Periko Alonso


Miguel Ángel 'Periko' Alonso Oyarbide is a Spanish former football midfielder and manager.
In his professional career he played mainly for Real Sociedad and Barcelona, amassing La Liga totals of 273 matches and 42 goals during ten seasons.
A Spanish international for two years, Alonso represented the country at the 1982 World Cup.

Playing career

Born in Tolosa, Gipuzkoa, Alonso played professionally for Real Sociedad, FC Barcelona and CE Sabadell FC. With the first, he was instrumental in back-to-back La Liga conquests, and won 19 of his 20 caps for Spain in the process; his debut came on 24 September 1980 in a friendly match with Hungary, in Budapest.
In 1982–83, having retired from the national team after the unsuccessful home World Cup campaign, Alonso joined Barcelona, being used relatively little during most of his spell. He won the league in his final year but only appeared twice, eventually retiring in 1988 with Barça neighbours Sabadell, helping the club achieve promotion from Segunda División in his first season and scoring 12 goals – a career-best – in his second, as the modest Catalans ranked 17th after the first 34 matches, but eventually managed to avoid a drop after finishing third in their relegation group in the second stage.

International goals

Coaching career

Alonso started working as a manager immediately after retiring, mainly in the Basque Country. In 2000, after an unsuccessful spell at Hércules CF, he had a chance to coach Real Sociedad but only lasted ten games, after which he retired.

Personal life

Alonso's sons, Mikel and Xabi, were also footballers and midfielders. Both followed in their father's footsteps representing Real Sociedad, and the latter also played with great success for Liverpool, Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich and the Spain national team.

Honours

Real Sociedad
Barcelona