José María Olabarría

José María Olavarria Martínez de las Rivas was a Spanish politician and sports leader who served as the 13th president of Athletic Bilbao between 1933 and 1935. Under his presidency, the club enjoyed sporting successes, winning one La Liga title in 1933–34, but he is best known for being only president who, at a certain point, dared to work as a coach.

Early life José María Olavarría was born on 9 March 1899 in Bilbao, Biscay as the son of Carmen Martínez de las Rivas Tracy, daughter of José María Martinez de las Rivas, owner of the Astilleros del Nervión where Club Atleta was founded in 1892.

Sporting career In 1933, a few months after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, Olabarría, a conservative politician and member of the Monarchist Democratic Party, was elected as the 13th president of Athletic Bilbao, a position that he held for two years until 1935, when he was replaced by Luis Casajuana. He inherited Athletic during one of its greatest periods, the club having just won its fourth consecutive Copa del Rey title under coach Fred Pentland, who left in 1933 and was replaced by Patricio Caicedo; under Olabarría's presidency the sporting success continued, winning one La Liga title in 1933–34. Olabarría became the first president to work as a coach during his mandate. an industrial engineer of the independent right in 1938–39, and a councillor in 1941–42.

It is unknown how Olabarría managed to survive the eleven months of the Civil War until the conquest of Bilbao by the factionalists; in any case, he appears well integrated into the local political society immediately after the fall of the city as a municipal councillor (member of the "independent right")

The date of his death is unknown.