Roberto López Ufarte
López Ufarte as a Real Sociedad player
Personal information
Full name Roberto López Ufarte
Date of birth (1958-04-19) 19 April 1958
Place of birth Fes, Morocco
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Real Unión
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1975 Real Unión
1975–1976 San Sebastián
1975–1987 Real Sociedad 363 (101)
1987–1988 Atlético Madrid 27 (8)
1988–1989 Betis 28 (3)
Total 418 (112)
International career
1975–1976 Spain U18 10 (4)
1976–1977 Spain U21 3 (0)
1977–1982 Spain 15 (5)
Managerial career
2000–2001 Real Sociedad B
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roberto López Ufarte (born 19 April 1958) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Nicknamed The little devil, most of his 15-year career was spent at Real Sociedad where he remained 12 seasons, winning four major titles including two La Liga championships.[1] He also represented in the competition Atlético Madrid and Betis, amassing totals of 418 matches and 112 goals.

López Ufarte appeared for Spain at the 1982 World Cup.

Club career

López Ufarte was born in Fes, Morocco. His parents, from Andalusia and Catalonia, moved abroad in search of work, and arrived in Morocco (then part of Spain) in 1944 during the Second World War. They returned to Irun (Basque Country) after about 22 years in Morocco. After making his early footballing efforts at neighbouring Real Unión he signed for Real Sociedad, making his La Liga debut in the 1975–76 season, playing his first game in the competition on 30 November 1975 in a 2–0 derby away loss against Athletic Bilbao aged only 17. From then on he became an essential first-team member, scoring 16 goals in 63 matches in the side's back-to-back league titles.[2]

López Ufarte left the Txuriurdin in 1987, after another solid season: 33 games and ten goals in the league, and the conquest of the Copa del Rey. He scored 129 goals in 474 official appearances during his spell.[2]

After one season with Atlético Madrid (third place), López Ufarte closed his career at Real Betis at the age of 31, after struggling with knee injuries and seeing his team relegate to the Segunda División.[3][4] He then acted as assistant manager to several coaches at his first professional club,[5] following which he returned to Real Unión as director of football.[6]

International career

López Ufarte won 15 caps for the Spain national team in five years. His debut came on 21 September 1977, scoring in 2–1 friendly win in Switzerland.[7]

López Ufarte appeared for the nation at the 1982 FIFA World Cup which was held on home ground, playing his last match in a 1–2 second group-stage loss against West Germany.[8]

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition[9]
1.21 September 1977Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland  Switzerland1–21–2Friendly
2.14 October 1981Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain Luxembourg1–03–0Friendly
3.14 October 1981Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain Luxembourg3–03–0Friendly
4.18 November 1981Stadion ŁKS, Łódź, Poland Poland0–12–3Friendly
5.16 June 1982Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain Honduras1–11–11982 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Real Sociedad

See also

References

  1. ↑ F. Mendiola, Jorge (12 March 2011). "Griezmann y López Ufarte, 'les petits diables' cara a cara" [Griezmann and López Ufarte, 'les petits diables' face to face]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 Vázquez de Balmaseda, Ignacio (5 May 2016). "Leyendas de la Real: López Ufarte" [Real legends: López Ufarte] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Méndez, Juan (3 July 1988). "López Ufarte firmó con el Betis por dos temporadas" [López Ufarte signed with Betis for two seasons]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. ↑ Ríos, Ricardo (3 July 1989). "No hubo milagre en Sevilla" [No miracle in Seville]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Muñoz-Baroja, Juan (26 October 1999). "La Real destituye a Bernd Krauss" [Real dismiss Bernd Krauss]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "López Ufarte: "Nos falta experiencia para cerrar los partidos"" [López Ufarte: "We don't have enough experience to close a match"]. Marca (in Spanish). 20 January 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  7. ↑ De la Riva, Mario (5 September 2016). "Los 11 jugadores nacidos fuera de España con más partidos" [The 11 players born outside of Spain with the most matches]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "World Cup 1982 finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "López Ufarte". European Football. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
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