José Garreta (footballer, born 1941)

José Garreta
Personal information
Full name José Garreta Viles
Birth name Josep Garreta i Viles
Date of birth (1941-11-22)22 November 1941
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Date of death 1 January 2015(2015-01-01) (aged 73)
Place of death L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1956–1957 Peña Alirón
1957–1959 Barcelona U19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1960 Barcelona Amateur
1960–1961 Sant Andreu 26
1961–1962 L'Hospitalet
1962–1963 UD Arbúcies
1963–1968 Unió Esportiva Tossa
1968–1969 UD Bellvitge
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Garreta Viles (22 November 1941 – 1 January 2015) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for several modest Catalan clubs, being named the best defender of the Catalonia Regional League in the 1963–64 season.

Early life

José Garreta was born in the Catalonian town of Barcelona on 22 November 1941, as the second son of José Garreta Sabadell, a former footballer who had played for Espanyol in the 1932–33 season.[1][2]

Career

In 1956, the 15-year-old Garreta began playing football at Peña Alirón, a team affiliated with FC Barcelona, whose coaches requested his transfer to the Barcelona youth team in 1957, with whom he played for three years.[1] In his last season at Barça (1959–60), he played for the club's amateur team, and even made one appearance for the club's first team, in a friendly match against Olesa on 26 June 1960, helping his side to a 3–2 victory.[3]

In 1960, Garreta joined Sant Andreu, then in the Tercera División, where he immediately earned a starting position in the defensive line. At the end of the season, he signed for L'Hospitalet at the request of its coach, Mario Anchisi.[1] In 1962, however, he was called up to carry out his mandatory military service in Arbúcies, so he signed for the club's local team. Once his duties were complete, he joined Unió Esportiva Tossa, where he quickly established himself as one of its most important players and was named the most outstanding defender in the Catalan regional category in the 1963–64 season.[1] In an interview with Mundo Deportivo in November 1964, Garreta stated that he considered Alfredo Di Stefano to be "the best player currently".[1]

Garreta stayed at Tossa for five years, from 1963 until 1968, when he joined UD Bellvitge, where he retired in 1969, aged 28.[3]

Later life

Garriga died in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat on 1 January 2015, at the age of 91.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "José Garreta Viles". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 19 November 1964. p. 5. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Josep Garreta Sabadell". historia.cesabadellfc.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "José Garreta Viles stats". players.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 11 May 2025.