José Mari Bakero

José Mari Bakero

Personal information
Full name	José María Bakero Escudero
Date of birth	11 February 1963 (1963-02-11)
Place of birth	Goizueta, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Real Sociedad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1988	Real Sociedad	223	(67)
1988–1997	Barcelona	260	(72)
1997	Veracruz	17	(3)
Total		500	(142)
National team
1980	Spain U16	3	(1)
1980–1981	Spain U18	9	(2)
1982–1986	Spain U21	5	(1)
1986	Spain U23	1	(0)
1987–1994	Spain	30	(7)
Teams managed
1999	Puebla
2005	Málaga B
2006	Real Sociedad
2009–2010	Polonia Warsaw
2010–2012	Lech Poznań
* 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 Bakero and the second or maternal family name is Escudero.

José María Bakero Escudero (born 11 February 1963) is a retired Spanish footballer.

Having played mainly for Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona, he began his career as a forward (not being a prolific goalscorer) but was converted into an attacking midfielder, who possessed passing and netting ability (with both his right foot and his head, the second despite his short stature) and great leadership skills.

During a 17-year professional career, Bakero amassed 483 games in La Liga, scoring a total of 139 goals and collecting a total of 18 titles. In the 2000s (decade), he embarked in a coaching career.

A Spanish international during seven years, Bakero represented the nation in two World Cups and one European Championship.

Club career

Bakero training with Spain in 1994

Born in Goizueta, Navarre, Bakero made his senior debut with Real Sociedad on 6 September 1980 when only 17, coming from the bench in a 2–3 loss at Valencia CF, and finished his debut season with 27 appearances, but no goals. Appearing only in two games in 1981–82, he was however part of the Basque sides which won back-to-back first division titles, his teammates including Luis Arconada, Jesús María Zamora and Jesús María Satrústegui.

In 1988 Bakero signed for FC Barcelona, where he was joined by several other Real and Basque players: Txiki Begiristain, Luis López Rekarte, with Julio Salinas coming from Atlético Madrid but having also played with Athletic Bilbao, as another Real player, Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, joined two years later. They would form the backbone of the legendary Dream Team. Between 1988 and 1997, Bakero (who scored 47 league goals in his first four years) played 329 games overall for Barcelona, being instrumental in the Catalan side's league titles from 1990–94, while also appearing in the historic 1992 European Cup final.

Having appeared scarcely during 1996–97, his last game coming on 18 November 1996 in a 6–1 home thrashing of Real Valladolid (in which he scored), Bakero retired later that season, after a small abroad stint with Mexico's CD Veracruz. He also had unsuccessful trials with Middlesbrough and Norwich City.

After retiring in 1997, Bakero moved into coaching, first as an assistant, under both Llorenç Serra Ferrer and Louis van Gaal. He also worked as a sports adviser with the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2004–05, Bakero had his first head coaching experience, joining Málaga CF's B side in January 2005 and helping it narrowly escape relegation from the second level.

In August 2005 he was appointed director of football at first team Real Sociedad, and would be promoted to coach towards the end of 2005–06. Seven games into the following season, he was sacked.

In October 2007, Bakero joined Ronald Koeman's (another Barcelona teammate) coaching staff at Valencia, being dismissed in April 2008. On 10 November 2009, more than a year after his last job, he signed with Polonia Warsaw, again as head coach. While the team was last in the league at that point, not only did he manage to prevent relegation, but also led the club to a win against city neighbours Legia Warsaw, the first in ten years. He was sacked on 13 September 2010, after suffering the first loss of the season.

On 3 November 2010, 47-year old Bakero signed with another team in the Polish first division, Lech Poznań. In his official debut, he led the club to a 3–1 win against Manchester City, in the season's UEFA Europa League. Lech Poznan is the first club in his coaching career, which maintains its position for a period longer than one year. 25 February 2012, after the defeat of Lech with Ruch Chorzow (0:3), was dismissed from the function of the first coach of the team.

International career

Bakero had 30 caps for Spain, scoring on seven occasions. His debut came on 14 October 1987 during an UEFA Euro 1988 qualifier against Austria. He replaced future Barça teammate Francisco Carrasco in a 2–0 home win.

Bakero would subsequently represent the nation at Euro 1988, as well as in two FIFA World Cup editions: 1990 and 1994.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	18 November 1987	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	1–0	5–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
2.	18 November 1987	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	2–0	5–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
3.	18 November 1987	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	5–0	5–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
4.	19 December 1990	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Albania	9–0	9–0	Euro 1992 qualifying
5.	20 February 1991	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	0–1	3–1	Euro 1992 qualifying
6.	16 December 1992	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Latvia	1–0	5–0	1994 World Cup qualification
7.	24 February 1993	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Lithuania	2–0	5–0	1994 World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Málaga B	January 2005	August 2005					—
Real Sociedad	2006	2006	&1000000000000001700000017	&100000000000000030000003	&100000000000000050000005	&100000000000000090000009	&1000000000000001764999917.65
Polonia Warszawa	10 November 2009	13 September 2010	&1000000000000002200000022	&100000000000000090000009	&100000000000000060000006	&100000000000000070000007	&1000000000000004090999940.91
Lech Poznań	4 November 2010	25 February 2012	&1000000000000002200000022	&1000000000000001100000011	&100000000000000050000005	&100000000000000060000006	&1000000000000005000000050.00

As of 10 June 2011

Honours

Real Sociedad

• Spanish League: 1980–81, 1981–82
• Spanish Cup: 1986–87
• Spanish Supercup: 1982

Barcelona

• European Cup: 1991–92
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89, 1996–97
• UEFA Super Cup: 1992
• Spanish Cup: 1989–90, 1996–97
• Spanish League: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
• Spanish Supercup: 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996

Personal

Bakero was the second of three children. His brothers, Santiago (also Santi) and Jon, were also footballers, and both forwards. The former played five seasons in the first division, with Hércules CF and Real Sociedad (where he coincided with José Mari from 1986–89), while the latter did not appear in higher than the second level (where he played namely for FC Barcelona B). After he joined Polonia as a coach, he was accompanied, at his request, by Jon, as an assistant.

External links

• BDFutbol player profile
• BDFutbol coach profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• MedioTiempo profile (Spanish)
• International appearances; at RSSF
• José Mari Bakero at National-Football-Teams.com
• José Mari Bakero – FIFA competition record

Sporting positions
Preceded by José Ramón Alexanko	FC Barcelona captain 1993–1996	Succeeded by Gheorghe Popescu