Antonio Díaz-Miguel Sanz (July 6, 1933 – February 21, 2000) was a Spanish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He studied in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, and graduated from the University of Bilbao. A pioneer in the worldwide promotion of basketball, he won several coaching awards, and was a frequent basketball lecturer around the world. He was enshrined into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

, as a

, on September 29, 1997. In 2007, he was enshrined into the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...

Basketball playing career

Club career

Although initially a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player in his youth, Díaz-Miguel's physical characteristics, including a 1.86 m (6'1 1 ") barefoot height, and also his determination, contributed to his start in

, as a player, at the Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu Secondary School of Madrid, where the Estudiantes ("students") club was founded in 1950, with pupils and teachers of the school. He was a player of Estudiantes Club of Madrid in 1950–52, and 1953–1958, and later also played with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

(1958–1961), and Águilas Bilbao (1961–1963). He won the top-tier level Spanish Clubs League championship twice, in 1960 and 1961, with

Spain national team

Díaz-Miguel had 27

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as a player of the senior

Spain national basketball team The Spain men's national basketball team ( es, Selección Española de Baloncesto) represents Spain in international basketball competitions. They are managed by the Spanish Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Spain. Spa ...

. He won a gold medal at the

1955 Mediterranean Games The 1955 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the II Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Barcelona 1955, were the 2nd Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Barcelona, Spain over 10 days, from 15 to 25 July 1955, where 1,135 athl ...

. He also won a silver medal at the 1959 Mediterranean Games.

Basketball coaching career

Immediately after his retirement from his basketball playing career, Díaz-Miguel started

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

Águilas Bilbao. Following that, he later provisionally, and nearly by chance, became the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the senior Spain National Team, where he managed to develop longstanding success for the team, and the sport of basketball in Spain. He was the head coach of the senior

, for as long as 27 years (1965–1992). In 431

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

coached,En recuerdo de Antonio Díaz Miguel .
/ref> Díaz-Miguel guided the Spain National Team to six

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

tournaments, including a silver medal at the

1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, in

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. That was the top classification for the Spain National Team until the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, when they finished second again. Díaz-Miguel's Spain National teams also participated in 13

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

s and four

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

s, and his team's best finishes were two silver medals (

EuroBasket 1973 The 1973 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1973, was the eighteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues Group stage Group A – Badalona Group B – Barcelona Knocko ...

EuroBasket 1983 The 1983 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1983, was the 23rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 26 May to 4 June 1983 in France. Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), ...

), and one bronze medal (

EuroBasket 1991 The 1991 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1991, was the 27th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Italy between 24 and 29 June 1991. Eight national teams entered the even ...

) in the EuroBasket. He also won a silver medal at the

1987 Mediterranean Games The X Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 1987), commonly known as the 1987 Mediterranean Games, were the 10th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Latakia, Syria, from 11 to 25 September 1987, wher ...

. He was named "Spanish Coach of the Year", in 1981 and 1983. Díaz-Miguel was selected as a coach of the

FIBA European Selection FIBA All-Star Games were all-star basketball exhibition games, which were also known as "FIBA Festivals". The "FIBA Festival All-Star Games" were held from 1964 to 1995. The FIBA European Selection teams won most of the FIBA Festival All-Star Ga ...

teams five times.

References

External links

Basketball Hall of Fame ProfileFIBA Hall of Fame Coach ProfileScheda su seleccionbaloncesto.es

Italian League Coach Profile

Antonio Diaz-Miguel, a basketball engineerAntonio Díaz Miguel: El mito del baloncesto español, un adelantado a su época

ANTONIO DIAZ-MIGUEL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz-Miguel, Antonio 1933 births 2000 deaths CB Estudiantes players Centers (basketball) FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Liga ACB head coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Pallacanestro Cantù coaches Power forwards (basketball) Real Madrid Baloncesto players Spanish basketball coaches Spanish men's basketball players University of the Basque Country alumni Spanish Olympic coaches People from Ciudad Real Sportspeople from the Province of Ciudad Real Deaths from cancer in Spain