| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Antonio Morante Gutiérrez | ||
| Date of birth | (1944-06-07)7 June 1944 (age 81) | ||
| Place of birth | Rafal, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1965 | Elche B | ||
| 1965–1968 | Elche | 72 | (4) |
| 1968–1971 | Español | 89 | (3) |
| 1971–1975 | Valencia | 97 | (2) |
| 1975–1977 | Albacete | ||
| 1977–1978 | Crevillente Deportivo | ||
| 1978–1979 | Alicante | ||
| 1979–1982 | Elche B | ||
| 1982–1983 | Elche | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 260+ | (9+) | |
| International career | |||
| 1972 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1989 | Elche (caretaker) | ||
| 1990 | Elche | ||
| 1992–1993 | Elche | ||
| 2003 | Elche (caretaker) | ||
| 2004 | Elche | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
José Antonio Morante Gutiérrez (born 6 July 1944), known asLico, is a Spanish formerfootball player andmanager.
He achievedLa Liga totals of 223 games and 7 goals as amidfielder forElche,Español andValencia. He played one game forSpain in 1972.
Lico had several brief spells as manager of Elche in each of the top three divisions of theSpanish football league system, spanning 15 years.
Born inRafal in theProvince of Alicante, Lico played in the youth ranks of nearbyElche. When he was considering emigrating to work in Germany, he was promoted to the first team by managerOtto Bumbel, who gave him his professional debut inLa Liga on 19 December 1965 in a 2–0 home win overPontevedra.[1]
In July 1968, Lico transferred toEspañol for a fee of 11 millionSpanish pesetas and played three seasons at theBarcelona-based club, the last of which in theSegunda División. He then moved to league championsValencia, managed byAlfredo Di Stéfano, for 5 million, in a deal that sawManuel Polinario transfer in the other direction.[1][2] Lico played in the1972 Copa del Generalísimo final, which his team lost 2–1 toAtlético Madrid on 8 July.[3]
After leaving theMestalla Stadium, Lico played in the lower leagues forAlbacete,Crevillente Deportivo,Alicante and a brief return to second-tier Elche before retiring.[1]
Lico was a Spanish international atunder-21,under-23,amateur and military level.[1] He earned his onlycap for thesenior team on 12 January 1972 in a 1–0friendly win overHungary in theSantiago Bernabeu Stadium.[4]
Lico was assistant manager toLászló Kubala – who had given him his international debut – at Elche.[5] At the end of March 1989, the Hungarian left theFranjiverdes by mutual consent, and Lico was put in temporary charge alongsidereserve team managerJuan Carlos Lezcano.[6] On 2 April, Lico lost on his debut 3–1 away to Atlético Madrid,[7] and Lezcano took over once his paperwork was complete, for the rest of theseason that ended in relegation.[8]
In April 1990, Lico was hired as Elche's third manager of thesecond-tier campaign, after the sacking of Evaristo Carrió. The team were one point above the relegation zone with seven games to play.[9] He kept the team in the league, but was fired at the end of November and replaced by Argentine Gustavo Silva.[10]
On 21 December 2003, Lico oversaw Elche's 2–1 loss atAlavés between the tenures ofCarlos García Cantarero andOscar Ruggeri.[11] The Argentine was sacked in May with the club in a relegation fight, and Lico took over for the last five games.[12] He kept the side in the division, managing to ensure that the last game was adead rubber.[13]