Andoni Elizondo

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Andoni Elizondo
Personal information
Full name Andoni Elizondo Mendiola
Date of birth(1932-08-05)5 August 1932
Place of birth San Sebastián, Spain
Date of death 23 February 1986(1986-02-23) (aged 53)
Place of death San Sebastián, Spain
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1952–1964 Real Sociedad 241
Managerial career
1966–1970 Real Sociedad
1971–1972 Real Sociedad
1974–1976 Real Sociedad
1979 Basque Country
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Andoni Elizondo Mendiola (5 August 1932 [1] - 23 February 1986 [2] [3] ) was a Spanish football defender and coach.

Contents

Playing career

A product of the academy system, he played for Real Sociedad between 1952 and 1964. [4] His last two seasons were in the second level after suffering relegation in 1962. Elizondo played a total of 241 matches for Real Sociedad. [3] He played a single game for his national team's B side in 1958 against Portugal. [2] [5]

Coaching career

It was Elizondo himself who took Real Sociedad up in his first year in charge as a manager. Elizondo intermittently managed the club over the span of a decade that transformed the club. Under his reign Real Sociedad stabilized in the top division and played in the Uefa cup twice, in his last two seasons. [6] This was the first time in the club's history it played in a European competition. He also took Real Sociedad to the semifinals of the Copa del Generalísimo twice, in 1969 and 1976. Elizondo coached the team for a total of 234 matches. [3]

He was part of a managing team that in 1979 led the Basque Country in a friendly against Ireland. [7]

His brother, Joseba, managed Real sociedad in 1961. [8]

Honours

Manager

Real Sociedad

References

  1. Date of birth is unclear as several sources indicate he was 52 years old when he died in 1986
  2. 1 2 Fallecio Andoni Elizondo (Andoni Elizondo Died); El Mundo Deportivo, 24 February 1986 (in Spanish)
  3. 1 2 3 El testamento de Andoni Elizondo (Andoni Elizondo's will); El Diario Vasco, 2 July 2011 (in Spanish)
  4. Elizondo as a player; Bdfutbol.com
  5. Portugal(B),0-España(B),0; El Mundo Deportivo, 13 April 1958 (in Spanish)
  6. Elizondo as a manager; Bdfutbol.com
  7. Cuarenta años después, vuelve la selección de Euskadi (40 years later the Euskadi team is back); El País, 16 August 1979 (in Spanish)
  8. Joseba Elizondo as a manager; Bdfutbol.com