Name Jose Ufarte Playing position Role Football player | Height 1.71 m Years Team | |
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Full name Jose Armando Ufarte Ventoso Date of birth (1941-05-17) 17 May 1941 (age 74) | ||
José Armando Ufarte Ventoso (born 17 May 1941) is a Spanish retired football right winger and manager.
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Over the course of 11 seasons he amassed La Liga totals of 274 games and 32 goals, almost exclusively for Atlético Madrid. He later embarked in a managerial career, which included managing both his main club and the Spanish national team, in various levels and capacities.
Ufarte represented Spain at the 1966 World Cup.
Club career
Born in Pontevedra, Galicia, Ufarte moved with his family to Brazil at a young age, playing in the country with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (two stints) and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista and earning the nickname O Espanhol (The Spaniard in Portuguese) during his spell. In 1964 he returned to his homeland, signing for Atlético Madrid and making his La Liga debut on 13 September in a 3–1 home win against Real Betis, helping the team to an eventual runner-up position.
In the 1969–70 season, Ufarte played all 30 league games and scored three goals as the Colchoneros won the national championship, the second of the three the player would win with the team. In the 1974 summer, after having appeared in 323 official matches, netting 36 times, the 33-year-old joined Racing de Santander in Segunda División, achieving top flight promotion in his first year and retiring after the following campaign.
Ufarte started coaching with Atlético's youth teams, then ascended to the reserves in the second division. Late into 1987–88 he replaced fired César Luis Menotti at the helm of the main squad, being in charge for three games and dismissed himself after feuding with elusive club chairman Jesús Gil.
Ufarte joined his other former club Racing for the following season, in the second level, being sacked after the 23rd round of the next campaign, with the Cantabrians eventually ranking 17th and being relegated. His last club appointment would be with CP Mérida also in division two, in 1992–93.
International career
Ufarte made his debut for Spain on 5 May 1965, a 0–1 loss in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland for the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Selected for the finals in England, he appeared against Argentina in a 1–2 group stage defeat.
In the 90s/2000s, Ufarte coached several categories of the national side, being in charge of the under-20s as they finished second at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates.