Isaac Oceja

Last updated
Isaac Oceja
Personal information
Full name Isaac Oceja Oceja
Date of birth(1915-05-29)29 May 1915
Place of birth Escalante, Spain
Date of death 27 September 2000(2000-09-27) (aged 85)
Place of death Barakaldo, Spain
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1933–1948 Athletic Bilbao 186 (1)
1948–1949 Zaragoza ? (?)
International career
1941–1942 Spain 4 (0)
Managerial career
1948–1949 Alavés
1949 Zaragoza
1954–1960 Cultural Durango
1961–1965 Cultural Durango
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Isaac Oceja Oceja [1] (1915-2000) was a Spanish football player and coach. He is most known for the 15 years he spent at Athletic Bilbao.

Contents

Playing career

Club

Born in Cantabria but raised from a young age in Biscay, [2] [3] [4] Oceja's early amateur teams included hometown club Cultural Durango, SD Lemona and CD Basconia. [4] Although naturally right-footed, he learned to play equally well using his left foot and played on that side of the defence upon turning professional with Athletic Bilbao. [2] [4] His début in La Liga was on 6 January 1935, in a game against Real Madrid where Athletic won 4–1. [4] When the Spanish Civil War interrupted the normal football processes, Oceja spent time playing for Barakaldo CF. [4] Returning to Bilbao following the conflict, the club was faced with rebuilding a squad using several young players, and refused to sanction the transfer of the more experienced Oceja to FC Barcelona, an offer which would have greatly increased his salary. [2] [4]

He was noted for his elegance on the field and disciplined manner off it. In his career with Athletic he played a total of 239 games (186 in the league), winning a league title in 1935–36 and two consecutive Copas de Generalísimo in 1943 and 1944, the latter as captain. [4] He took no part in the 1942–43 La Liga season where his team finished as champions, having been seriously injured (a ruptured medial meniscus) playing for Spain against France in March 1942, [4] although he recovered to participate in the victorious 1943 Cup campaign, and a double lower leg fracture caused him to miss out on a likely third Cup final appearance in 1945. [2] [4] Due to his injury lay-offs, Athletic tied him to a 'pay as you play' contract, [2] [4] and Oceja admitted that due to his dissatisfaction with the situation he refused to play in a crucial league clash against Valencia CF in 1947 (having been involved in every other match that season); in his absence, Los Ché won the match and went on to secure the title over Athletic on head-to-head results after finishing level on points. [4]

International

He received four call-ups for the Spain national team. He made his debut at 12 January 1941 at his 'home' stadium San Mamés in a friendly match against Portugal (2–2), in which his defensive colleague at Athletic Bilbao, Juan José Mieza, also appeared for the first time. [5] [2] [4]

Coaching

Oceja retired from playing in 1949 after a short stint at Real Zaragoza. The next season, he assumed the role of coach for the Aragonese team, then languishing in the Tercera División, and helped them to achieve promotion. [4] His stint at La Rosaleda did not last long after that achievement, and despite having secured the relevant coaching qualifications, his only later forays into management were two spells with Durango in the lower leagues during the 1950s and 60s. [4]

Honours

Athletic Bilbao [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletic Bilbao</span> Spanish professional football club

Athletic Club, commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a Spanish professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as Los Leones because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés, which was named after Saint Mammes, an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. Mammes pacified the lions and was later made a saint. The team plays its home matches at the San Mamés Stadium. Its home colours are red and white-striped shirts with black shorts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telmo Zarra</span> Spanish footballer (1921–2006)

Pedro Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya, known as Zarra, was a Spanish football forward. He spent the majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao, from 1940 to 1955, for whom he remains the top scorer in competitive matches with 335 goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillermo Gorostiza</span> Spanish footballer

Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bata (footballer)</span> Spanish footballer

Agustín Sauto Arana, known as Bata, was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josep Samitier</span> Spanish football player and manager (1902–1972)

Josep Samitier Vilalta, also known as José Samitier, was a Spanish football player, manager and scout who played as a midfielder for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, OGC Nice, the Catalan XI, and Spain. He later coached Atlético Madrid, Nice and Barcelona and worked as a scout for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Agustín Gaínza Vicandi was a Spanish football forward and manager.

Félix Sesúmaga Ugarte was a Spanish (Basque) footballer who played as a forward for Arenas Club de Getxo, FC Barcelona, Racing de Sama de Langreo, Athletic Bilbao and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferenc Plattkó</span> Football player (1898–1982)

Ferenc Plattkó, also known as Ferenc Platko or Francisco Platko was a Hungarian footballer and manager of Austrian origin. During the 1910s and 1920s he played as a goalkeeper for Vasas SC, WAC Vienna, KAFK Kula, MTK Hungária FC, FC Barcelona, and Recreativo de Huelva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dani (footballer, born 1951)</span> Spanish footballer

Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa, commonly known as Dani, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a striker.

Carmelo Cedrún Ochandátegui is a Spanish former football goalkeeper and manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andoni Cedrún</span> Spanish footballer (born 1960)

Andoni Cedrún Ibarra is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Rafael Iriondo Aurtenetxea was a Spanish football forward and manager.

Sabino Barinaga Alberdi was a Spanish football forward and manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafuente (footballer, born 1907)</span> Spanish footballer

Ramón de la Fuente Leal, nicknamed Lafuente was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Athletic Bilbao, Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team.

Jesús Iñigo Liceranzu Otxoa is a Spanish former professional football central defender and manager.

Antón Arieta-Araunabeña Piedra, known as Arieta, was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

José Ramón Gallego Souto is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koldo Aguirre</span> Spanish footballer and manager (1939–2019)

Luis María "Koldo" Aguirre Vidaurrázaga was a Spanish football midfielder and manager.

Manuel "Manolo" Suárez de Begoña was a Spanish footballer and manager who played as forward for Arenas Getxo and Athletic Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David de Paula</span> Spanish footballer

David de Paula Gallardo is a Spanish footballer who plays as a midfielder.

References

  1. ↑ Oceja: Isaac Oceja Oceja, BDFutbol
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Isaac Oceja, el Samitier de la defensa bilbaína" [Isaac Oceja, the Samitier of the Bilbao defence]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 29 January 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. ↑ "El alirón en las venas" [The roar in the blood]. Naiz (in Spanish). 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 José Ignacio Corcuera (4 September 2016). "Oceja, el futbolista digno" [Oceja, the worthy footballer] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  5. ↑ "Fútbol en la Red". Archived from the original on 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.