Ignacio Zoco

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Zoco and the second or maternal family name is Esparza.

Ignacio Zoco

Zoco in 1971
Personal information
Full name	Ignacio Zoco Esparza
Date of birth	(1939-07-31)31 July 1939
Place of birth	Garde, Spain
Date of death	28 September 2015(2015-09-28) (aged 76)
Place of death	Madrid, Spain
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
	Esperanza
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1957–1959	Oberena
1959–1962	Osasuna	69	(4)
1959	→ Iruña (loan)
1962–1974	Real Madrid	318	(8)
Total		387	(12)
International career
1961	Spain B	1	(0)
1961–1969	Spain	25	(1)
Medal record Representing  Spain European Nations' Cup Winner 1964 Spain
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ignacio Zoco Esparza (31 July 1939 – 28 September 2015) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

He spent 12 years of his professional career with Real Madrid, appearing in 434 competitive matches and winning ten major titles.^[1]

Zoco played more than 20 times with Spain, winning the 1964 European Nations' Cup and also representing the nation at the 1966 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Garde, Navarre,^[2] Zoco joined CA Osasuna from another side in the region, amateurs CD Oberena.^[3] After spending the first months on loan to CD Iruña, he made his La Liga debut on 10 January 1960 in a 2–1 away loss against Real Oviedo, and eventually started in all of his appearances as the season ended in relegation.^[4]

In the summer of 1962, Zoco signed for powerhouse Real Madrid, playing only 13 matches in his first year, which ended with league conquest, but becoming a starter from there onwards. In 1965–66, apart from appearing in every minute in the domestic competition, he added nine complete games in that campaign's European Cup, including the final against FK Partizan (2–1 win).^[5]

Apart from those two accolades, Zoco won a further six national championships and two Copa del Rey trophies with Real Madrid, totalling 64 appearances in European competition with the Merengues (six goals scored).^[5] He retired in June 1974 at the age of 35 and, 20 years later, was appointed the club's match delegate in replacement of Miguel Ángel González,^[6] retaining the position until 1998.^[7]

International career

Zoco earned 25 caps for Spain, making his debut on 19 April 1961 in a 2–1 away win against Wales for the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.^[3] He was selected for the squads at the 1964 European Nations' Cup, helping the national team to win the tournament,^[2] and the 1966 World Cup.^[8]

Personal life and death

Zoco married singer/songwriter María Ostiz (born 1944) in 1974, with the couple fathering three children and going on to remain married 41 years. He succeeded Alfredo Di Stéfano at the helm of Real Madrid's Veterans Association, after the latter's death.^[9]

Zoco died in Madrid on 28 September 2015, after a long illness. He was 76 years old.^[10][11]

Career statistics

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 December 1963	Mestalla, Valencia, Spain	Belgium	1–1	1–2	Friendly[12]

Honours

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72^[13]
• Copa del Generalísimo: 1969–70, 1973–74; runner-up: 1967–68^[13]
• European Cup: 1965–66^[13]
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1970–71
• Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1966

Spain

• UEFA European Championship: 1964^[13]

Individual

• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1964^[14]

References

1. Florentino: «Zoco representa los valores de nuestro club» (Florentino: "Zoco represents the values of our club"); La Razón, 28 September 2015 (in Spanish)
2. Ignacio Zoco: "Di Stéfano era bueno en todo, un superdotado" (Ignacio Zoco: "Di Stéfano was good at everything, a genius"); Libertad Digital, 28 November 2014 (in Spanish)
3. A Zoco le sacaron de un cine para fichar: "¿Al Madrid o al Barcelona? ¡Al Madrid!" (Zoco was taken out of a movie theater to sign: "To Madrid or Barcelona? To Madrid!"); El Confidencial, 29 September 2015 (in Spanish)
4. El séptimo descenso de Osasuna (Osasuna's seventh relegation); Diario de Navarra, 26 April 2017 (in Spanish)
5. Ignacio Zoco Esparza – Matches in European Cups; at RSSSF
6. Zoco nuevo delegado del equipo (Zoco new team delegate); El País, 13 January 1994 (in Spanish)
7. Chendo busca... ¡la 'Novena'! (Chendo in search of... the 'Ninth'!); Marca, 1 June 2024 (in Spanish)
8. Os jogadores do Real Madrid que participaram de Copas do Mundo (The Real Madrid players who took part in World Cups); Goal, 6 June 2018 (in Portuguese)
9. Zoco sustituye a Di Stéfano como presidente de los veteranos (Zoco replaces Di Stéfano as veterans' president); Marca, 10 September 2014 (in Spanish)
10. Muere Ignacio Zoco, legendario jugador del Real Madrid (Ignacio Zoco, legendary Real Madrid player, dies); El Mundo, 28 September 2015 (in Spanish)
11. Muere Ignacio Zoco, una leyenda del Real Madrid 'ye-yé' (Ignacio Zoco, legend of 'ye-yé' Real Madrid, dies); Diario AS, 28 September 2015 (in Spanish)
12. España, 1 – Belgica, 2 (Spain, 1 – Belgium, 2); Mundo Deportivo, 2 December 1963 (in Spanish)
13. "Restraint, commitment and drive in the midfield". Real Madrid CF. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
14. "1964 team of the tournament". UEFA. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

External links

• Ignacio Zoco at BDFutbol
• Ignacio Zoco at National-Football-Teams.com
• Ignacio Zoco – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Ignacio Zoco at EU-Football.info