Fernando Quintanilla Barañano (born 13 November 1964), also known by the nickname Txirri, (sometimes spelled Chirri) is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He featured in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

for

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

but spent most of his playing career in the second and third divisions, including spells with CD Málaga and

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. In later years he spent time as a technical staff member for clubs including Athletic Bilbao and

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

Playing career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo h ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, Basque Country, Quintanilla was a graduate of

's youth system. He made his senior debut as a 19-year-old with the reserve team,

Bilbao Athletic Athletic Club "B", commonly known as Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Club, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country in Spain. The team are playing in the Primera Federación – Group 2. Fo ...

, in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

in October 1983 against

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is a aerial lift line in Ecatepec de Mo ...

, scoring his first goal in the same match. He remained with the reserves for six seasons, enduring some major injuries and experiencing a relegation followed by a promotion, while also making occasional appearances for the first team; his

debut came against

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...

at the age of 21 in August 1985, having been an important figure for the reserves the previous year (34 league starts, which would prove to be the highest return in his career). Txirri was fully integrated into the Athletic senior squad in 1989–90. The previous season he had played in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

, and he featured in 26 league games following his promotion; however, he was unable to secure a regular place in the team ahead of contemporaries

Genar Andrinúa Genar Andrinúa Cortabarría (born 9 May 1964) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Andrinúa was born in Bilbao, Biscay. During his career, he played solely for Athletic Bilbao safe for a loa ...

and

Patxi Salinas Francisco 'Patxi' Salinas Fernández (born 17 November 1963) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central defender, currently manager of Club Portugalete. He amassed La Liga totals of 432 games and 11 goals over 16 seasons, with Athle ...

and the younger

Rafael Alkorta Rafael Alkorta Martínez (born 16 September 1968) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender. He is the current sporting director of Athletic Bilbao. Having represented Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid ...

and

Patxi Ferreira Francisco 'Patxi' Ferreira Colmenero (born 22 May 1967) is a Spanish retired Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender. Club career Ferreira was born in Saucelle, Province of ...

– all were Spanish internationals – and he was allowed to move on, joining CD Málaga of the second tier in summer 1990.

Later years

Quintanilla's first season on the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

was fairly successful, playing 26 times as Málaga reached the

promotion playoffs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...

despite economic difficulties; Txirri scored his penalty in the shootout against local rivals

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, but the tie ended in defeat. He missed all of 1991–92 (which ended with Málaga's relegation and dissolution) due to an injury sustained on the first matchday, and then transferred to

Atlético Marbella Club Atlético Marbella were a Spanish football team based in Marbella, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1947 and dissolved in 1997, it was also the reserve team of CD Málaga for a time. History Atlético Marbella had its hey ...

, newly-promoted to the same level. After one year playing regularly with Marbella, prior to the 1993–94 season he moved on to a third

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

n club in the second tier,

, following his former coach Sergije Krešić who also brought Tomás Olías and Juan Ramón Comas to Seville from Marbella. Txirri was part of the Betis team which eliminated

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

from the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

and achieved promotion, but his involvement was curtailed due to injury, and after that single season he was allowed to leave by Krešić's replacement as manager,

Lorenzo Serra Ferrer Lorenzo Serra Ferrer (; ca, Llorenç Serra Ferrer ; born 5 March 1953) is a Spanish football manager. His career was mainly associated with Mallorca and Betis, and he also served the former in various other capacities. Playing career Born in ...

. Quintanilla's last three campaigns were spent in the regionalised third tier, firstly with Elche for two years. In his final season as a professional, 1996–97, he returned to his home region of Biscay to play for the amateur club SD Zamudio, making their debut at that level of competition. Txirri posted his best appearance figures for a decade (32 league starts, plus seven goals) but his input could not prevent the club's immediate relegation, and he decided to retire from playing aged 33.

Post-playing career

After his playing days ended, Quintanilla remained in football, embarking on a career as a support staff member. He was involved in

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

with Athletic Bilbao for several years, including acting as a liaison for local affiliated clubs. In 2015 he was removed from his position, eventually winning a case of unfair dismissal against Athletic in court, meanwhile working with the youth teams of SD Leioa. When the dispute with his former employers was resolved in 2017, he took on a similar role with their neighbours

, as the club from

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

sought to expand their recruitment knowledge in Biscay province.

Personal life

Quintanilla's son Alex is also a footballer. He too plays as a defender and was trained in the ranks of Athletic Bilbao, although he never made an appearance for the senior side.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quintanilla, Fernando 1964 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Barakaldo Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Bilbao Athletic footballers Real Betis players Athletic Bilbao footballers CD Málaga footballers Elche CF players Zamudio SD players Athletic Bilbao non-playing staff Real Sociedad non-playing staff Association football scouts