Andoni Goikoetxea

Not to be confused with Jon Andoni Goikoetxea.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Goikoetxea and the second or maternal family name is Olaskoaga.

Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga (born 23 August 1956), Goiko for short, is a Spanish former football centre-back and manager.

Andoni Goikoetxea

Personal information
Full name	Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga[1]
Date of birth	(1956-08-23) 23 August 1956 (age 68)[1]
Place of birth	Alonsotegi, Spain[1]
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	Arbuyo
1973–1974	Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1973–1975	Bilbao Athletic	25	(8)
1975–1987	Athletic Bilbao	277	(35)
1987–1990	Atlético Madrid	35	(0)
Total		337	(43)
International career
1975	Spain U18	1	(0)
1977	Spain U21	3	(0)
1983	Spain amateur	1	(0)
1983–1988	Spain	39	(4)
1978–1990	Basque Country	4	(0)
Managerial career
1992–1996	Spain U21
1995	Spain U20
1996–1998	Salamanca
1998–1999	Compostela
1999–2000	Numancia
2000–2001	Racing Santander
2001	Rayo Vallecano
2004–2005	Salamanca
2005–2007	Numancia
2007–2008	Hércules
2010–2011	Ceuta
2013–2015	Equatorial Guinea
Medal record Men's football Representing  Spain (as manager) UEFA European Under-21 Championship 1994
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He was known for his aggressive play, and was nicknamed "The Butcher of Bilbao". He mainly played for Athletic Bilbao, being known as El Gigante de Alonsotegui (The Giant of Alonsotegui) among the club's fans.^[2][3]

Goikoetxea was a Spanish international in the 1980s. He won 39 caps, and represented the country in the 1986 World Cup and Euro 1984.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in Alonsotegi, Biscay, Goikoetxea began playing football with local Arbuyo before joining Athletic Bilbao in 1973 where, after starting out at the reserve side, he soon established himself in the senior team squad. He scored four La Liga goals in 27 games in his debut season, but played a lesser role in the following three years with a total of only 24 appearances.^[4]

During the 1980s, along with Dani, José Ramón Gallego, José Núñez, Manuel Sarabia and Andoni Zubizarreta, Goiko was a prominent member of the successful Bilbao side coached by Javier Clemente. In 1984 the Basque club renewed its league title, also achieving the double (league and Copa del Rey) in that year.

Maradona foul

The moment when Goikoetxea injures Maradona

On 24 September 1983, Goikoetxea achieved notoriety for a foul on Diego Maradona described as "one of the most brutal fouls ever delivered in the history of Spanish football".^[5] In a league match at the Camp Nou, he tackled the Argentine from behind and broke his ankle.^[5] Maradona compared the sound he heard to that of wood breaking^[6] and, in the aftermath, English journalist Edward Owen coined the phrase "Butcher of Bilbao" to describe Goikoetxea,^[5][6] a nickname which stayed with him for the rest of his career. Maradona's compatriot César Luis Menotti, the coach of FC Barcelona, accused the Spaniard of "belonging to a 'race of anti-footballers'" and called for a lifelong ban;^[5] he was served a ten-match ban by the Royal Spanish Football Federation.^[5] It was later reported he kept "the boot he had used to destroy...(Maradona's) ankle ligaments" at home in a glass case.^[7]

Two seasons earlier, Goikoetxea had severely injured Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster, leaving him with a serious right knee injury from which the German never fully recovered.^[8] When the two teams met in the 1984 Copa del Rey final in May, the match ended 1–0 for Athletic. Featuring in a mass brawl on the pitch, he kicked Maradona's chest;^[5][9] he was initially banned for 18 games for his actions, but the suspension was later reduced to seven.^[10]

Later career

After three years with Atlético Madrid^[11] where he featured sparingly, Goikoetxea retired aged 33. He appeared in 369 competitive matches for Athletic, netting 44 times.^[12]

International career

Goikoetxea played 39 matches with Spain, making his debut against the Netherlands on 16 February 1983.^[13] He represented the nation at both UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup. During the latter competition he scored one of his four international goals, through a penalty in a round-of-16 5–1 win against Denmark – the remaining four came courtesy of Emilio Butragueño.^[14]

Coaching career

Goikoetxea became a coach two years after retiring, starting to work at club level in 1996 and going on to be in charge of UD Salamanca (twice),^[15][16] SD Compostela, CD Numancia (two spells),^[17][18] Racing de Santander^[19] and Rayo Vallecano.^[20] In the 1996–97 season he guided Salamanca to promotion from the Segunda División, finishing second. He was assistant with the Spain national team to his former manager Clemente, during the 1994 World Cup held in the United States.^[21]

In June 2007, Goikoetxea joined Alicante-based Hércules CF in the second tier,^[22] being released at the end of the campaign after being suspended by the club for implying its internal structures "stank".^[23] In late February 2013 he was appointed coach of Equatorial Guinea,^[24] being dismissed in January 2015 just three weeks before the start of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations due to poor performance in friendlies, which included a loss to a lower league side in Portugal.^[25]

Style of play

Goikoetxea was notorious for his aggressive style of play,^{[26][27][28][29]} not least because of the two heavy fouls (see Maradona foul) on Maradona and Schuster which earned him the nickname "Butcher of Bilbao". In 2007, English newspaper The Times named him the "hardest defender of all time".^[6][7]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[30]

Club	Season	League			Copa del Rey		Europe		Other[a]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bilbao Athletic	1973–74	Tercera División	4	0	0	0	–		–		4	0
	1974–75		21	8	0	0	–		–		21	8
	Total		25	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	8
Athletic Bilbao	1974–75	La Liga	0	0	2	0	–		–		2	0
	1975–76		27	4	1	0	–		–		28	4
	1976–77		10	0	2	0	4[b]	0	–		16	0
	1977–78		4	1	0	0	3[b]	0	–		7	1
	1978–79		10	1	3	0	0	0	–		13	1
	1979–80		30	3	12	4	–		–		42	7
	1980–81		27	4	9	1	–		–		36	5
	1981–82		31	6	7	0	–		0	0	38	6
	1982–83		24	4	5	0	1[b]	0	2	0	32	4
	1983–84		28	2	7	0	4[c]	1	0	0	39	3
	1984–85		31	3	6	2	2[c]	0	2	0	41	5
	1985–86		31	5	6	1	6[b]	0	–		43	6
	1986–87		24	2	5	0	3[b]	0	–		32	2
	Total		277	35	65	8	23	1	4	0	369	44
Atlético Madrid	1987–88	La Liga	13	0	4	0	–		–		17	0
	1988–89		14	0	8	0	0	0	–		22	0
	1989–90		8	0	0	0	2[b]	0	–		10	0
	Total		35	0	12	0	2	0	0	0	49	0
Career total			337	43	77	8	25	1	4	0	443	52

1. Appearances in Copa de la Liga
2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
3. Appearances in European Cup

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Goikoetxea goal.^[13]

List of international goals scored by Andoni Goikoetxea

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 May 1984	Charmilles, Geneva, Switzerland	Switzerland	4–0	4–0	Friendly
2	14 November 1984	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1–2	1–3	1986 World Cup qualification
3	18 June 1986	La Corregidora, Querétaro, Mexico	Denmark	3–1	5–1	1986 FIFA World Cup
4	15 October 1986	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	West Germany	2–2	2–2	Friendly

Honours

Player

Athletic Bilbao

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

Spain

• UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1984

Manager

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1996; third place 1994