Santiago Idígoras
Idígoras in 1981
Personal information
Full name Santiago Idígoras Bilbao
Date of birth (1953-06-24) 24 June 1953
Place of birth Oñati, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Real Sociedad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1974 San Sebastián
1974–1981 Real Sociedad 204 (39)
1981–1982 Puebla 34 (12)
1982–1983 Valencia 16 (4)
1983–1985 Alavés
International career
1975–1976 Spain amateur 6 (1)
1977 Spain U21 2 (0)
1977 Spain 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Santiago Idígoras Bilbao (born 24 July 1953) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a forward or left winger.

Club career

Born in Oñati, Gipuzkoa, Idígoras was a product of local Real Sociedad's youth system. After two seasons with the reserves he was promoted to the first team for the 1974–75 campaign, making his La Liga debut on 15 September 1974 in a 0–1 away loss against Celta de Vigo on 15 September 1974,[1] and finishing his first year with 25 games and four goals as the Txuriurdin finished in fourth position.

Idígoras was a very important first-team member for the Basques during his seven-year spell, never appearing in less than 25 league matches and helping them to the 1981 national championship, with the player contributing with 29 games – 21 starts – and three goals; due to his physical appearance (pale white and blond), he was given the nickname El Vikingo de Oñati (Viking from Oñati).[2]

Idígoras left Real Sociedad after that conquest, having appeared in a total of 255 official games for the club (47 goals), and signed for Puebla F.C. in Mexico.[3] He was offered a hefty contract as the club was trying to build up a championship-caliber team that year, and joined compatriots Juan Manuel Asensi (ex-FC Barcelona) and Pirri (Real Madrid), but La Franja eventually did not qualify for the playoff rounds.

In the 1982 summer, after one sole season abroad, Idígoras returned to Spain and joined Valencia CF, teaming up with Mario Kempes. He struggled during the season, losing his starting position midway through the campaign, with the Che also finishing in 15th position.

Idígoras closed his career in 1985 at the age of 32 after two years with Deportivo Alavés in the third division, helping the side to two consecutive third-place finishes, albeit without playoff promotion.

International career

Idígoras earned one cap for Spain, playing 45 minutes in a 1–0 win against Republic of Ireland on 9 February 1977, in a friendly in Dublin.[4] He also represented the country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, with the tournament ending in group stage elimination.

Post-retirement

After retiring, Idígoras ran a gym in San Sebastián, in his native region.[2]

Honours

Real Sociedad

References

  1. ↑ "1–0: El Celta, mejor que la Real Sociedad" [1–0: Celta, better than Real Sociedad]. Mundo Deportivo. 16 September 1974. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Detrás de la fama no siempre hay un retiro dorado" [Not always a golden retirement behind fame]. El Diario Vasco. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "Equipo Puebla 1980–81" [Puebla team 1980–81] (in Spanish). Puebla80s Blogspot. May 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "0–1: En el primer tiempo, el lado bueno" [0–1: In first half, the good side]. Mundo Deportivo. 10 February 1977. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.