José María Amorrortu

José María Amorrortu
Personal information
Full name	José María Amorrortu Prieto
Date of birth	22 July 1953 (age 71)
Place of birth	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1971–1972	Indautxu
1972–1973	Getxo
1973–1978	Athletic Bilbao
1978–1983	Zaragoza
Total
International career
1977	Spain U21
Managerial career
1983–1984	Balsas Picarral
1984	Zaragoza (youth)
1984–1985	Iturrigorri
1985–1987	Amorebieta
1987–1989	Barakaldo
1989–1990	Durango
1991–1992	Athletic Bilbao (youth)
1992–1994	Biscay
1994–1995	Bilbao Athletic
1995	Athletic Bilbao
2003–2004	Eibar
2004–2006	Real Sociedad
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José María Amorrortu Prieto (born 22 July 1953) is a Spanish former football forward and manager.

Playing career

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Amorrortu signed with Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 1973 from neighbouring amateurs CD Getxo. He went on to spend five seasons in La Liga with the former club, making his debut on 2 September 1973 in a 2–1 away loss against RC Celta de Vigo.^[1] He added 11 appearances in the runner-up run in the 1976–77 edition of the UEFA Cup, featuring in the 2–1 home win over Juventus FC in the second leg of the final.^[2]

After only 13 games in the 1977–78 campaign, Amorrortu signed with Real Zaragoza also in the top division. He scored a career-best (at the professional level) ten goals in his first year, but his team could only finish in 14th position; until his retirement in 1983, aged only 30, he competed solely in that tier.^[3]

Coaching career

Amorrortu began working as a coach immediately after retiring, spending his first decade in the Segunda División B or lower and also working at youth level, notably with Athletic Bilbao, where he was credited for bringing Fernando Llorente to the club.^[4] His first season at the professional level was 1994–95, when he was in charge of Bilbao Athletic in the Segunda División. Additionally, he had short spells as caretaker manager for their senior team in 1995 and 1996.

After leaving Athletic, Amorrortu became manager of SD Eibar also from the Basque Country (second tier), signing a two-year contract with Real Sociedad on 3 June 2004^[5] and being fired in late January 2006.^[6] From 2006 until 2011 he acted as director of Atlético Madrid's academy^[7] before returning to the same role at Athletic Bilbao,^[8] departing at the end of 2018 when Aitor Elizegi was elected president and implemented personnel changes.^[9]^[10]

Amorrortu also spent time as coach of the unofficial Basque Country regional side, for which he also featured and scored as a player.^[11]^[12]

Honours

Player

Athletic Bilbao

Copa del Rey runner-up: 1976–77^[13]
UEFA Cup runner-up: 1976–77^[14]

Manager

Barakaldo

Tercera División: 1987–88

References

^ "2–1: El Celta presionó mucho más que el Bilbao" [2–1: Celta pressed much more than Bilbao]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 3 September 1973. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
^ Castillo, José Javier (19 May 1977). "2–1: Al Athletic le faltó una chispa de inspiración" [2–1: Athletic lacked spark of inspiration]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 April 2017.
^ Roy Martínez, J. (2 February 2015). "José María Amorrortu: "Aquel Zaragoza era un grupo de amigos que disfrutaba del fútbol"" [José María Amorrortu: "That Zaragoza was a group of friends who enjoyed football"]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
^ "Amorrortu: "Llorente es más que un jugador del Athletic"" [Amorrortu: "Llorente is more than an Athletic player"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 25 August 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ Isasa, Xabier (3 June 2004). "Amorrortu, nuevo técnico tras el cese de Denoueix" [Amorrortu, new manager after sacking of Denoueix] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ "Gonzalo Arconada sustituye a Amorrotu como entrenador de la Real Sociedad" [Gonzalo Arconada replaces Amorrotu as Real Sociedad manager]. El Correo (in Spanish). 30 January 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ "García Pitarch, nuevo director deportivo del At.Madrid y Amorrortu, responsable del fútbol base" [García Pitarch, new At.Madrid sporting director and Amorrortu, head of youth football] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 28 May 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ Velasco, Juanma (9 June 2015). "Amorrortu coge fuerza cuando hacía las maletas" [Amorrortu gets stronger just when he was packing]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ "Amorrortu, a life in red and white". Athletic Bilbao. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
^ Zaballa, Carlos (2 January 2019). "Amorrortu llega a un acuerdo "amistoso" para salir del Athletic" [Amorrortu reaches a "friendly" agreement to leave Athletic]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2019.
^ "Amorrortu, nuevo seleccionador de Euskadi" [Amorrortu, new manager of Euskadi]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ "Catalunya 0–1 Euskal Selekzioa" [Catalonia 0–1 Basque XI] (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ Rovira, Ramón (26 June 1977). "2–2: Los andaluces remontaron dos ventajas vascas" [2–2: The Andalusians countered Basques' advantage twice]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ "Athletic 2–1 Juventus". UEFA. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2017.