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José Ignacio Churruca

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Churruca and the second or maternal family name is Sistiaga.
José Ignacio Churruca
Churruca in 1977
Personal information
Full name José Ignacio Churruca Sistiaga
Date of birth (1948-01-28) 28 January 1948 (age 76)
Place of birth Zarautz, Spain
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1964–1967 Zarautz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1976 Sporting de Gijón 274 (51)
1967–1968 → Ensidesa (loan)
1976–1980 Athletic Bilbao 85 (19)
1980–1982 Hércules 60 (17)
1982–1983 Lorca 9 (0)
Total 428 (87)
International career
1971–1977 Spain 16 (0)
1975–1976 Spain Olympic 2 (0)
1978 Basque Country 1 (0)
Managerial career
1983–1984 Arenas
1989–1990 Chiclana
1990–1991 Portuense
1991–1992 Cádiz B
1992–1993 Algeciras
1993–1994 Peña Deportiva
2004–2005 Portuense
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Ignacio Churruca Sistiaga (born 28 January 1949) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a forward.

He played 336 La Liga games and scored 73 goals, representing Sporting Gijón, Athletic Bilbao and Hércules. With Athletic, he was a runner-up in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup, both in 1977. He was capped 16 times by Spain between 1971 and 1977.

Club career

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Born in Zarautz in the Basque Country, Churruca began his career at Sporting de Gijón. He was part of their team that won the Segunda División in 1969–70, in a forward line also featuring the likes of Quini.[1] On 29 December 1974, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 La Liga win at home to Granada, with Quini getting the other two goals; Churruca's opener came after 30 seconds with his other goals in the 6th and 24th minutes.[2]

In August 1976, after Sporting's relegation, Churruca transferred back to his home region to join Athletic Bilbao, having played an important part in their elimination from the previous season's Copa del Generalísimo.[3] The transfer fee was 22 million Spanish pesetas, with Sporting also having options to buy or loan certain Athletic players.[4] The fee went towards the construction of Sporting's Mareo academy, which was completed in 1978.[5] In his first season, he helped the club to the final of the UEFA Cup, scoring in a 2–1 home win over compatriots Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg, and away to Molenbeek of Belgium in the semi-final;[6][7] however, the final was lost to Juventus on the away goals rule. Athletic also reached the final of the newly renamed Copa del Rey, with Churruca scoring in a 5–0 win over Sevilla at San Mamés in the quarter-finals;[8] he played the full 120 minutes of the final against Real Betis and scored his attempt in the penalty shootout, though his team lost it 8–7.[9]

Churruca signed for a two-year deal for free for Hércules in May 1980.[10] At its expiration and with his club relegated, he moved to Lorca Deportiva in the Segunda División B.[11] In December 1982, he publicly called manager Jesús Moreno Manzaneque an autocrat for coming to a restaurant where he was dining with his wife to inform him that he had broken curfew by 15 minutes, subsequently being dropped from the team and made to train alone.[12]

International career

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Churruca made his international debut for Spain on 20 February 1971 in a 2–1 friendly win away to Italy in Cagliari. He was praised for his performance by Mundo Deportivo, who highlighted his duel with fellow debutant Aldo Bet.[13] He totalled 16 appearances over the next six years, with no goals or major tournaments, though he played both legs of the 3–1 aggregate loss to West Germany in the UEFA Euro 1976 quarter-finals, which formed part of the qualification.[14][15]

On 2 March 1978, Churruca played in the first match of the unofficial Basque Country team since the Spanish transition to democracy. The game finished as a goalless draw against the Soviet Union in Bilbao, with the opponents fielding the likes of Oleg Blokhin.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "«En el ascenso de 1970 éramos un equipo joven»" ["In the 1970 promotion we were a young team"]. La Nueva España (in Spanish). 20 December 2006. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  2. ^ Alonso, Maese (30 December 1974). "5-1: El Sporting fue una apisonadora" [5-1: Sporting were a steamroller]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  3. ^ Rivas, Jon (20 June 2016). "Trágica noche de San Valerio" [Tragic night of San Valerio]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Las directivas del Sporting y Athletic, de acuerdo" [Sporting and Athletic's boards, in agreement]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 August 1976. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  5. ^ Guisasola, Pablo (28 March 2018). "Mareo cumple 40 años" [Mareo turns 40]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  6. ^ Oyarzabal, Eduardo (4 January 2011). "El Athletic de 1977: "Nosotros eliminamos al Barça"" [1977 Athletic: "We eliminated Barça"]. Deia (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  7. ^ García, Alberto (20 April 2020). "El día en el que el Athletic sacó su primer billete para una final de la UEFA" [The day that Athletic took their first ticket for a UEFA final]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  8. ^ Filgueira, J. A. (30 May 1977). "5-0: El Athletic no dio opción" [5-0: Athletic gave no option]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  9. ^ Carbonero, Javier (25 June 2017). "La mágica noche del 25 junio de 1977" [The magical night of 25 June 1977] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Churruca: "A los 31 años no se es viejo"" [Churruca: "You're not old at 31"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 28 May 1980. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  11. ^ Moncayo, C. (17 August 1982). "En Lleida, a todo tren" [To Lleida, full steam ahead]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Churruca versus Moreno Manzaneque" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 December 1982. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Nuestra selección es una magnífica realidad" [Our national team is a magnificent reality]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 21 February 1971. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Los germanos, muy a la defensiva, aprovecharon su oportunidad" [The Germans, highly defensive, took advantage of their opportunity]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 April 1976. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  15. ^ "2-0: Adiós a la Copa de Europa" [2-0: Goodbye to the European Cup]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 May 1976. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  16. ^ Filgueira, José Antonio (3 March 1978). "0-0: Decepcionó la selección rusa" [0-0: The Russian national team disappointed]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
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