José Villalonga Llorente

Football player infobox
playername = José Villalonga


full name = José Villalonga Llorente
nickname= Pepe
dateofbirth = December 12, 1919
cityofbirth = Córdoba
countryofbirth = Spain
dateofdeath = August 8, 1973 (aged 53)
cityofdeath = Madrid
countryofdeath = Spain
manageryears = 1955-57
1959-62
1962-66
managerclubs = Real Madrid
Atlético Madrid
Spain

José Villalonga Llorente ( born Córdoba, Spain, December 12 1919, died Madrid,August 8 1973), commonly referred to as José Villalonga and also known as Pepe Villalonga, was a Spanish football manager during the 1950s and 1960s. He coached Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Spain, winning major trophies with all three.

Real Madrid

Villalonga was appointed manager of Real Madrid during the middle of the 1954-55 season and subsequently coached a team that included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Miguel Muñoz, Hector Rial and later, Raymond Kopa. During his first season he won a La Liga/Copa Latino double and in 1956 he became the first coach to win the European Cup. At 36 years and 184 days, he remains to date the youngest coach to win the competition. During his final season at Real he guided the team to a La Liga/Copa Latina/European Cup treble.

Atlético Madrid

In 1959 Villalonga became coach at Atlético Madrid. With Villalonga in charge and with a team that included Enrique Collar, Miguel Jones and Adelardo, Atlético defeated Real in two successive Copa del Generalísimo finals in 1960 and 1961. They also finished as runners-up in La Liga in 1961 and in 1962 they won the European Cup Winners Cup, beating Fiorentina 3-0 after a replay.

pain

In 1962 Villalonga was appointed coach of Spain and in 1964 they won the European Championship. With a squad that included Luis Suárez, Francisco Gento, Josep Fusté and José Ángel Iribar, Spain beat Romania, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the qualifying rounds before hosting the semi-finals and final. In the semi-final Spain beat Hungary 2-1. In the final they beat the USSR 2-1 in front of a crowd of 125,000 at the Bernabéu. Jesus María Pereda put Spain ahead after just six minutes but they needed a late Marcelino Martínez header to win it after Galimzian Khusainov equalised with a free-kick.

Villalonga also took Spain to the 1966 World Cup in England but was less successful. Two consecutive defeats to Germany and Argentina after a 2-1 win over Switzerland condemned Spain and Villalonga to an early return home. The defeat against the Germans was the last of his 22 games in charge of Spain.

Trophies

Real Madrid

* European Cup: 2
** 1955-56, 1956-57

* Spanish Champions: 2
** 1954-55, 1956-57

* Copa Latina: 2
** 1955, 1957

Atlético Madrid

*Copa del Generalísimo: 2
** 1960, 1961

* Spanish Champions
** "Runners Up" 1960-61 1

*European Cup Winners Cup: 1
** 1962

Spain

*European Champions: 1
** 1964

External links

* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/entrenadores/historial.asp?ent=096 La Liga stats]
* [http://futbol.sportec.es/seleccion/ficha_seleccionador.asp?j=5317&n=Jos%C3%A9%20Villalonga Spain stats]