José Villalonga

José Villalonga

Personal information
Date of birth	12 December 1919
Place of birth	Córdoba, Spain
Date of death	7 August 1973 (aged 53)
Place of death	Madrid, Spain
Managerial career
Years	Team
1955–1957	Real Madrid
1959–1962	Atlético Madrid
1962–1966	Spain

José "Pepe" Villalonga Llorente (12 December 1919 – 7 August 1973) was a Spanish football manager during the 1950s and 1960s. He coached Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Spain, winning major trophies with all three.

Real Madrid

Villalonga was appointed manager of Real Madrid during the middle of the 1954-55 season and subsequently coached a team that included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Miguel Muñoz, Hector Rial and later, Raymond Kopa. During his first season he won a La Liga/Copa Latino double and in 1956 he became the first coach to win the European Cup. At 36 and 184 days, he remains to date the youngest coach to win the competition. During his final season at Real he guided the team to a La Liga/Copa Latina/European Cup treble.

Atlético Madrid

In 1959 Villalonga became coach at Atlético Madrid. With Villalonga in charge and with a team that included Enrique Collar, Miguel Jones and Adelardo, Atlético defeated Real in two successive Copa del Generalísimo finals in 1960 and 1961. They also finished as runners-up in La Liga in 1961 and in 1962 they won the European Cup Winners Cup, beating Fiorentina 3-0 after a replay.

Spain

In 1962 Villalonga was appointed coach of Spain and in 1964 they won the European Championship. With a squad that included Luis Suárez, Francisco Gento, Josep Maria Fusté and José Ángel Iribar, Spain beat Romania, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the qualifying rounds before hosting the semi-finals and final. In the semi-final Spain beat Hungary 2-1. In the final they beat the USSR 2-1 in front of a crowd of 125,000 at the Bernabéu. Jesús María Pereda put Spain ahead after just six minutes but they needed a late Marcelino Martínez header to win it after Galimzian Khusainov equalised with a free-kick.

Villalonga also took Spain to the 1966 World Cup in England but was less successful. Two consecutive defeats to Germany and Argentina after a 2-1 win over Switzerland condemned Spain and Villalonga to an early return home. The defeat against the Germans was the last of his 22 games in charge of Spain.

After 1966 World Cup, Villalonga happened to devote all his time to teaching at the technical level. In 1967 he was appointed Director of the National coaches School, a position he held until his death in 1973,12 himself, was the first Teacher of football in the INEF Madrid.

He died in Madrid, as a result of a myocardial infarction on August 7, 1973, at the Age of 53.

Trophies

Real Madrid

• European Cup: 2
  • 1955–56, 1956–57
• Spanish Champions: 2
  • 1954-55, 1956–57
• Copa Latina: 2
  • 1955, 1957

Atlético Madrid

• Copa del Generalísimo: 2
  • 1960, 1961
• Spanish Champions
  • Runners Up 1960-61 1
• European Cup Winners Cup: 1
  • 1962

Spain

• European Champions: 1
  • 1964

External links

• La Liga stats
• Spain stats