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Javier Clemente




As a player, Clemente made 47 La Liga appearances for Athletic Bilbao , scoring six goals, between 1968 and 1971 . He was also a member of the Athletic Bilbao team that won the ''Copa Del Generalísimo'' in 1968 . However his playing career was cut short because of injury. Clemente served his apprenticeship as a coach with Arenas Club De Getxo (1975/76) and Athletics’ reserve teams ''Baskonia'' (1976-78) and ''Bilbao Athletic'' (1980-81) before been promoted to senior team manager in 1981 .

Clemente soon set about putting together one of the most successful Athletic Bilbao teams in the clubs history. Young players from the Cantera such as Urkiaga , De Andres , Urtubi , Argote and Andoni Zubizarreta joined veterans Dani and Andoni Goikoetxea . In his first season in charge, Clemente led the team to 4th place in La Liga . In 1983 the club won La Liga and in 1984 they won a La Liga / Copa Del Rey double. In 1985 and 1986 Athletic finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Clemente’s Athletic acquired notoriety for its aggressive style of play, personified by hard man Goikoetxea . He favoured two defensive midfielders playing in front of twin centre backs and a sweeper and as a result critics regarded his teams as dour but effective.

Clemente has also managed several other La Liga clubs, most notably RCD Espanyol where he has been in charge on three separate occasions (1986-89, 1990-91 and 2002-04). In 1986/87 he led the club to 3rd in La Liga and the following season they reached the UEFA Cup final. In 1989/90 he led Atlético Madrid to 2nd in La Liga . Between 1992 and 1998 he managed Spain . He was criticised for choosing too many Basque players and was sacked after a humiliating defeat to Cyprus . During the 1998/99 season he managed Real Betis but became embroiled in controversy when he spat at a fan and implied Andalucia was ''another country''. He has subsequently managed Real Sociedad (1999-2000), Olympique Marseille (2000-01) and CD Tenerife (2001-02).


Honours


''Player''

''Manager''