Alejandro de la Sota (footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is de la Sota and the second or maternal family name is Izagirre.
Alejandro de la Sota
7th President of Athletic club
In office
1911–1917
Personal details
Born1881
Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, Spain
Died8 February 1963(1963-02-08) (aged 81–82)
Association football career
Full name Alejandro de la Sota Izagirre
Position(s) forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1902–1905 Athletic Club
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alejandro de la Sota Izagirre (1881 – 8 February 1963) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Athletic Club.[1] He was one of the most important figures in the early history of Athletic, having been one of its co-founders in 1901, as well as a team captain, and then serving as the seventh president of the club, ruling from 1911 and 1917, becoming one of the most successful and influential presidents of the Basque club.[2]

Under de la Sota's leadership, Athletic Bilbao achieved its greatest economic and sporting successes, becoming a dominant team on the national level, winning three back-to-back Copa del Rey titles between 1914 and 1916. One of his main achievements was getting the funds for the construction of the San Mamés Stadium, which opened in 1913 and was very important in the club's supremacy in the 1910s.[3]

  1. ^ "Alejandro de la Sota Izagirre - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Los primeros años de foot-ball en Bilbao" [The first years of football in Bilbao]. memoriasclubdeportivodebilbao.blogspot.com (in Spanish). 8 September 2016. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Athletic Club - Historia (1898-1913)" [Athletic Club - History (1898-1913)]. 28 February 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 18 November 2022.