José Villalonga Llorente
José Villalonga Llorente ( born December 12, 1919 in Córdoba, † August 8, 1973 in Madrid) was a Spanish football coach.
Career
Villalonga was one of the most successful football coaches in Spain. In the middle of the season in 1954/55 he took over the responsibility for Real Madrid and formed the miracle team of the 1950s to players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Ferenc Puskas and Raymond Kopa. At 36 he won in 1956 the first European Champion Clubs' Cup, and is so far the youngest coach to have managed. Overall, he won this Cup with Real Madrid twice.
In 1959 he came to the city rivals Atlético Madrid. With Atlético he was not Spanish champion, but he beat his old club twice in the Spanish Cup final (1960 and 1961). In 1962, he then won with Atlético the European Cup Winners' Cup in the final against Fiorentina.
After these successes, he was appointed in 1962 to the Spanish national team coach. With the Spanish national football team him the first great success of Spain succeeded in recent football history. He won the European Football Championship in 1964, so by 2008 Spain's single title. As the reigning European champion, he led Spain then for the Football World Cup 1966 to England, but resigned in the first round after defeats against Germany and Argentina prematurely. After this tournament, he resigned from his coach items.
Achievements
- European Championship: 1964
- European Champion Clubs' Cup: 1956, 1957
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1962
- Spanish Champion: 1955, 1957
- Spanish Cup winners: 1960, 1961