.JPG) Zubizarreta in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta | ||
| Date of birth | (1961-10-23)23 October 1961 (age 64) | ||
| Place of birth | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1978 | Aretxabaleta | ||
| 1978–1979 | Alavés | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1980 | Alavés B | 32 | (0) |
| 1980–1981 | Alavés | 0 | (0) |
| 1981 | Bilbao Athletic | 7 | (0) |
| 1981–1986 | Athletic Bilbao | 169 | (0) |
| 1986–1994 | Barcelona | 301 | (0) |
| 1994–1998 | Valencia | 152 | (0) |
| Total | 661 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1979–1980 | Spain U18 | 12 | (0) |
| 1981 | Spain U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 1979–1984 | Spain U21 | 17 | (0) |
| 1984 | Spain amateur | 1 | (0) |
| 1985–1998 | Spain | 126 | (0) |
| 1993–1997 | Basque Country | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (Basque pronunciation:[andonis̻uβis̻aretaureta],Spanish:[anˈdoniθuβiˈθaretawˈreta]; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper.
The mostcapped player for theSpain national team for several years, he played with individual and team success forAthletic Bilbao andBarcelona (eight years with the latter, he would later work with the club in directorial capacities), appearing in more than 950 official professional matches during his club career[1][2] and holding therecords for most appearances[3] andclean sheets inLa Liga for several years.[4]
Zubizarreta represented Spain in seven major international tournaments, fourWorld Cups and threeEuropean Championships, starting in six of those. He won theEuropean Cup with Barcelona in1992 and sixLa Liga titles, two with Athletic and four with Barcelona.
Born inVitoria-Gasteiz,Álava, Zubizarreta spent his childhood inAretxabaleta inGipuzkoa, where he began his football career. After a brief passage at anotherBasque club,Alavés,[5] he joinedAthletic Bilbao,[6] where he would spend the following six seasons.
Zubizarreta's debut inLa Liga occurred on 19 September 1981 as managerJavier Clemente handed him a start in a 2–0 away loss againstAtlético Madrid, one month shy of his 20th birthday. He went on to be an undisputed starter for the remainder of his spell, being an instrumental part in the team's conquests, most notably the back-to-back national championships.[7][8][9]
In 1986, Zubizarreta signed withBarcelona for a record for a player in the position€1.7 million,[10][11] quickly removing establishedUrruti from the starting lineup and rarely missing a match afterwards – for example, only four over theCatalans' four consecutive league wins. He added their first everEuropean Cup in1992, following a 1–0 win overSampdoria.[12]
After the1993–94 UEFA Champions League, whereBarça lost 4–0 toAC Milan inthe final, Zubizarreta was deemed surplus to requirements[13] and finished his career atValencia, still playing at a high level. He retired after the1997–98 campaign at nearly 37, having played in over1,000 competitive games (622 in the league alone – the all-time record – conceding 626 goals).[14]
Zubizarreta was named Barcelona'sdirector of football by presidentSandro Rosell on 2 July 2010, taking over from former club and national teammateTxiki Begiristain.[15] Over the previous decade he had served Athletic Bilbao in the same capacity (being involved in the establishment of theclub's women's team in 2002),[16][17][18] while also working as a radio and television commentator.
On 5 January 2015, Zubizarreta was sacked as Barcelonasporting director by club presidentJosep Maria Bartomeu.[19] On 27 October 2016, he signed withLigue 1 sideMarseille in the same capacity,[20] leaving four years later by mutual consent.[21]
FollowingAndré Villas-Boas' election as president ofPorto on 28 April 2024, Zubizarreta became its director of football.[22] In August 2025, he left his post by mutual agreement.[23]
Zubizarreta made his debut forSpain on 23 January 1985, in a 3–1friendly victory overFinland. He went on to collect a further 125caps in the following 13 years.[24]
Zubizarreta represented the nation in four consecutiveFIFA World Cups:1986,[25]1990,1994 and1998 – his last competition, where he scored anown goal in a 3–2 group stage loss againstNigeria[26]– also appearing, always as a starter, atUEFA Euro 1988 and1996. He and his deputyFrancisco Buyo once held the national team record for the longest unbeaten run in international games, untilIker Casillas andPepe Reina broke that record in October 2008;[27] he was also surpassed by the former in total of caps on 15 November 2011.[28]
Zubizarreta played four matches with the unofficialBasque Country regional side.[29]
Nicknamed "Zubi" throughout his career, Zubizarreta was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his prime, and was considered to be one of Spain's and Barcelona's greatest and most successful goalkeepers ever. He was highly consistent, level-headed and effective, with an excellent positional sense above all things, and he favoured an efficient rather than spectacular style although he was also capable of producing decisive saves due to his good shot-stopping abilities. He also stood out for his intelligence, composure and charismatic leadership in goal, which enabled him to organise his back-line and inspire a sense of calm and confidence in his defenders; he was also known for his work-rate and longevity, as well as his ability to rush off his line.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]
In spite of Barcelona's passing-based playing style underJohan Cruyff, which also saw his defenders and goalkeepers given more responsibilities in terms of retaining possession and playing the ball out from the back, Zubizarreta was not particularly adept with the ball at his feet. His limited technical skills were a frequent source of criticism from his manager, and eventually led to the former's departure from the club in 1994.[37][38][39]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Alavés B | 1979–80 | Tercera División | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| Bilbao Athletic | 1980–81 | Segunda División B | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | 1981–82 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 11 | 0 | – | – | 45 | 0 | ||
| 1982–83 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
| 1983–84 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 1984–85 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 0 | |
| 1985–86 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| Total | 169 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 239 | 0 | ||
| Barcelona | 1986–87 | La Liga | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 54 | 0 | |
| 1987–88 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 55 | 0 | ||
| 1988–89 | La Liga | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 48 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 0 | |
| 1991–92 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 0 | |
| 1992–93 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| Total | 301 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 68 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 410 | 0 | ||
| Valencia | 1994–95 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | – | 48 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | La Liga | 39 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | – | 47 | 0 | |||
| 1996–97 | La Liga | 41 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 49 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 0 | |||
| Total | 152 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 184 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 661 | 0 | 104 | 0 | 88 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 872 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 1985 | 6 | 0 |
| 1986 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 13 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1990 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1991 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 13 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 126 | 0 | |
Athletic Bilbao
Barcelona
Spain Under-21
Individual
Spain squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
