Place of birth Leon, Spain Name Antonio la 1972–1979 Barcelona | 1970–1972 Granada Years Team | |
Full name Jesus Antonio de la Cruz Gallego Date of birth (1947-05-07) 7 May 1947 (age 68) | ||
Jesús Antonio de la Cruz Gallego (born 7 May 1947) is a former Spanish football defender and manager.
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He appeared in 247 La Liga games over the course of nine seasons, scoring a combined six goals for Granada and Barcelona. He won three titles with the latter club, including the 1979 Cup Winners' Cup.
A Spain international in the 70s, de la Cruz appeared for his country at the 1978 World Cup.
Club career
Born in León, de la Cruz started his senior career with Real Valladolid in Segunda División. Even though he suffered relegation at the end of the 1969–70 season, he moved straight into La Liga with Granada CF, making his debut in the competition on 13 September 1970 in a 1–1 away draw against Elche CF.
In early March 1972, de la Cruz signed with fellow league club FC Barcelona for six million pesetas, pending a medical that almost went wrong and with the deal being made effective in July. He went on to feature in more than 230 official matches during his tenure at the Camp Nou, scoring his first goal on 7 January 1973 in a 2–0 win at Real Zaragoza; on 16 May 1979, the 32-year-old came on as a second-half substitute in the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in Basel, the 4–3 extra time defeat of Fortuna Düsseldorf.
After retiring, de la Cruz worked as a coach. This included two brief spells with CE Sabadell FC, also in Catalonia (which included top level relegation in the 1987–88 campaign).
In January 2003, following the sacking of Louis van Gaal and prior to the appointment of Radomir Antić, de la Cruz was named interim manager at Barcelona. He was in charge of the squad for one league match, a 0–3 away loss to Atlético Madrid.
International career
De la Cruz collected six caps for Spain, in as many years. His debut arrived on 12 April 1972, in a 0–0 friendly draw in Greece.
Selected by coach László Kubala for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, de la Cruz took part in the 1–2 group stage defeat against Austria, as the tournament in Argentina ended after three contests.