Carlos Ruiz (footballer, born 1948)

Carlos Ruiz Herrero (born 7 June 1948), known simply as Carlos, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ruiz and the second or maternal family name is Herrero.
Carlos
Carlos in 1977
Personal information
Full name Carlos Ruiz Herrero
Date of birth (1948-06-07) 7 June 1948
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1969 Getxo
1969–1970 Bilbao Athletic 25 (8)
1970–1981 Athletic Bilbao 213 (81)
1981–1982 Español 21 (2)
Total 259 (91)
National team
1977 Spain U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent 11 seasons in La Liga with Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 275 competitive games and scoring 115 goals.[1]

Club career

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, the third of ten sons in a large family,[2] Carlos played for eleven seasons with Athletic Bilbao,[3] plus one with the reserves, having been signed in 1969 from Basque neighbours CD Getxo.[2] On 12 September 1970 he made his debut for the first team, playing the dying minutes of the 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona.

In the following years, Carlos continued to be used regularly by the club, although he was not always an undisputed starter. In the 1974–75 season, however, he scored a career-best 19 goals in 32 games (winning the Pichichi Trophy in the process),[4][2] for a tenth place in La Liga; on 18 May 1977 he netted the goal to put his side 2–1 up at home against Juventus FC in the campaign's final of the UEFA Cup – his last of five during their continental run – but the Italians won the trophy on the away goals rule.

Carlos still enjoyed two seasons in double digits until he left Athletic, including 1977–78 with 16 goals, but also had to deal with several injuries. He retired from the game in the summer of 1982 at the age of 34 after a spell with RCD Español,[2] amassing top flight totals of 234 matches and 83 goals.

International career

Carlos was never capped by Spain at senior level, but did play for the under-21 side once, in a match against Yugoslavia played in Elche, at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.

Later life

Having studied medicine at the University of Bilbao at Leioa (now part of the University of the Basque Country during his playing career, Ruiz subsequently went into practice as a doctor specialising in the treatment of athletes.[2] He performed roles assisting various sports teams, including basketball club CB Cajabilbao and the Spanish national squads in handball and women's football.[2]

In 2011, Ruiz was part of the team behind the unsuccessful campaign of Fernando García Macua to be re-elected as club president of Athletic Bilbao.[2]

Honours

Club

Athletic Bilbao

Individual

References
  1. Ortiz de Lazcano, Javier (9 October 2015). "Los discípulos de Pichichi" [Pichichi's disciples]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. Ortiz de Lazcano, Javier (14 June 2011). ""Sentí un hormigueo cuando me ofrecieron regresar al club"" ["I felt a tingling when I was offered to return to the club"]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  3. "Los cachorros son casi leones" [The pups are almost lions] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 May 1975. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  4. "Spain – List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929–2015". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
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