spain U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 1986 | Spain U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1987–1994 | Spain | 30 | (7) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1999 | Puebla | ||
| 2005 | Málaga B | ||
| 2006 | Real Sociedad | ||
| 2009–2010 | Polonia Warsaw | ||
| 2010–2012 | Lech Poznań | ||
| 2013 | Juan Aurich | ||
| 2023 | Slavia Sofia | ||
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José María Bakero Escudero (born on February 11, 1963) is a famous Spanish former football player. He is also a manager now. He mostly played for two big teams: Real Sociedad and Barcelona.
José Mari Bakero started his career as a forward. Later, he became an attacking midfielder. He was great at passing the ball and scoring goals. Even though he wasn't very tall, he scored many goals with his head! He was also a strong leader on the field.
During his 17 years as a professional player, he played 483 games in La Liga. He scored 139 goals and won 17 titles. He also played for the Spanish national team for seven years. He represented Spain in two World Cups and one Euro 1988 tournament. After retiring as a player, Bakero began working as a football manager in 1999.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
José Mari Bakero started his professional journey with Real Sociedad. He made his first team appearance on September 6, 1980. He was only 17 years old then!
He was part of the Real Sociedad teams that won the La Liga title two years in a row, in 1981 and 1982. This was a huge achievement for the team.
Later, Bakero joined FC Barcelona. Other great players from Real Sociedad and the Basque region also joined him there. They formed a legendary team known as the Dream Team. Bakero played 347 matches for Barcelona. He helped them win the league title four times in a row, from 1990 to 1994.
He also played a key role in the historic 1992 European Cup final. In another game during that tournament, Barcelona was losing 3-0. But Bakero scored a goal with his head in the last minute! This amazing goal helped his team qualify for the next round.
Bakero played his last game for Barcelona in November 1996. He then had a short time playing for C.D. Veracruz in Mexico before he retired.
Playing for Spain
José Mari Bakero played 30 games for the Spanish national team. He scored seven goals for his country. His first game for Spain was on October 14, 1987.
He played for Spain in the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament. He also represented his country in two FIFA World Cup tournaments: in 1990 and 1994.
Becoming a Coach
After he stopped playing football in 1997, Bakero started working as a coach. He first worked as an assistant coach for different teams.
In 2005, he became the head coach of Málaga CF's B team, called Atlético Malagueño. He helped them avoid being moved down to a lower league. In August 2005, Bakero became the director of football at Real Sociedad. He was later promoted to coach the main team in 2006.
In 2007, Bakero joined Ronald Koeman's coaching team at Valencia. In 2009, he became the head coach of Polonia Warsaw in Poland. The team was at the bottom of the league, but he helped them avoid relegation. He even led them to a win against their city rivals, Legia Warsaw, which was their first win against them in ten years!
In 2010, Bakero signed with another Polish club, Lech Poznań. In his very first game, he led them to a 3-1 victory against Manchester City in the UEFA Europa League. He was later fired in 2012.
In 2013, he moved to Peru to coach Juan Aurich. In 2017, he returned to Barcelona to lead their youth academy. In 2023, he became the manager of PFC Slavia Sofia in Bulgaria, but he was fired after a few months.
Family Life
José Mari Bakero comes from a big family. He was the third of 11 children! His brothers, Santiago and Jon, were also football players. Both of them played as forwards. When José Mari became a coach at Polonia, his brother Jon joined him as an assistant coach.
His sister, Itziar, was also a football player and played at an international level. José Mari's son, also named Jon, played college football in the United States. He even won a big award called the Hermann Trophy in 2017.
Trophies and Awards
José Mari Bakero won many important titles during his career.
With Real Sociedad
- La Liga: 1980–81, 1981–82
- Copa del Rey: 1986–87
- Supercopa de España: 1982
With Barcelona
- La Liga: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
- Copa del Rey: 1989–90
- Supercopa de España: 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996
- European Cup: 1991–92
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89, 1996–97
- UEFA Super Cup: 1992
Images for kids
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Bakero training with Spain in 1994
See also
In Spanish: José Mari Bakero para niños
- List of FC Barcelona players (100+ appearances)
- List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
