José Mari Bakero facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
José Mari Bakero

Bakero in 2010
Personal information
Full name	José María Bakero Escudero
Date of birth	(1963-02-11) 11 February 1963 (age 62)
Place of birth	Goizueta, Spain
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	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)
International career
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)
Managerial career
1999	Puebla
2005	Málaga B
2006	Real Sociedad
2009–2010	Polonia Warsaw
2010–2012	Lech Poznań
2013	Juan Aurich
2023	Slavia Sofia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José María Bakero Escudero (born on February 11, 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He is also a manager today. He played mostly for Real Sociedad and Barcelona.

Bakero started his career as a forward. Later, he became an attacking midfielder. He was known for his great passing and scoring skills. He could score with his right foot and his head, even though he wasn't very tall. He was also a strong leader on the field.

During his 17-year career, he played 483 games in La Liga, scoring 139 goals. He won 17 titles in total. He played for the Spanish national team for seven years. He represented Spain in two World Cups and the Euro 1988 tournament. Bakero began working as a manager in 1999.

Playing Career Highlights

Bakero training with Spain in 1994

Starting at Real Sociedad

José Mari Bakero was born in Goizueta, Navarre, Spain. He started playing for Real Sociedad when he was just 17 years old. His first game was on September 6, 1980. He came into the game as a substitute.

Even though he was young, he played in 27 games in his first season. He was part of the Basque team that won two La Liga titles in a row. These wins were in the 1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons. Some of his famous teammates were Luis Arconada and Jesús María Zamora.

Success with FC Barcelona

Bakero then joined FC Barcelona. Other players from Real Sociedad, like Txiki Begiristain and Luis López Rekarte, also joined Barcelona. These players, along with others, became the core of Barcelona's famous "Dream Team."

He played 347 matches for Barcelona. He was a key player in their league wins from 1990 to 1994. He also played in the historic 1992 European Cup final. In that tournament, Barcelona was losing 3–0 to 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Bakero scored a last-minute goal with his head, which helped his team qualify.

After playing less in the 1996–97 season, Bakero retired. He had a short time playing abroad for C.D. Veracruz in Mexico.

International Football

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. This was during a qualifying match for UEFA Euro 1988 against Austria.

He played for Spain in the Euro 1988 tournament. He also represented his country in two FIFA World Cup tournaments: in 1990 and 1994.

Coaching and Management Career

After retiring as a player in 1997, Bakero started working in management. He first worked as an assistant coach. In 2005, he became the head coach for Málaga CF's B team, 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. However, he was let go after seven games into the next season.

Bakero joined Ronald Koeman's coaching staff at Valencia in 2007. He later became the head coach for Polonia Warsaw in Poland in 2009. He helped the team avoid relegation and even led them to a big win against their city rivals, Legia Warsaw.

In 2010, he signed with another Polish club, Lech Poznań. In his first game, his team won 3–1 against Manchester City in the UEFA Europa League. He was fired from Lech Poznań in 2012. In 2013, he moved to South America to coach Juan Aurich in Peru.

In 2017, Bakero returned to Barcelona. He became the head of their youth academy, working with his former teammate Guillermo Amor. Most recently, in June 2023, Bakero became the manager of PFC Slavia Sofia in Bulgaria. He was let go in September 2023 after a difficult start to the season.

Personal Life

José Mari Bakero was one of 11 children in his family. His brothers, Santiago and Jon, were also footballers. They both played as forwards. When José Mari became a coach at Polonia, his brother Jon joined him as an assistant.

His sister, Itziar, also played football at an international level. José Mari's son, Jon, played college soccer in the United States. He won the Hermann Trophy in 2017, which is a top award for college soccer players.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bakero goal.

List of international goals scored by José Mari Bakero

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 November 1987	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	1–0	5–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
2				2–0
3				5–0
4	19 December 1990	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Albania	9–0	9–0	Euro 1992 qualifying
5	20 February 1991	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	1–0	1–3	Euro 1992 qualifying
6	16 December 1992	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Latvia	1–0	5–0	1994 World Cup qualification
7	24 February 1993	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Lithuania	2–0	5–0	1994 World Cup qualification

Managerial Statistics

Honours and Trophies

José Mari Bakero won many important titles during his playing career:

With Real Sociedad

• La Liga (Spanish League): 1980–81, 1981–82
• Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup): 1986–87
• Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup): 1982

With Barcelona

• La Liga (Spanish League): 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
• Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup): 1989–90
• Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup): 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996
• European Cup (now Champions League): 1991–92
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89, 1996–97
• UEFA Super Cup: 1992

See also

In Spanish: José Mari Bakero para niños

• List of FC Barcelona players (100+ appearances)
• List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)