Alberto Ormaetxea
Alberto Ormaetxea Ibarlucea (7 April 1939 – 28 October 2005) was a Spanish football full back (right and left flanks) and coach.
.jpg) Bust of Ormaetxea at Anoeta Stadium | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alberto Ormaetxea Ibarlucea | ||
| Date of birth | 7 April 1939 | ||
| Place of birth | Eibar, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 28 October 2005 (aged 66) | ||
| Place of death | San Sebastián, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Full back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Urko | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1959 | Eibar | 3 | (0) |
| 1959–1962 | San Sebastián | 29 | (0) |
| 1959–1960 | → Eibar (loan) | ||
| 1962–1974 | Real Sociedad | 239 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1974–1978 | Real Sociedad (assistant) | ||
| 1978–1985 | Real Sociedad | ||
| 1986 | Hércules | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
His career was closely associated to Real Sociedad, as both a player and a manager. He was their manager when they won their only two La Liga titles.
Playing career
Born in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Ormaetxea started his senior career with local SD Eibar, with which he was relegated from Segunda División in 1958. The following year, he was purchased by Real Sociedad, who immediately loaned him to his previous club.[1]
Ormaetxea started playing as a right back, but eventually switched flanks. In the summer of 1962, after two seasons with the reserves, he was promoted to the first team that had just been relegated from La Liga, helping them return to the competition at the end of the 1966–67 campaign.[2]
Ormaetxea's best year in the top level was 1969–70, when he started in all his 28 league appearances and scored twice to help the Txuriurdin finish in seventh position. He retired in 1974 at the age of 35 after several injury problems, having appeared in 280 games in all competitions.[2]
Coaching career
Immediately after retiring, Ormaetxea joined Real Sociedad's coaching staff as an assistant manager. In 1978, he replaced José Antonio Irulegui at the helm of the main squad, taking them to national championship conquests in 1981 and 1982 as well as the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in 1982 and 1983;[2] additionally, in 1979–80, the club trailed Real Madrid by only one point and, taking the previous season into account, established a record of 38 matches without defeat that stood for several decades.[3]
Ormaetxea left Hércules CF in September 1986 after only one month in charge, and retired from professional football, going on to work with Real's veterans and write for El Diario Vasco.[4] In 2005, he supported Miguel Ángel Fuentes as the latter ran for president of Sociedad.[2]
Death
Ormaetxea died on 28 October 2005 in San Sebastián, after a long battle with illness. He was 66 years old.[2]
Honours
References
- Alberto Ormaetxea: "Hemen, entrenatzaile onak eta konpetenteak daude" (Alberto Ormaetxea: "Here, we have some good and competent coaches"); Argia, 9 November 1986 (in Basque)
- Alberto Ormaetxea, técnico bicampeón de la Real (Alberto Ormaetxea, Real's two-time champion coach); El Mundo, 31 October 2005 (in Spanish)
- El récord de imbatibilidad vuelve a estar a buen recaudo (Record for games without defeat still safe); Mundo Deportivo, 4 December 2013 (in Spanish)
- Muere Alberto Ormaetxea (Alberto Ormaetxea dies); El País, 29 October 2005 (in Spanish)
External links
- Alberto Ormaetxea at BDFutbol
- Alberto Ormaetxea manager profile at BDFutbol