Pedro María Zabalza

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Zabalza and the second or maternal family name is Inda.
Pedro María Zabalza
Personal information
Full name Pedro María Zabalza Inda
Date of birth (1944-04-13) 13 April 1944 (age 80)
Place of birth Pamplona, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Gure Txokoa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1964 Oberena
1964–1967 Osasuna 64 (17)
1967–1973 Barcelona 149 (10)
1973–1976 Athletic Bilbao 57 (2)
1976–1977 Osasuna
Total 270 (29)
International career
1968–1969 Spain 7 (0)
Managerial career
1986–1993 Osasuna
1995 Rayo Vallecano
1996–1997 Osasuna
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pedro María Zabalza Inda (born 13 April 1944) is a Spanish former professional football midfielder and manager.

His career was mostly associated with Osasuna, especially as a coach. As a player, he amassed La Liga totals of 206 matches and 12 goals over nine seasons, with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.

Club career

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Zabalza started out at his local club CA Osasuna, where he spent three Segunda División seasons and scored a career-best ten goals in 1965–66 to help to a ninth place. In the summer of 1967 he moved to La Liga, signing for FC Barcelona and making his debut in the competition on 10 September in a 3–2 away loss to Real Zaragoza.[1]

Zabalza played 194 competitive games and scored 15 times during his six-year spell at the Camp Nou, helping to win two Copa del Generalísimo trophies and scoring twice in the 1971 final against Valencia CF.[2] After a further three top-flight campaigns with Athletic Bilbao, he closed out his career at the age of 33 with Osasuna, now competing in the Tercera División.[3]

After taking over from Ivica Brzić 11 rounds into 1986–87,[4] Zabalza went on to coach his last club a full six seasons in the top tier. He resigned in December 1993 as they rank third-bottom in the table, eventually being relegated as last.[5]

Zabalza began 1995–96 at the helm of Rayo Vallecano,[6] but after seven matches and six losses he was dismissed.[7] In the following campaign he was one of four managers in charge of Osasuna (the others being Rafael Benítez, Miguel Sola and Enrique Martín), who was the first team above the division two relegation zone.[8]

International career

Zabalza earned seven caps for Spain in eight months. His first occurred on 17 October 1968, in a 3–1 friendly win in France.[9]

Honours

Barcelona

References

  1. ^ Castillo, Juan José (11 September 1967). "3–2: Dos veces por delante en el marcador, el Barcelona se confió en exceso. Rexach, Fuste, Villa e Canario (2), autores de los goles" [3–2: Twice leading the scoreboard, Barcelona were over-confident. Rexach, Fuste, Villa and Canario (2), the goal scorers]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b Payarols, Lluís (20 May 2012). "De Lakatos a Ezquerro, todos los 'culés-leones' de la historia" [From Lakatos to Ezquerro, every 'culé-leonese' in history]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ^ García, Iker; Montero, Oskar (26 June 2020). "Pedro Mari Zabalza, un hombre feliz" [Pedro Mari Zabalza, a happy man]. Noticias de Navarra (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  4. ^ Gracia, Arturo (29 October 1986). "Zabalza reemplaza a Brzic en Osasuna" [Zabalza replaces Brzic at Osasuna]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  5. ^ Sanz, Toño (21 December 1993). "Y el técnico mas duradero de fútbol español cayó" [And the Spanish football's most lasting coach fell]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  6. ^ Miguelez, José (14 June 1995). "Zabalza será el entrenador de Rayo Vallecano en Primera" [Zabalza will be the manager of Rayo Vallecano in Primera]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  7. ^ Miguelez, José (9 October 1995). "Zabalza, destituido" [Zabalza, dismissed]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Osasuna ha despedido a quince entrenadores desde la inauguración de El Sadar en 1967" [Osasuna have fired fifteen managers since the opening of El Sadar in 1967] (in Spanish). Navarra Sport. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  9. ^ Mir, José (18 October 1968). "1–3: Un experimento con victoria final, tras haber navegado el equipo español en el primer tiempo" [1–3: Experiment with a final win, after Spanish team went through the motion in first half]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2017.