Andoni Elizondo

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 March 1986(1986-03-23) (aged 53)
Place of death	San Sebastián, Spain
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(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.

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

• Segunda División: 1966–67

References

1. Date of birth is unclear as several sources indicate he was 52 years old when he died in 1986
2. Fallecio Andoni Elizondo (Andoni Elizondo Died); El Mundo Deportivo, 24 February 1986 (in Spanish)
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

External links

• Andoni Elizondo at BDFutbol
• Andoni Elizondo manager profile at BDFutbol