Daniel Ruiz

Dani

Personal information
Full name	Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa
Date of birth	28 June 1951 (1951-06-28) (age 60)
Place of birth	Sopuerta, Spain
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1968–1969	Sodupe
1969–1970	Getxo
1970–1971	Villosa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1971–1972	Bilbao Athletic	33	(8)
1972–1974	→ Barakaldo (loan)	65	(9)
1974–1986	Athletic Bilbao	302	(147)
Total		400	(164)
National team
1977	Spain U21	1	(3)
1976	Spain amateur	1	(1)
1981	Spain B	2	(1)
1977–1981	Spain	25	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Ruiz-Bazán and the second or maternal family name is Justa.

Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa (born 28 June 1951), aka Dani, is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

During his career he played almost exclusively for Athletic Bilbao, scoring nearly 200 official goals (exactly 199) in more than one decade with the first team.

Club career

Born in Sopuerta, Biscay, Dani played his youth football in various clubs in the Basque Country, arriving in Athletic Bilbao in 1971, aged 20, and playing one full season with the reserve side, in the third division.

After two seasons loaned at neighbouring Barakaldo CF, in level two, he returned to his alma mater, scoring in double digits for nine of the following ten years. Dani's first La Liga match occurred on 29 September 1974, in a 0–3 loss at Valencia CF. In the 1976–77 season, as the Lions reached the final of the UEFA Cup and won the Copa del Rey, also finishing third in the league, he netted a total of 29 goals in 46 official games; in the latter competition, during his 12-year stint with the club, he reached the 20-goal mark twice.

Dani helped Athletic to back-to-back league titles in his later years (1983–84), although he was only a fringe player in the latter - 10 games, three goals - due to the emergence of another youth product of the club, Manuel Sarabia. He would be further pushed down the pecking order after the first-team promotion of Julio Salinas, and eventually retired in June 1986 at the age of 35, having scored 147 league goals in 302 matches.

International career

Dani played 25 matches and scored 10 goals for Spain, during four years and two days. His debut came on 21 September 1977, in a 2–1 friendly win in Switzerland.

Dani represented his country in both the 1978 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1980, respectively scoring against Austria and England (1–2 defeats and group stage exit in both cases).

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	25 January 1978	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain	Italy	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2.	29 March 1978	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Norway	3–0	3–0	Friendly
3.	26 April 1978	Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain	Mexico	2–0	2–0	Friendly
4.	3 June 1978	José Almafitani, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Austria	1–1	2–1	1978 FIFA World Cup
5.	4 April 1979	Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania	Romania	1–1	2–2	Euro 1980 qualifying
6.	4 April 1979	Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania	Romania	2–2	2–2	Euro 1980 qualifying
7.	26 September 1979	Balaídos, Vigo, Spain	Portugal	1–0	1–1	Friendly
8.	23 January 1980	Balaídos, Vigo, Spain	Netherlands	1–0	1–0	Friendly
9.	18 June 1980	San Paolo, Naples, Italy	England	1–1	1–2	UEFA Euro 1980
10.	12 November 1980	Sarrià, Barcelona, Spain	Poland	1–1	1–2	Friendly

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

• Spanish League: 1982–83, 1983–84
• Spanish Cup: 1983–84
• Spanish Supercup: 1984
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1976–77

External links

• Athletic Bilbao profile
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Daniel Ruiz at National-Football-Teams.com
• International appearances; at RSSSF
• Daniel Ruiz – FIFA competition record

Persondata
Name	Daniel Ruiz
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	28 June 1951
Place of birth	Sopuerta, Spain
Date of death
Place of death