Club Career
Born in Alonsotegi, Biscay, Goikoetxea began his playing career as a youth with Arbuyo, before joining Athletic Bilbao in 1974. Before establishing himself in the senior team, he played for the reserve side. In his debut season in La Liga, he scored four goals in 27 games, being somewhat absent (only 26 matches from 1976–79 combined) in the following years.
During the 1980s, along with Dani, Manuel Sarabia, José María "Chato" Nuñez, José Ramón Gallego and Andoni Zubizarreta, Goikoetxea was a prominent member of the successful Bilbao team coached by Javier Clemente. In 1984, the Basque renewed its league title, also achieving the double (league and cup) in that year.
Earlier, on 24 September 1983, Goiko achieved notoriety for an infamous tackle on Diego Maradona in a league match at the Camp Nou, ferociously tackling the Argentine from behind and leaving him severely injured, and reportedly later keeping "the boot he had used to destroy...(Maradona’s) ankle ligaments" at home in a glass case. When the two teams met in that year's Cup final (1–0 for Athletic), the match ended with several players fighting on the pitch. Goikoetxea also severely injured German Bernd Schuster when the latter played with the Catalans, leaving him with a serious right knee injury, from which Schuster never fully recovered to his level of earlier seasons.
After three years with Atlético de Madrid where he appeared sparingly (a best output of 14 games), Goikoetxea retired at almost 34, with 369 overall games for Athletic, netting 44 goals.
Subsequently, he became a manager, coaching UD Salamanca (twice), SD Compostela, CD Numancia (twice), Racing de Santander and Rayo Vallecano. In 1996–97, he guided Salamanca to a top flight promotion, after finishing second. He was also assistant of the Spanish national team to former club boss Clemente, during the World Cup held in the United States in 1994.
In 2007, Goikoetxea joined Hércules CF in Alicante, in the second division, being released at the season's end.
Read more about this topic: Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga
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