José Ramón Alexanko facts for kids
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Alexanko in 1977
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Ramón Alexanko Ventosa | ||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Barakaldo, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Llodio | |||
| Athletic Bilbao | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1976 | Bilbao Athletic | 97 | (9) |
| 1976–1980 | Athletic Bilbao | 91 | (8) |
| 1976 | → Alavés (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1980–1993 | Barcelona | 274 | (26) |
| Total | 440 | (43) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977 | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1978–1982 | Spain | 34 | (4) |
| 1979 | Basque Country | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997–1998 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 1998–1999 | Naţional București | ||
| 2000–2002 | Barcelona (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
José Ramón Alexanko Ventosa (born 19 May 1956) is a famous Spanish football player and manager. People often call him Alexanko or Alesanco. He played as a central defender and was known for his strong defense.
Alexanko played for two big Spanish teams: Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. He won many awards with Barcelona, a total of 16! He played in 367 top-league games in Spain over 17 seasons. He also scored 34 goals during his career.
He played for the Spanish national team more than 30 times. He even played in one World Cup and one European Championship. After he stopped playing, he became a manager and later a director of football.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting at Athletic Bilbao
José Ramón Alexanko was born in Barakaldo, Spain. He joined the youth team of Athletic Bilbao in 1972. He also played for Alavés for a short time.
He made his first appearance in Spain's top league, La Liga, on December 12, 1976. This was in a game where Athletic Bilbao won 5–2. From his second season, Alexanko became a regular player for Athletic Bilbao. He helped his team reach two finals in 1977. They were runners-up in the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) and the UEFA Cup.
Becoming a Barcelona Legend
In 1980, Alexanko joined Barcelona. He was one of several players from the Basque region who moved to Barcelona around that time. He became the team's captain.
With Alexanko as captain, Barcelona became known as the "Dream Team." This team won four league championships in a row. They also won the European Cup (now called the Champions League) for the very first time in the club's history.
One of his most memorable moments was scoring the winning goal in the 1988 Spanish Cup final. Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1–0 in that game. He also played in the 1992 European Cup Final when Barcelona won. Six years earlier, in the 1986 final, his penalty kick was saved, and Barcelona lost that game.
International Football
Alexanko played his first game for Spain on November 15, 1978. This was a qualifying match for the UEFA Euro 1980 tournament. He played for Spain in Euro 1980 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
He stopped playing for the national team when he was only 26 years old. He played a total of 34 games for Spain. He also played one game for the Basque Country team in 1979.
Life After Playing
After he stopped playing football in 1993, Alexanko started coaching. He managed two teams in Romania: Universitatea Craiova and Naţional București.
In 2000, he returned to Barcelona. He worked as an assistant coach. In 2005, he became the coordinator for the club's youth system. This meant he helped train young players.
Later, in 2015, Alexanko became the director of the Valencia Academy. In 2017, he became the interim (temporary) director of football for Valencia. He was later given the job permanently but left in September of that year.
In 2018, he worked as a commentator for a sports TV channel. In 2019, he became the academy and scouting director for a South African club called Mamelodi Sundowns. He left this role in 2020.
In March 2021, Alexanko returned to Barcelona again. He became the youth football director after Joan Laporta won the club's presidential election.
Achievements and Awards
As a Player
Athletic Bilbao
- Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) runner-up: 1976–77
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 1976–77
Barcelona
- La Liga (Spanish League Champion): 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93
- Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup Winner): 1980–81, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1989–90
- Copa de la Liga (Spanish League Cup Winner): 1982–83, 1985–86
- Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup Winner): 1983, 1991, 1992
- European Cup (Champions League Winner): 1991–92
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (Cup Winners' Cup Winner): 1981–82, 1988–89
- UEFA Super Cup (European Super Cup Winner): 1992
As a Manager
Universitatea Craiova
- Cupa României (Romanian Cup) runner-up: 1997–98
