Javier Urruticoechea
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Javier González Urruticoechea | ||
| Date of birth | 17 November 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | San Sebastián, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 24 May 2001 (aged 48) | ||
| Place of death | Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1967–1969 | Lengokoak | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1969–1972 | San Sebastián | ||
| 1972–1977 | Real Sociedad | 66 | (0) |
| 1977–1981 | Español | 121 | (0) |
| 1981–1988 | Barcelona | 120 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1979 | Spain U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 1974 | Spain amateur | 2 | (0) |
| 1980–1981 | Spain B | 5 | (0) |
| 1978–1980 | Spain | 5 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | Euskadi XI | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Francisco Javier González Urruticoechea (17 November 1952 – 24 May 2001), known as Urruti, was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
At FC Barcelona, a club known for goalkeepers like Franz Platko, Antoni Ramallets, Juan Velasco and Ricardo Zamora, he became a legend, playing 307 La Liga games over the course of 16 seasons and also representing in the competition Real Sociedad and Español.
Urruti represented Spain in three World Cups. In 2001, he died in a road accident near Barcelona. An annual golf tournament, the Trofeo Javier Urruti, is played in his honour.
Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Urruti played as a junior with Lengokoak before joining Real Sociedad in 1969, spending three full years with the reserve team. For the next La Liga seasons, he maintained an interesting battle for first-choice status with legendary Luis Arconada.
After Arconada finally settled, Urruti moved to RCD Español, where he won the Don Balón award in 1981 (Spanish Footballer of the Year), moving across the city after that campaign to join FC Barcelona.
In his third year, Urruti won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy while playing in all the matches safe one. He was a prominent member of the Catalonia team coached by Terry Venables that won the league in 1985 and then reached the final of the European Cup in the following year; on 25 March 1985, in a game against Real Valladolid, his penalty save against Mágico González effectively clinched the title.
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