José Ángel Ziganda · Biography

José Ángel Ziganda Lakunza, known as “Cuco”, made his Osasuna first-team debut on 13 December 1987 in a 0-0 home draw with Sabadell, coming on for the injured Michael Robinson. Born on 1 October 1966 in Larraintzar, Navarre, he was a centre-forward for Osasuna and Athletic Club in La Liga and, after retiring, coached Osasuna, Xerez, Bilbao Athletic, Athletic Club, Real Oviedo, SD Huesca and Cultural Leonesa.

Youth football and first spell at Osasuna

A product of the Osasuna academy, he joined the reserve side, Osasuna Promesas, in 1985 and spent two seasons there before stepping up. After that 1987 debut he became a regular in the Navarrese attack: at 1.85 metres he was a penalty-box striker, strong in the air and a reliable finisher. He scored 11 league goals in 1989-90 and another 11 in 1990-91, numbers that earned him a Spain call-up and a move to a bigger club.

Seven seasons at Athletic Club

In 1991 he joined Athletic Club, where he stayed until 1998. At San Mamés he played alongside several generations of forwards and was part of the side that finished fifth in 1993-94. He scored two notable hat-tricks: the first on 26 May 1993 away at Albacete in a 5-4 win, the second in 1996 against Rayo Vallecano. All seven of his seasons in Bilbao were spent in the top flight.

Return to Pamplona and retirement

In 1998 he went back to Osasuna, then in the Spanish second division. With him in the squad the club won promotion to La Liga in 2000, and Ziganda retired in 2001, back in the top tier. Across his two clubs he played twelve seasons in La Liga.

Spain and the Basque Country

He won two senior caps. His Spain debut came on 17 April 1991 in Cáceres, a friendly Romania won 2-0, in which he played four minutes; his second appearance came in 1994 against Cyprus. For the Basque Country team he played five matches between 1994 and 1998, scoring four goals.

Early coaching years: from the youth teams to Europe

He began coaching in the Osasuna academy. With the under-19 side, between 2003 and 2005, he lost the 2004 youth Copa del Rey final to Espanyol (3-2) and won Group II of the Liga Juvenil in 2004-05. He then took charge of the reserves in Segunda División B in 2005-06, and on 23 May 2006 replaced Javier Aguirre as first-team coach. In his first season he led Osasuna to the 2007 UEFA Cup semi-finals, the club's first European semi-final, after knocking out Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals; holders Sevilla edged them 2-1 over two legs. He kept the side in La Liga in 2007-08 and was sacked on 13 October 2008. In July 2009 he took over Xerez in their first top-flight season, but left in January 2010 with one win in 19 matches.

Six years at Lezama and the Athletic first team

In July 2011 he became coach of Bilbao Athletic, leading the reserves in 242 matches. In 2015 he took them back to the Spanish second division through the play-offs, nineteen years after their last spell at that level; they went down again in 2016. On 24 May 2017 he was appointed Athletic Club coach. His eight unbeaten opening games were the best start by a debutant coach in club history, but the 2017-18 season ended with a Europa League round-of-16 exit against Marseille (5-2 on aggregate) and a 16th-place league finish. He left on 21 May 2018 after 54 matches.

Oviedo, Huesca and Cultural Leonesa

On 18 February 2020 he joined Real Oviedo, securing survival in the second division in 2019-20 and finishing seventh in 2021-22; he left in June 2022 after 101 matches. On 13 June 2022 he signed for SD Huesca, who finished 15th in 2022-23, and he was dismissed on 7 October 2023. On 23 September 2025 he took charge of Cultural Leonesa in the second division, and the club dismissed him on 23 February 2026, with the team in the relegation zone, after 25 matches: 9 wins, 5 draws and 11 defeats.