José Ignacio Churruca

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José Ignacio Churruca Sistiaga (born 28 January 1948 in Zarautz, Basque Country) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a forward. He spent most of his career in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón, Athletic Bilbao and Hércules, totaling 336 league appearances and 73 goals.

Churruca began at Sporting de Gijón, helping them win the Segunda División in 1969–70. He scored a memorable hat-trick in a 5–1 La Liga win over Granada on 29 December 1974. In 1976 he moved to Athletic Bilbao for 22 million pesetas, a fee used to help build Sporting’s Mareo academy. His first season with Athletic saw him reach the UEFA Cup final, scoring in the quarter-finals against Barcelona and the semi-finals against Molenbeek; the final ended with Juventus triumph on away goals. He also helped Athletic reach the Copa del Rey final in 1977, scoring in a 5–0 win over Sevilla in the quarters and playing the full 120 minutes of the final against Real Betis, converting a penalty in the shootout before the team lost 8–7.

In 1980, Churruca joined Hércules on a two-year free transfer. After Hércules’ relegation, he finished his playing career with Lorca Deportiva in the Segunda División B. In 1982 he famously clashed with manager Jesús Moreno Manzaneque after being told he had broken curfew, which led to him being dropped from the team.

Internationally, Churruca earned 16 caps for Spain from 1971 to 1977, without scoring. He also played for the unofficial Basque Country team in 1978. He represented Spain at international level during a period when he faced strong rivals for forward positions and played in the Euro 1976 qualifying rounds.

After retiring as a player, Churruca pursued a coaching career, managing several clubs between 1983 and 2005, including Arenas, Cádiz B, Algeciras, Portuense, Chiclana, Peña Deportiva and Portuense again.