Areta III Passed Away

José Luis Areta, Athletic player during the 1960-61, passed away in Seville this past Wednesday, 29 June.

Areta III arrived at Athletic on September 1960 from Osasuna, his hometown team. He was a draftee that was dearly pursued by the club and which took months to see it happen, and was directly related to the transfers of Garay and Beitia to FC Barcelona.

A forceful and consistent forward, he handled both wings and the defensive centre. During the season he played for Athletic he disputed 27 of the 33 official matches, scoring five goals. The change on the rojiblanco bench during the 60-61 half season (Martim Francisco in for Ipiña), and taking into account the whole team’s pay raise, had much to do with his parting to Sevilla despite the fact he still had a four year contract.

In spite of all his attributes Artea III, Jose Luis, did not count on the fortune of prevailing in Athletic, on the contrary to his older brother Serafin, Areta I, who played for Athletic from 1949 to 1957 disputing 128 matches and winning three Cups and one Liga.