Rafael Iriondo Explained

Rafael Iriondo
Fullname:Rafael Iriondo Aurtenetxea
Birth Date:24 October 1918
Birth Place:Guernica, Spain
Death Place:Bilbao, Spain
Height:1.71 m
Position:Forward
Youthclubs1:Gernika
Years1:1939–1940
Years2:1940–1953
Years3:1953
Years4:1953–1955
Years5:1955
Clubs1:Atlético Tetuán
Clubs2:Athletic Bilbao
Clubs3:Barakaldo
Clubs4:Real Sociedad
Clubs5:Indautxu
Caps2:257
Caps3:3
Caps4:28
Caps5:1
Totalcaps:289
Goals2:80
Goals3:1
Goals4:9
Goals5:0
Totalgoals:90
Nationalyears1:1946–1947
Nationalteam1:Spain
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:1
Manageryears1:1955–1956
Manageryears2:1958–1959
Manageryears3:1961–1962
Manageryears4:1965–1968
Manageryears5:1968–1969
Manageryears6:1970
Manageryears7:1971–1972
Manageryears8:1972–1974
Manageryears9:1974–1976
Manageryears10:1976–1978
Manageryears11:1980
Manageryears12:1981–1982
Managerclubs1:Indautxu
Managerclubs2:Alavés
Managerclubs3:Barakaldo
Managerclubs4:Bilbao Athletic
Managerclubs5:Athletic Bilbao
Managerclubs6:Español
Managerclubs7:Zaragoza
Managerclubs8:Real Sociedad
Managerclubs9:Athletic Bilbao
Managerclubs10:Betis
Managerclubs11:Rayo Vallecano
Managerclubs12:Betis

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

1942–43[12]

1943, 1944, 1945, 1950[12]

1950[12]

Manager

Athletic Bilbao

1969[3]

Betis

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Athletic Club-Real Sociedad: jugadores en los dos bandos. Athletic Club-Real Sociedad: players on both sides. Diario AS. es. 9 May 2014. 13 July 2017. 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170828143148/https://futbol.as.com/futbol/2014/05/09/album-02/1399644404_476184.html. dead.
  2. News: Los discípulos de Pichichi. Pichichi's disciples. El Correo. Javier. Ortiz de Lazcano. es. 9 October 2015. 11 February 2016.
  3. News: Leyendas del Athletic Club de Bilbao – Iriondo. Athletic Club de Bilbao legends – Iriondo. El Correo. es. 23 May 2016. 22 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160622093106/http://athletic.elcorreo.com/leyendas/iriondo.html. dead.
  4. http://www.indautxusd.com/historia.php?club=1 Historia (History)
  5. http://www.barakaldocf.com/?p=entrenadores Entrenadores (Managers)
  6. News: 2–2: Los andaluces remontaron dos ventajas vascas. 2–2: The Andalusians countered Basques' advantage twice. Mundo Deportivo. Ramón. Rovira. es. 26 June 1977. 5 February 2016.
  7. News: Iriondo: Siento una gran alegria y... un poco de pena. Iriondo: I am extremely happy and... a little sorry. Mundo Deportivo. Nivardo. Pina. es. 26 June 1977. 22 February 2014.
  8. News: 1–0: El Real Betis, a Segunda. 1–0: Real Betis, to Segunda. Mundo Deportivo. Ricardo. Ríos. es. 8 May 1978. 25 February 2016.
  9. News: Fallece Pedro Buenaventura Gil, historia del Betis. Death of Pedro Buenaventura Gil, history of Betis. ABC. Madrid. Jesús. Sevillano. es. 30 May 2017. 21 July 2022.
  10. News: Fallece Rafael Iriondo. Rafael Iriondo dies. Diario AS. Abel. Romera. es. 24 February 2016. 25 February 2016.
  11. News: Irlanda venció a España en el Estadio Metropolitano por diferencia mínima. Ireland beat Spain at the Estadio Metropolitano by the odd goal. Mundo Deportivo. José Luis. Lasplazas. es. 24 June 1946. 19 March 2020.
  12. Web site: Rafael Iriondo Aurtenetxea. Mi Athletic. es. 15 January 2015.