Roberto López Ufarte

Roberto López Ufarte
López Ufarte as a Real Sociedad player
Personal information
Full name Roberto López Ufarte[1]
Date of birth (1958-04-19) 19 April 1958[1]
Place of birth Fez, Morocco
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position Forward
Youth career
Real Unión
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1975 Real Unión 41 (6)
1975–1987 Real Sociedad 363 (101)
1987–1988 Atlético Madrid 27 (8)
1988–1989 Betis 28 (3)
Total 459 (118)
International career
1975–1976 Spain U18 10 (4)
1976–1977 Spain U21 3 (0)
1977–1982 Spain 15 (5)
Managerial career
2000–2001 Real Sociedad B
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roberto López Ufarte (born 19 April 1958) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Nicknamed The little devil, most of his 15-year career was spent at Real Sociedad where he remained 12 seasons, winning four major titles including two La Liga championships.[2] He also represented in the competition Atlético Madrid and Betis, amassing totals of 418 matches and 112 goals.

López Ufarte appeared for Spain at the 1982 World Cup.

Early life

López Ufarte was born in Fez, Morocco. His parents, from Andalusia and Catalonia, moved abroad in search of work, and arrived in Morocco (then part of Spain) in 1944 during the Second World War, returning to Irun in the Basque Country two decades later.[3]

Club career

López Ufarte signed for Real Sociedad after starting out at neighbouring Real Unión, making his La Liga debut in the 1975–76 season and playing his first game in the competition on 30 November 1975 in a 2–0 Basque derby away loss against Athletic Bilbao, aged only 17. From then on he became an essential first-team member, scoring 16 goals in 63 matches in the side's back-to-back league titles.[3]

López Ufarte left the Txuriurdin in 1987, following another solid season (33 games and ten goals in the league, and victory in the Copa del Rey). He scored 129 goals in 474 official appearances during his spell.[3]

After one season with Atlético Madrid where he achieved a third place, López Ufarte closed his career at Real Betis at the age of 31, having struggled with knee injuries and seen his team relegated to Segunda División.[4][5] He then acted as assistant manager to several coaches at his first professional club,[6] subsequently returning to Real Unión as director of football.[7]

International career

López Ufarte won 15 caps for the Spain national team in five years. His debut came on 21 September 1977, scoring in a 2–1 friendly win in Switzerland.[8]

López Ufarte appeared for the nation at the 1982 FIFA World Cup which was held on home ground, scoring in the 1–1 draw against Honduras[9] and playing his last match in a 2–1 second group-stage loss to West Germany.[10]

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition[11]
1.21 September 1977Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland  Switzerland1–21–2Friendly
2.14 October 1981Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain Luxembourg1–03–0Friendly
3.14 October 1981Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain Luxembourg3–03–0Friendly
4.18 November 1981Stadion ŁKS, Łódź, Poland Poland0–12–3Friendly
5.16 June 1982Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain Honduras1–11–11982 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Real Sociedad

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Roberto López Ufarte". Real Sociedad. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  2. ↑ F. Mendiola, Jorge (12 March 2011). "Griezmann y López Ufarte, 'les petits diables' cara a cara" [Griezmann and López Ufarte, 'les petits diables' face to face]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Vázquez de Balmaseda, Ignacio (5 May 2016). "Leyendas de la Real: López Ufarte" [Real legends: López Ufarte] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Méndez, Juan (3 July 1988). "López Ufarte firmó con el Betis por dos temporadas" [López Ufarte signed with Betis for two seasons]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Ríos, Ricardo (3 July 1989). "No hubo milagre en Sevilla" [No miracle in Seville]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Muñoz-Baroja, Juan (26 October 1999). "La Real destituye a Bernd Krauss" [Real dismiss Bernd Krauss]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "López Ufarte: "Nos falta experiencia para cerrar los partidos"" [López Ufarte: "We don't have enough experience to close a match"]. Marca (in Spanish). 20 January 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  8. ↑ De la Riva, Mario (5 September 2016). "Los 11 jugadores nacidos fuera de España con más partidos" [The 11 players born outside of Spain with the most matches]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Honduras empató a un gol con España y Argelia ganó por dos a uno a la RFA" [Honduras drew one-all with Spain and Algeria beat FRG two to one]. El País (in Spanish). 17 June 1982. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "World Cup 1982 finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Roberto López Ufarte at EU-Football.info (archived)
  12. ↑ Izquierdo, Carlos (4 March 2026). "La primera final de Jesús Gil, único precedente" [Jesús Gil's first final, the only precedent]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Tejedor Carnicero, José Vicente; Di Maggio, Roberto; Torre, Raúl; Lozano Ferrer, Carles. "Spain – List of Super Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
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