Miguel Jones

Miguel Jones Castillo (27 October 1938 – 8 April 2020) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for SD Indautxu and Atlético Madrid during the 1950s and 1960s.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Jones and the second or maternal family name is Castillo.
Miguel Jones
Personal information
Full name Miguel Jones Castillo
Date of birth (1938-10-27)27 October 1938
Place of birth Santa Isabel, Spanish Guinea
(now Malabo, Equatorial Guinea)
Date of death 8 April 2020(2020-04-08) (aged 81)
Place of death Bilbao
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1956 Barakaldo 15 (4)
1956–1959 Indautxu 56 (24)
1959–1967 Atlético Madrid 80 (28)
1967–1968 Osasuna 10 (2)
Total 161 (58)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 September 2006
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 September 2006

Football career

Although born in Spanish Guinea, now known as Equatorial Guinea, Jones grew up in Bilbao. He began his career with local sides Barakaldo[1] and Indautxu,[2] where his teammates included the veteran Lezama and another emerging young player, Jesús María Pereda. Jones and Pereda, and later a third Indautxu player, José Eulogio Gárate, were all controversially rejected by Athletic Bilbao because the club's signing policy required for them to be born in Biscay; he maintained throughout his life that his rejection was not due to racism, as the other shunned players were white.[3]

Jones eventually joined Atlético Madrid where under coach José Villalonga he was a prominent member of an Atlético team that also included Enrique Collar and Adelardo. He played in two successive Copa del Generalísimo finals for Atlético against Real Madrid in 1960 and 1961. Atlético won on both occasions and in the 1960 final Jones scored the opening goal in a 3-1 victory. He made a third appearance in a Copa final in 1964 as Atlético lost 2-1 to Real Zaragoza. Jones also played for Atlético in two successive European Cup Winners Cup finals in 1962 and 1963. He scored again in the 1962 final as Atlético beat AC Fiorentina 3-0 after a replay but finished on the losing side when they lost 5-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in 1963. He also won a La Liga title with Atlético in 1966.

In October 1967, Jones was signed for a season with Osasuna, his last club.[4][5]

Later life

After retiring as a player he returned to live in Bilbao and served as a director at SD Indautxu. Jones was a teammate and friend of Luis Aragonés; when the Spain manager was accused of racism in 2004, he cited his friendship with Jones as proof that he was not.[6]

Jones died on 8 April 2020 at the age of 81. He had cancer for a long period before dying in Bilbao during the coronavirus pandemic.[6][7][8]

Honours

References
  1. "Jugadores de 1ª - Jones" [1st Division players - Jones] (in Spanish). Retrieved 2011-08-06. Al no poder intercalar en las filas del Athletic, muy a pesar de la labor de Antón Gorostiaga, Secretario del Club y amigo estudiantil de Jones, recaló inmediatamente en las filas del Barakaldo, recomendado por Daucik.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-08-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Miguel Jones y el Athletic: "Lo de que si era negro es una chorrada"" [Miguel Jones and Athletic: "The idea that it was about me being black is a load of rubbish"]. El Desmarque (in Spanish). 9 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. "Jones fichó por el Osasuna" [Jones signed for Osasuna] (in Spanish). ABC. 1967-10-19. Retrieved 2011-08-06. Ultimado el ventajoso fichaje de Miguel Jones por el Osasuna de Pamplona -900.000 pesetas por una temporada-.
  5. "Miguel Jones, que estudió en Lekaroz y jugó en Osasuna" [Miguel Jones, who studied in Lekaroz and played in Osasuna] (in Spanish). Noticias de Navarra. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2011-08-06. Por cierto que, muchos lo recordarán, acabó su vida deportiva en Osasuna fichado (un millón de pesetas, más sueldo y primas) por Félix Martialay, y aún luego fue 15 años directivo del Indautxu, en Vizcaya, donde reside en Bilbao.
  6. "Muere por coronavirus Miguel Jones, otra leyenda del Atlético de Madrid" [Another Atlético Madrid legend, Miguel Jones, dies of coronavirus]. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. "El día en el que Miguel Jones, fallecido por coronavirus, sí jugó con el Athletic". Deia. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  8. Rivas, Jon (8 April 2020). "Muere Miguel Jones, héroe colchonero". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 April 2020.
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