Death of Pedro Iturriaga

Pedro Iturriaga, a former Atheltic Club player in the early 60’s, passed away yesterday, 6 Mach 2006.

Iturriaga, a Getxo neighbour from Algorta, arrived in Athletic Club during the 1959-60 season at the hand of the Belo Horizonte coach, Martim Francisco. After a couple of friendly matches, he made his debut on 29 May 1960 in Santiago Bernabéu, during the Copa’s Round of 16 tie-breaking match between Atheltic Club and Ourense. It wasn’t a brilliant Athletic match and, although they achieved the objective of moving forth to the next round, the team harvested critics because of the game that developed.

A left defensive midfielder, his better years as a rojiblanco coincided with Juan Antonio Ipiña on the bench (1960-61 and 1961-62). His self-confidence and self-controlling game surprised Spanish Manager Pedro Escartín, who summoned him to play as substitute in the A and starter in the B team. When the 1960-61 season ended many rumours placed in Real Madrid’s orbit. Better still, as far as statistics is concerned, was his third season, 1961-62, in which he played all the official matches, so much in League (30) as in Copa (6).

Being an unquestionable starter, on 9 December 1962 he suffered an injury that separated him from a position which he would never quite recover from.

He played his last match as a rojiblanco in April 1965, the year in which, after six official seasons and 94 matches, he left the Athletic Club discipline.
May he rest in peace.