Andoni Zubizarreta

Andoni Zubizarreta

Zubizarreta in 1996
Personal information
Full name	Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta
Date of birth	(1961-10-23) 23 October 1961
Place of birth	Vitoria, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1976–1978	Aretxabaleta
1978–1979	Alavés
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1980	Alavés B
1980–1981	Alavés	0	(0)
1981	Bilbao Athletic	7	(0)
1981–1986	Athletic Bilbao	169	(0)
1986–1994	Barcelona	301	(0)
1994–1998	Valencia	152	(0)
Total		629	(0)
International career
1979–1980	Spain U18	12	(0)
1981	Spain U19	1	(0)
1979–1984	Spain U21	17	(0)
1984	Spain amateur	1	(0)
1985–1998	Spain	126	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Zubizarreta and the second or maternal family name is Urreta.

Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (Basque: [anˈdoni s̻uβiˈs̻areta uˈreta], Spanish: [anˈdoni θuβiˈθareta uˈreta]; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

The all-time most capped player for the Spanish national team for several years, he played with individual and team success for Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona (eight years with the latter, he would later work with the club in directorial capacities), appearing in more than 950 official professional matches during his club career.

Zubizarreta represented Spain in seven major international tournaments, four World Cups and three European Championships, starting in six of those.

Club career

Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Zubizarreta spent his childhood in Aretxabaleta in Gipuzkoa, where he began his football trade. After a brief passage at another Basque club, Deportivo Alavés, he joined Athletic Bilbao, where he would spend the following six seasons.

Zubizarreta's debut in La Liga occurred on 19 September 1981 as manager Javier Clemente handed him a start in a 0–2 away loss against Atlético Madrid, one month shy of his 20th birthday. He would be an undisputed starter for the remainder of his tenure, being an instrumental element in the club's conquests, most notably the back-to-back national championships.

In 1986 Zubizarreta signed with FC Barcelona, for a record for a player in the position €1.7 million, quickly removing established Urruti from the starting post and rarely missing a match onwards – for example, only four in the Catalan's four consecutive league wins combined. He added the club's first ever European Cup in 1992, a 1–0 win over U.C. Sampdoria.

After the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, where Barça lost 0–4 to A.C. Milan in the final, Zubi was deemed surplus to requirements and finished his career at Valencia CF, again at a high level. He retired after the 1997–98 campaign at nearly 37, having played in more than 950 official games (622 in the league alone – all-time best – conceding 626 goals).

On 2 July 2010, Zubizarreta was named Barcelona's director of football by incumbent president Sandro Rosell, taking over from former club and national teammate Txiki Begiristain. In the previous decade he had served in the same capacity at Athletic Bilbao, also working as a radio and television commentator.

On 5 January 2015, Zubizarreta was sacked as Barcelona director of football by club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

International career

Zubizarreta made his debut for Spain on 23 January 1985 in a 3–1 friendly victory with Finland, going on to collect a further 125 caps in the following 13 years.

He represented the nation in four consecutive FIFA World Cups: 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998 – his last competition, where he scored an own goal in a 2–3 group stage loss against Nigeria– also appearing, always as a starter, at UEFA Euro 1988 and 1996. Zubizarreta and his deputy Paco Buyo once held the national team record for the longest unbeaten run in international games, until Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina broke that record in October 2008; he was also surpassed by the former in total of caps on 15 November 2011.

Statistics

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Athletic Bilbao	1981–82	34	0	11	0	-	-	-	-	45	0
	1982–83	34	0	8	0	2	0	4	0	48	0
	1983–84	34	0	9	0	4	0	2	0	49	0
	1984–85	33	0	12	0	2	0	4	0	51	0
	1985–86	34	0	6	0	6	0	0	0	46	0
	Total	169	0	46	0	14	0	10	0	239	0
Barcelona	1986–87	44	0	2	0	8	0	-	-	54	0
	1987–88	38	0	9	0	8	0	-	-	55	0
	1988–89	36	0	2	0	9	0	2	0	49	0
	1989–90	35	0	7	0	6	0	-	-	48	0
	1990–91	38	0	6	0	8	0	2	0	54	0
	1991–92	38	0	0	0	11	0	2	0	51	0
	1992–93	38	0	6	0	6	0	3	0	53	0
	1993–94	34	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	46	0
	Total	301	0	32	0	68	0	9	0	410	0
Valencia	1994–95	38	0	10	0	-	-	-	-	48	0
	1995–96	39	0	8	0	-	-	-	-	47	0
	1996–97	41	0	2	0	6	0	-	-	49	0
	1997–98	34	0	6	0	-	-	-	-	40	0
	Total	152	0	26	0	6	0	0	0	184	0
Career totals		622	0	104	0	88	0	19	0	833	0

International

Spain
Year	Apps	Goals
1985	6	0
1986	12	0
1987	7	0
1988	13	0
1989	8	0
1990	11	0
1991	8	0
1992	9	0
1993	9	0
1994	13	0
1995	9	0
1996	10	0
1997	6	0
1998	5	0
Total	126	0

Honours

Club

Athletic Bilbao

• La Liga: 1982–83, 1983–84
• Copa del Rey: 1983–84
• Supercopa de España: 1984

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
• Copa del Rey: 1987–88, 1989–90
• Supercopa de España: 1991, 1992
• European Cup: 1991–92
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89
• UEFA Super Cup: 1992

Individual

• Don Balón Award: 1987
• Zamora Trophy: 1986–87

External links

• Andoni Zubizarreta profile at BDFutbol
• Athletic Bilbao profile
• CiberChe biography and stats (Spanish)
• National team data (Spanish)
• Andoni Zubizarreta at National-Football-Teams.com
• Andoni Zubizarreta – FIFA competition record