Urbano Ortega Cuadros (born 22 December 1961), known simply as Urbano, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder.

Urbano
Personal information
Full name Urbano Ortega Cuadros
Date of birth (1961-12-22) 22 December 1961 (age 62)
Place of birth Beas de Segura, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Jaén
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1980 Jaén 15 (1)
1980–1982 Español 54 (5)
1982–1991 Barcelona 123 (7)
1991–1993 Español 59 (3)
1993–1994 Lleida 36 (1)
1994–1996 Mérida 59 (3)
1996–1997 Málaga 25 (0)
Total 371 (20)
International career
1979–1980 Spain U18 11 (3)
1980–1983 Spain U21 13 (2)
1982–1988 Spain U23 6 (0)
1980 Spain amateur 3 (0)
Managerial career
2003–2004 Xerez (assistant)
2004–2005 Córdoba (assistant)
2005–2006 Dinamo București (assistant)
2007 Lleida (assistant)
2007–2008 Baza
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Over the course of 16 La Liga seasons (18 for his career), he amassed totals of 301 games and 16 goals, mainly for Espanyol and Barcelona.

Club career

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Urbano was born in Beas de Segura, Province of Jaén. After starting out at Real Jaén and RCD Español,[1] he signed with Catalonia neighbours FC Barcelona in 1982. He only started in two of his nine seasons during his Camp Nou spell, being mainly used as a backup.

Subsequently, Urbano returned to Español for two more seasons, with top-flight relegation in 1992–93.[1] He closed out his professional career in 1996, after playing with modest UE Lleida (one year) and CP Mérida (two), with two additional campaigns in the top division, one with each team.

Urbano began coaching in 2003, assisting former Barça teammate Esteban Vigo at numerous clubs, including Romania's FC Dinamo București.[2] His first head coach experience arrived in 2007–08 in Segunda División B, with CD Baza. He resigned in June 2008, as the side dropped down a tier.[3]

After working as a scout for Barcelona and Villarreal CF, Urbano returned to another former club, Espanyol (as they were now known), in July 2009, as a sporting director.[4]

International career

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Urbano never earned a senior cap for Spain, but was a regular for its under-21 team, also competing at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[5][6]

Honours

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Barcelona

References

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  1. ^ a b "URBANO Ortega" (in Spanish). Hall of Fame Perico. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Esteban, to Dinamo Bucharest" [Esteban, to Dinamo Bucharest] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 December 2005. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Y el primer candidato es... Urbano Ortega" [And the first candidate is... Urbano Ortega]. Granada Hoy (in Spanish). 15 April 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. ^ "El ex jugador y entrenador jienense Urbano Ortega 'ficha' por el Español de Barcelona" [Jaén-born former footballer and manager Urbano Ortega 'signs' for Barcelona's Español]. Ideal (in Spanish). 8 July 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. ^ García Candau, Julian (26 July 1980). "El fútbol, una vergüenza olímpica" [Football, olympic shame]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  6. ^ Braña, Mario D. (28 April 2008). "El fútbol también es así" [Football is also like this]. La Nueva España (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
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