José Ángel Iribar

José Ángel Iribar

Iribar in 2009
Personal information
Full name	José Ángel Iribar Cortajarena
Date of birth	1 March 1943 (1943-03-01)
Place of birth	Zarautz, Spain
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Salleco
	Zarautz
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1961–1962	Baskonia
1962–1980	Athletic Bilbao	466	(0)
National team
1964–1976	Spain	49	(0)
1979	Basque Country	1	(0)
Teams managed
1983–1986	Bilbao Athletic
1986–1987	Athletic Bilbao
1987	Bilbao Athletic
1988	Basque Country
1993–2010	Basque Country
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Iribar and the second or maternal family name is Cortajarena.

José Ángel Iribar Cortajarena, nicknamed El Chopo ("the poplar") (born 1 March 1943 in Zarautz, Gipuzkoa), is a retired Spanish football goalkeeper and manager.

Having played almost exclusively for Athletic Bilbao – during almost 20 years – he also represented the Spanish national team for 12.

Club career

After only three La Liga matches in his first professional season at Athletic de Bilbao, Iribar proceeded to become the Basque's undisputed starter for the following 16 seasons. His senior starts were made at lowly CD Baskonia in 1961, when this team was still not the feeder club. Baskonia eliminated Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Generalísimo, and the keeper's stellar performance prompted his signing for a then record 1 million pesetas.

At Athletic, Iribar profitted from injury to legendary Carmelo Cedrún in October 1963 and never looked back, going on to conquer two domestic cups and finish second in the 1976–77 UEFA Cup, to Juventus FC.

He retired in 1980 at 37, having played in 614 matches in all competitions, as another club great in the position, Andoni Zubizarreta, would arrive at the club in the summer. During the 1970–71 season, he kept a clean sheet at ten successive home games (1,018 minutes), a record.

Subsequently, Iribar joined Athletic's coaching staff, taking charge of the goalkeepers. In 1983–84, he coached Bilbao Athletic, the club's reserves, leading it to second place in the second division, a best-ever, although the club was not eligible for promotion.

Iribar also managed the first team in the 1986–87 season – for the only time, the league had a second stage divided in three groups, and Athletic won the relegation one (ranking 13th overall). Since 1988 and for over two decades, he was in charge of the Basque Country national football team.

International career

Iribar made his debut for Spain on 11 March 1964, in the first leg of the 1964 European Nations' Cup's last qualifying stage, a 5–1 home win against Republic of Ireland (7–1 aggregate). He was the starter for the final stages, and the nation emerged victorious on home soil.

Iribar also represented Spain at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, playing all three group stage matches; he retained his position for a further 10 years, his last game coming on 24 April 1976, in a 1–1 against West Germany for the unsuccessful UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying.

Honours

Club

Athletic Bilbao

• Spanish Cup: 1968–69, 1972–73; Runner-up 1965–66, 1966–67
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1976–77

Country

• European Football Championship: 1964

Individual

• Zamora Trophy: 1969–70

Political views

On 5 December 1975, before a game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and the opposing captain, Inaxio Kortabarria, carried out the Ikurriña, the Basque flag, and placed it ceremonially on the centre-circle. This was the first public display of the flag since the death of Francisco Franco, but it was still illegal.

He subsequently became involved in Basque local politics, and was a founding member of the independentist coalition Herri Batasuna.

External links

• Athletic Bilbao profile
• BDFutbol player profile
• BDFutbol coach profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• José Ángel Iribar at National-Football-Teams.com
• International appearances at RSSSF
• José Ángel Iribar – FIFA competition record