_-_2.jpg) Dani in 1978 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa | ||
| Date of birth | (1951-06-28)28 June 1951 (age 74) | ||
| Place of birth | Sopuerta, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1968–1969 | Sodupe | ||
| 1969–1970 | Getxo | ||
| 1970–1971 | Villosa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1972 | Bilbao Athletic | 33 | (8) |
| 1972–1986 | Athletic Bilbao | 302 | (147) |
| 1972–1974 | →Barakaldo (loan) | 65 | (9) |
| Total | 400 | (164) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977 | Spain U21 | 1 | (3) |
| 1976 | Spain amateur | 1 | (1) |
| 1981 | Spain B | 2 | (1) |
| 1977–1981 | Spain | 25 | (10) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa (born 28 June 1951), commonly known asDani, is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
During his career, he played almost exclusively forAthletic Bilbao, scoring 199 competitive goals in more than one decade with the first team.[1]
Born inSopuerta,Biscay, Dani played youth football with various clubs in theBasque Country. He signed forAthletic Bilbao in 1971 at the age of 20, spending one season with thereserve side in theTercera División.[2]
After two years on loan at neighbouringBarakaldo CF ofSegunda División,[3] Dani returned to hisalma mater, scoring in double digits in nine of the following ten years.[4] His firstLa Liga match occurred on 29 September 1974 in a 3–0 away loss againstValencia CF and, in the1976–77 season, as theLionsreached thefinal of theUEFA Cup and theCopa del Rey,[5] also finishing third in the league, he totalled 29 goals in 46 official games; in the latter competition, over a 12-year stint at theSan Mamés Stadium, he reached the 20-goal mark twice.[4]
Dani helped Athletic to back-to-back titles in his later years (1983–84),[3] although he was only a fringe player inthe latter campaign – ten matches, three goals – due to the emergence of another youth product of the club,Manuel Sarabia. He would be further pushed down the pecking order after the first-team promotion ofJulio Salinas, and eventually retired in June 1986 at the age of 35, having scored 147 league goals from 302 appearances.[4]
Dani's total of 11goals in European competition stood as a club record for 25 years, until passed byFernando Llorente in 2012.[6] He was apenalty kick specialist.[7]
Dani earned 25caps forSpain in four years, scoring ten goals. His debut came on 21 September 1977 in a 2–1friendly win inSwitzerland.[8]
Dani represented his country at both the1978 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 1980, respectively scoring againstAustria andEngland (2–1 defeats and group-stage exit in both cases).[9][10]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 January 1978 | Santiago Bernabéu,Madrid, Spain |  Italy | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 29 March 1978 | El Molinón,Gijón, Spain |  Norway | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 26 April 1978 | Los Cármenes,Granada, Spain |  Mexico | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 3 June 1978 | José Amalfitani,Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Austria | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1978 FIFA World Cup |
| 5 | 4 April 1979 | Stadionul Central,Craiova, Romania |  Romania | 1–1 | 2–2 | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 6 | 2–2 | |||||
| 7 | 26 September 1979 | Balaídos,Vigo, Spain |  Portugal | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 23 January 1980 | Balaídos, Vigo, Spain |  Netherlands | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 9 | 18 June 1980 | San Paolo,Naples, Italy |  England | 1–1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 1980 |
| 10 | 12 November 1980 | Sarrià,Barcelona, Spain |  Poland | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Athletic Bilbao
Spain squads | |||||||
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