Javier Irureta

Javier Irureta strikes me as a two-life football man, and both lives were serious. As an attacking midfielder he played 344 La Liga games for Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao and scored 70 goals, which is a real return for a player who created as much as he finished. Then he reinvented himself on the touchline, managing several top-flight Spanish clubs, most famously Deportivo. I always find the player-turned-manager who actually wins more interesting than the one who only coaches, because they carry the dressing room in their bones. Irureta did both at the highest level Spanish football offers, and that earns my respect.

Javier Iruretagoyena Amiano (born 1 April 1948), Irureta for short, is a Spanish retired football attacking midfielder and manager. He had a distinguished playing career with Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, playing in 344 La Liga games for both teams combined and scoring 70 goals. Irureta managed several Spanish top flight clubs, most notably Deportivo.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

Javier Irureta

Name (Japanese)

ハビエル・イルレタ

Reading

はびえる・いるれた

Born

April 1, 1948 (age 78)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aries / Rat

Origin

Irun, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Blood type

Private

Height

176 cm

Agency

Private

Occupation

association football player / association football coach

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8F%E3%83%93%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%83%AC%E3%82%BF

Tags

• Gipuzkoa
• association football player
• association football coach

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.