José Antonio de la Hoz Uranga explained

José Antonio de la Hoz Uranga
Fullname:José Antonio de la Hoz Uranga
Birth Date:8 January 1949
Birth Place:Getaria, Spain
Height:1.71m
Position:Left back
Youthclubs1:Real Sociedad
Years1:1970–1972
Clubs1:San Sebastián
Years2:1972–1978
Clubs2:Real Sociedad
Caps2:76
Goals2:0
Years3:1978–1979
Clubs3:Lagun Onak
Caps3:27
Goals3:0

José Antonio de la Hoz Uranga (born 8 January 1949) is a Spanish footballer who played as a left back.

Playing career

Uranga began his senior career at San Sebastián, Real Sociedad's B team, in 1970 after progressing from the youth teams. On 7 October 1972, Uranga made his debut for Sociedad, coming on as a 76th minute substitute in a 1–0 win against UD Las Palmas. In total, Uranga made 101 appearances in Sociedad's first team over the course of six years.[1] Following his time at Sociedad, Uranga signed for Lagun Onak.[2]

Basque nationalism

Uranga was a Basque nationalist. Prior to a Basque derby tie against Athletic Bilbao on 5 December 1976, Uranga formed a plan for both teams to exit the tunnel onto the field of play with a Basque flag, the Ikurriña. Due to the policies of Francoist Spain, the flag was still banned, despite Francisco Franco's death a year earlier. In January 1977, the flag was legalised in Spain, with Bilbao goalkeeper José Ángel Iribar stating the display "really helped" with the legalisation of the flag.[3]

Uranga was sentenced to eight years in prison after the kidnapping of Andrés Gutiérrez Blanco in 1987 by ETA, an armed Basque separatist group. Blanco was held hostage in Getxo for 47 days, until a ransom of 190 million was paid by his family. Despite his sentence, Uranga only served six months and was later pardoned by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government in January 2009.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Uranga. BDFutbol. 15 September 2021. 15 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210915003851/https://www.bdfutbol.com/en/j/j5315.html. live.
  2. Web site: HOZ URANGA, José Antonio de la. Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia. 22 May 2022. es. 22 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220522043157/https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/hoz-uranga-jose-antonio-de-la/ar-60018/. live.
  3. Web site: How a Basque derby brought about the legalisation of the Basque flag. These Football Times. 19 February 2016. 15 September 2021. 27 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210427222240/https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/02/19/how-a-basque-derby-brought-about-the-legalisation-of-the-basque-flag/. live.
  4. Web site: Estos son los indultos concedidos por Aznar, Rajoy, Zapatero, Felipe González y el resto de gobiernos en España. Onda Cero. 22 June 2021. 15 September 2021. es. 15 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210915003852/https://www.ondacero.es/noticias/espana/indultos-aznar-rajoy-gobiernos-espana_2021062260d1bed02c975b0001107aab.html. live.