Javier Clemente

Javier Clemente
Clemente in 2008
Personal information
Full name Javier Clemente Lázaro[1]
Date of birth (1950-03-12) 12 March 1950 (age 74)[1]
Place of birth Barakaldo, Spain
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Barakaldo
1966–1968 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1973 Athletic Bilbao 47 (6)
1973–1974 Bilbao Athletic 7 (0)
Total 54 (6)
International career
1968 Spain U18 2 (0)
1969–1970 Spain U23 2 (1)
Managerial career
1975–1976 Arenas Getxo
1976–1978 Basconia
1979–1981 Bilbao Athletic
1981–1986 Athletic Bilbao
1986–1989 Español
1989–1990 Atlético Madrid
1990–1991 Athletic Bilbao
1991–1992 Español
1992–1996 Spain U21
1992–1998 Spain
1998–1999 Betis
1999–2000 Real Sociedad
2000–2001 Marseille
2002 Tenerife
2002–2003 Espanyol
2005–2006 Athletic Bilbao
2006–2007 Serbia
2008 Murcia
2010 Valladolid
2010–2011 Cameroon
2012 Sporting Gijón
2013–2016 Libya
2019–2021 Basque Country
2021–2022 Libya
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain (as manager)
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up 1996
Representing  Libya (as manager)
African Nations Championship
Winner 2014
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Javier Clemente Lázaro (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ kleˈmente ˈlaθaɾo]; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.[2]

Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial appointment coming in 1975. Over the next four decades, he took charge of several club and national teams, including Athletic Bilbao which he also represented as a player, as well as Espanyol and Spain. He won the La Liga championship in 1983 and 1984 with the former.

Nicknamed El rubio de Barakaldo (The blond from Barakaldo) per his hair colour and town of origin,[3] Clemente coached the Spain national team in two World Cups and Euro 1996.

  1. ^ a b "Javier Clemente, nuevo entrenador del Sporting de Gijón" [Javier Clemente, new manager of Sporting de Gijón] (in Spanish). RTVE. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. ^ De Altea, Carmelo (10 December 1969). "Clemente, el "Bobby Charlton" español" [Clemente, Spain's "Bobby Charlton"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  3. ^ De la Rosa, Tamara (19 November 2011). "Me encanta ser el rubio de Barakaldo" [I love being the blond from Barakaldo]. Deia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2013.