Spanish footballer and manager
In this
Spanish name , the first or paternal
surname is
Iriondo and the second or maternal family name is
Aurtenetxea .
Rafael Iriondo Aurtenetxea (24 October 1918 – 24 February 2016) was a Spanish football forward and manager .
He amassed La Liga totals of 285 matches and 89 goals over 15 seasons, with Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad .[ 1] He subsequently became a manager, working for nearly 30 years and being in charge of both clubs.
Club career
Born in Guernica , Biscay , Iriondo arrived at Basque giants Athletic Bilbao in 1940, from Atlético Tetuán . He made his La Liga debut on 29 September in a 2–2 draw at Valencia CF and, during his 13-year spell with the club, would form an historic attacking partnership with Agustín Gaínza , José Luis Panizo and Telmo Zarra , helping Athletic to the 1942–43 league and four Copa del Generalísimo trophies.[ 2] [ 3]
After 328 official games for Athletic with 115 goals, Iriondo moved to another team in the region, Barakaldo CF , in 1953. After a couple of months, however, he returned to the top division and joined Real Sociedad , retiring shortly after the end of the 1954–55 season .
Iriondo started coaching immediately after retiring, with modest SD Indautxu in the Segunda División .[ 4] He continued in his native region the following years, with Deportivo Alavés and Barakaldo.[ 5]
In the 1968–69 campaign , Iriondo returned to Athletic Bilbao as head coach, helping the club to the 11th place in the league and the domestic cup . He would also manage the team for two full seasons in the mid-1970s, interspersed with stints at RCD Español , Real Zaragoza and Real Sociedad .
Iriondo's last coaching job was with Real Betis : he led the Andalusians to the 1977 Spanish Cup ,[ 6] [ 7] but suffered top-flight relegation the following season .[ 8] After 15 matches at Rayo Vallecano in 1980 (meeting the same fate ) he returned to Betis for one final campaign in 1981–82 , being one of three managers to help the team finish sixth in the top tier and qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time ever;[ 9] he died in Bilbao on 24 February 2016, aged 97.[ 10]
International career
Iriondo earned two caps for Spain in as many friendlies , his debut coming on 23 June 1946 in a 0–1 loss to the Republic of Ireland in Madrid . This was the first national team game attended by general Francisco Franco .[ 11]
Seven months later, in Lisbon , he scored against Portugal who won 4–1.
Honours
Player
Athletic Bilbao
Manager
Athletic Bilbao
Betis
References
^ "Athletic Club-Real Sociedad: jugadores en los dos bandos" [Athletic Club-Real Sociedad: players on both sides]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017 .
^ Ortiz de Lazcano, Javier (9 October 2015). "Los discípulos de Pichichi" [Pichichi's disciples]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2016 .
^ a b "Leyendas del Athletic Club de Bilbao – Iriondo" [Athletic Club de Bilbao legends – Iriondo]. El Correo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016 .
^ Historia (History) Archived 6 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine ; at SD Indautxu (in Spanish)
^ Entrenadores (Managers) ; at Barakaldo CF (in Spanish)
^ Rovira, Ramón (26 June 1977). "2–2: Los andaluces remontaron dos ventajas vascas" [2–2: The Andalusians countered Basques' advantage twice]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2016 .
^ a b Pina, Nivardo (26 June 1977). "Iriondo: Siento una gran alegria y... un poco de pena" [Iriondo: I am extremely happy and... a little sorry]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 February 2014 .
^ Ríos, Ricardo (8 May 1978). "1–0: El Real Betis, a Segunda" [1–0: Real Betis, to Segunda ]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2016 .
^ Sevillano, Jesús (30 May 2017). "Fallece Pedro Buenaventura Gil, historia del Betis" [Death of Pedro Buenaventura Gil, history of Betis]. ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ Romera, Abel (24 February 2016). "Fallece Rafael Iriondo" [Rafael Iriondo dies]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2016 .
^ Lasplazas, José Luis (24 June 1946). "Irlanda venció a España en el Estadio Metropolitano por diferencia mínima" [Ireland beat Spain at the Estadio Metropolitano by the odd goal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2020 .
^ a b c "Rafael Iriondo Aurtenetxea" (in Spanish). Mi Athletic. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
External links