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José Francisco 'Txetxu' Rojo Arroitia (28 January 1947 – 23 December 2022) was a Spanish footballer and coach.

During his career the forward played solely for Athletic Bilbao, in a professional spell which spanned nearly 20 years. He was one of the club's most iconic players, and later also worked as a coach with the team.

Contents

1 Club career

1.1 Player

1.2 Coach

2 International career

2.1 International goals

3 Personal life and death

4 Honours

4.1 Player

4.2 Manager

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Club career

Player

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Rojo joined local giants Athletic Bilbao's youth ranks at an early age. In 1965 he started playing for its reserves but, after only three appearances, was promoted to the first team, and stayed there until his professional retirement 17 years later.

Rojo made his La Liga debut on 26 September 1965 in a 1–0 away loss against Córdoba CF, and helped Athletic to two Copa del Rey trophies. He played a total of 414 games in the Spanish top flight, becoming the player with the second-most appearances in the Basque side's history, only behind José Ángel Iribar; for several seasons he shared teams with younger brother José Ángel, with the pair being thus referred to as 'Rojo I' and 'Rojo II'.

Coach

In 1982, aged 35, Rojo retired as a footballer and began a coaching career – a testimonial match was held in his honour, with Athletic Bilbao hosting the England national team. His first managerial experience would be with the former's reserves, and he was promoted to first-team duties early into the 1989–90 campaign, being sacked at its conclusion.

After a four-year spell at RC Celta de Vigo, achieving promotion to the top level in his second season, Rojo returned to the second division for the next three years, coaching CA Osasuna and UE Lleida. For 1997–98 he was appointed at UD Salamanca, helping the modest club retain its first division status, and the following season he joined Real Zaragoza, leading them to the fourth place in 2000 – with the team failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League only because the fifth-placed side, Real Madrid, won the campaign's most important European trophy – which earned him a return to Athletic.

After only one season, Rojo moved back to Zaragoza, being replaced by Luis Costa on 22 January 2002 after a 4–2 away loss against Sevilla FC, and ultimately being relegated from the top level. He then took a sabbatical year, subsequently joining Rayo Vallecano in division two and again dropping down a tier.

International career

Rojo played 18 times for Spain, his debut coming on 26 March 1969 in a friendly with Switzerland held in Valencia. During his nine years as an international he scored three goals, but never took part in any major international tournament; both siblings appeared in a friendly with Turkey on 17 October 1973, in José Ángel's sole cap.

International goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rojo goal.

List of international goals scored by Txetxu Rojo

No.

Date

Venue

Opponent

Score

Result

Competition

1

22 April 1970

La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland

 Switzerland

1–0

1–0

Friendly

2

24 November 1971

Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain

 Cyprus

7–0

7–0

Euro 1972 qualifying

3

16 February 1972

Boothferry Park, Hull, England

 Northern Ireland

1–0

1–1

Euro 1972 qualifying

Personal life and death

Rojo died on 23 December 2022, at the age of 75.

Honours

Player

Copa del Generalísimo: 1969, 1972–73; Runner-up 1965–66, 1966–67, 1976–77

UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1976–77

Manager

Celta

Segunda División: 1991–92

See also

List of Athletic Bilbao players (+200 appearances)

List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)

List of one-club men in association football