José Luis Panizo


José Luis López Panizo was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder.
During 16 seasons he played for Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 413 official matches and winning seven major titles.

Club career

Born in Sestao, Biscay, Panizo arrived at Athletic Bilbao's youth system at the age of 16 from Basque neighbours Sestao Sport Club, being almost immediately promoted to the first team. During 16 professional seasons he would play in 326 La Liga matches, scoring 136 goals ; in the 1942–43 campaign, as Athletic won the double, he netted 12 in 24 games.
At the age of 33, Panizo moved to another Basque club, modest SD Indautxu, closing out his career after one year. He died eight days after his 68th birthday, in Portugalete.

International career

Panizo made his debut for Spain on 23 June 1946, in a 0–1 friendly loss to the Republic of Ireland in Madrid. In the following seven years he earned a further 13 caps, scoring twice.
Panizo was selected for the squad present at the 1950 FIFA World Cup, appearing four times as the nation reached the second group stage of the competition.

Honours