The making of the “Little Devil”

“I remember when I was in Morocco, in any small places, playing 20v20 for example and that’s where I developed my ability to dribble,” Lopez Ufarte says.
His parents soon returned to Spain and Lopez Ufarte says he soon moved from playing in the streets to playing on the beach in the north of Spain.
“When we moved to the north of Spain, people were talking about playing on the beach and I had no idea that we could. But in Spain when the tide goes out, it leaves the beach completely flat,” he says.
“In the town where I lived every Sunday when the tide was out there was a competition. All of us, or the majority of Real Sociedad players, came from the beach. We all played with bare feet and it was something different but that was my first experience, playing on the beach.”
At the age of 12, Lopez Ufarte made a decision that would change the course of his life and help launch his professional career.
“My parents moved to Pau, a small village in the south-west of France, and I stayed in Spain alone for two years because I love football. My parents of course wanted me to go with them, but I said no,” Lopez Ufarte recalls. “I love football, so I stayed behind and did my studies in Spain. The reason was because in Spain they love football, while in France they are more behind rugby.”
The decision paid dividends when a 15-year-old Lopez Ufarte made his debut as a junior with Real Union de Irun before almost immediately making the move up to the senior team playing In Spain’s second division. It was during this period that Lopez Ufarte also earned his first call-up to Spain’s junior national side, playing ten international matches at U-18 level and three at U-21 – and also when he was christened with the nickname that followed him throughout his career.
“In a tournament where we played in Monaco we were playing in the final and Prince Ranier was there to watch the game. During the match he turned to someone and said: ‘who is this little devil’, and that stuck with me through my career.”
Lopez Ufarte remained with Real Union until he was 17, at which time he made his debut in the First Division with Real Sociedad.
“I spent 12 years with Real Sociedad which has always been my team,” he says.
Following this period he remained in the La Liga but with Atletico de Madrid for one season, then on to Betis Balompie for two seasons before hanging up his boots. During his career, Lopez Ufarte amassed an impressive 539 official Spanish First Division matches, 140 official goals, two Championship League titles, one Spanish Super League Championship and a Spanish Championship Cup. He also played 15 international matches in the Spain shirt including the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted by Spain, an experience he will never forget.
“I have to say, because we were playing in Spain, everyone hoped that we would win but we didn’t. Spain has begun winning now, but before no,” Lopez Ufarte says. “It was an experience that we could say was a bit negative because so many Spaniards thought we would win but for us it was just an amazing experience.
“Before being selected we thought, you have a player, there are 23 players in a team and they are among the 400 best players in the world. But we tried not to think too much about that. We are football players and everyone plays in a team, always trying to improve and of course make the national selection. And if we spent too much time thinking that we are among the 400 best players in the world, well we would collapse,” he says. “But it was a great experience and every time I watch a World Cup I think to myself, ‘I’ve played in a World Cup too’.”
Lopez Ufarte also stepped up to the spot to slot home a penalty during the tournament and says while he may have appeared calm on the outside but was anything but when it came down to it.
“You have to be calm, and on the outside I was. But when you take it you have to choose a spot and score. If you think too much it’s not good, you have to be sure.”
After retiring from his playing career Lopez Ufarte, who is a self-confessed football obsessive, couldn’t stay away from the game long and soon found himself back in the folds of his long-time club Real Sociedad – this time as a coach.
“I returned to be technical director and youth trainer,” he says.
This saw him spend a season coaching the U-16 squad and two with the U-18s. He coached the Real Sociedad B and saw them promoted to Second Division B, as well as working as the assistant coach of the Real Sociedad first team. He then returned to the club of his youth, Real Union de Irun, where he spent three seasons as Sport Director, taking the club to the play-offs and seeing them promoted to Second Division A. Lopez Ufarte also developed on off-field career as a football commentator and analyst covering La Liga.
Now the ‘Little Devil’ is writing a new chapter in a country full of players that remind him of himself as a youngster.
“In Vanuatu I imagine it is the same as when I was a child or even going back 20 or 50 years earlier when people played in the streets. Even on the beach when we all played barefoot is perhaps similar to Vanuatu where the youngsters play with bare feet.”
OFC technical director Patrick Jacquemet says Lopez Ufarte’s early development and everything he has achieved since reassure him that he has made the right decision bring the Spaniard to Vanuatu.
“I was a young player in France at the time but I remember Roberto and his notoriety, which had already exceeded the borders of Spain, perfectly. His nickname was the ‘little devil’, a real firecracker with excellent technique, passer and scorer.”