Higinio Ortúzar Santamaría (10 January 1915 – 8 November 1982) was a Chilean

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 lea ...

who made his entire career in Spain.

Career

The first Chilean in the Spanish football, he made his debut for Erandio Club in 1935, and next he played for

Barakaldo CF Barakaldo Club de Fútbol is a Basque football team based in Barakaldo, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded in 1917 it plays in , holding home stadium is '' Lasesarre'', with a 7,960 Seat Capacity. History Barakaldo pla ...

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

and

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. He was loaned to Racing de Santander in 1936 for 4,500 pesetas, but he couldn't play due to the Spanish coup of July. While at Athletic (one of few players born outside the Basque region to play for the club under their signing policy and the only from Chile in the history), he won a League and

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

double in 1943, and followed this up with further league titles playing for Valencia in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

and

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

. In his 30s he featured for Valladolid and Real Sociedad in successive seasons, helping each to gain promotion from the second tier. After retiring as a player, he became a football coach, and managed sides including CD Logroñés.

Personal life

Born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile, his parents were

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

. He returned to ''Euzkadi'' at early age, after his mother died. He made his home in Areeta and managed a bar in Mayor Street.

References

External links

Higinio Ortúzar
at Athletic-Club * *
Higinio Ortúzar
at Ciberche

1915 births 1982 deaths Footballers from Santiago, Chile Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Chilean people of Spanish descent Sportspeople of Spanish descent Chilean people of Basque descent SD Erandio Club players Racing de Santander players Barakaldo CF footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Valencia CF players Real Valladolid players Real Sociedad footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Chilean football managers Chilean expatriate football managers CD Logroñés managers Cádiz CF managers Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa managers Real Avilés Industrial CF managers Burgos CF (1936) managers UD Salamanca managers Tercera División managers Segunda División managers Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate football managers in Spain 20th-century Chilean sportsmen {{Chile-footy-midfielder-stub