Place of birth Pamplona, Spain 1975–1976 Athletic Bilbao Height 1.67 m | Playing position Years Team Position Midfielder | |
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Full name Miguel Ángel Sola Elizalde Date of birth (1957-09-29) 29 September 1957 (age 59) | ||
Miguel Ángel Sola Elizalde (born 29 September 1957) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a current coach.
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He amassed La Liga totals of 316 games and 42 goals during 12 seasons, in representation of Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna.
Playing career
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Sola joined Athletic Bilbao's youth system in 1975, spending his first seasons as a senior with Bilbao Athletic and on loan, the latter including a five-month spell with Basque neighbours Deportivo Alavés. In 1980 he returned as a full member of the main squad, going on to be an important unit during five years and appearing in 55 La Liga games combined (nine goals) as the team won back-to-back national championships.
After leaving Athletic with official totals of 175 matches and 24 goals, Sola moved to his hometown with CA Osasuna, appearing and scoring regularly for them in six of his seven seasons. In 1990–91, already aged 33, he appeared in 25 contests as the club finished a best-ever fourth position, with the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Cup; he retired from the game at the end of the following campaign.
Coaching career
In 1997, with Osasuna in the second division, Sola managed the team during eight matches, collecting five losses and only one win as they barely avoided relegation. In the following years, always in the lower leagues, he coached Peña Sport FC, Real Unión, SD Huesca and CD Mirandés.
On 24 March 2010, Sola returned to his native region and signed with CD Izarra, aiming to help the club avoid relegation from the third level, which eventually did not happen. The next season, in the same tier, he was again in charge of Real Unión after replacing fired Álvaro Cervera.