José María Noriega

Tenerife Noriega began the 1987–88 season with Athletic but did not play any competitive fixtures and soon moved on, dropping down to the second level to join newly promoted CD Tenerife on the eve of his 29th birthday. Injuries again hampered his progress during two seasons in the Canary Islands, Tenerife also praised his "nobility and professionalism" during his spell, after which he retired from playing professionally at the relatively young age of 30.

Post-playing career After his playing days ended, Noriega remained working in football, although it was more than a decade later when he was hired in a prominent position. After spending the 2003–04 season as the manager of Barakaldo CF in the third tier, in September 2004 he was appointed as Athletic Bilbao's director of football with special responsibility for the club's Lezama academy, after the appointment of Fernando Lamikiz as president.

Although credited for his involvement in bringing players such as Javi Martínez and Iker Muniain to the club, his three-year term was also associated with disappointing results on the field, with several coaches hired and dismissed, in addition to the 'Zubiaurre affair' where Athletic's approach to sign a player was ruled to be illegal, all of which led to Lamikiz's resignation halfway through his scheduled term. Noriega remained in post during the interim presidency of Ana Urkijo but was replaced when became president in the 2007 elections. He later expressed his disappointment that his efforts to add a winning mentality to the youth coaching at the club – by appointing experienced personnel such as former teammates Luis de la Fuente and Patxi Salinas – were derided as cronyism.

Honours Athletic Bilbao La Liga: 1982–83, 1983–84