California Odyssey Soccer Club would like to offer our deepest condolences to the Elgorriaga family on the passing of Coach Jose Elgorriaga. Coach Elgorriaga was a pioneer in youth soccer for Fresno and the central valley. Below are some articles from the Fresno Bee and Soccer America in tribute to Coach.

Posted at 11:06 PM on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009

By Jeff Davis / The Fresno Bee

Jose Elgorriaga, who put Fresno State on the national soccer map, died at his Fresno home Wednesday after a battling a rare nerve disease for years.

Mr. Elgorriaga, 82, took over as men’s coach in 1980 and in 11 years guided the Bulldogs to a 170-58-20 record and seven conference championships. He was the 1986 national coach of the year after Fresno State reached the NCAA Final Four.

Fresno State earned a No. 1 preseason ranking in 1987 -- the year it set a collegiate attendance record of 12,224 for a game against University of San Francisco at Bulldog Stadium.

"He was just a genuine, lovely man to play for, like a father figure to his players," said Edison High boys soccer coach Femi Olukanni, Fresno State’s star midfielder during the team’s heyday.

Sports Illustrated, in an article about coaches as teachers, described Mr. Elgorriaga as a "renaissance man." He taught Spanish for 31 years, chaired Fresno State’s foreign language department and also collaborated with world class guitarist Juan Serrano on a book, "Flamenco Body and Soul."

"Dad was so competitive in sports, yet so versatile and cultured. I’m in awe of him to this day," said his only son, Jose "Chato" Elgorriaga Jr., a second-team All-America goalie for his father in 1986.

"He’d do concerts and read poetry while Juan played guitar. I remember we lost to Akron 1-0 in the Final Four and he changed from his sweats after the game into a tuxedo and delivered a poetry recital that night."

Mr. Elgorriaga retired from coaching after the 1990 season and continued teaching. In 1995, he was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame. But for the past six or seven years, he suffered from supranuclear palsy, a brain disorder that attacks the nervous system and makes it difficult to speak.

"Dad was cognizant, but had very limited use of his limbs," Jose Elgorriaga Jr. said. "We had caregivers around the clock, and Mom [Carmen] took care of him like a champ."

Mr. Elgorriaga was born in 1927 in Spain, the son of Basque parents. The family became refugees during the Spanish Civil War and moved to France. He came to the United States in 1949 to attend Fresno State College. That’s the year he met Carmen in class, and they married five years later.

A former professional goalie in Spain, Mr. Elgorriaga helped pioneer youth soccer in Fresno in the early 1970s.

"Jose is a soccer icon in the area. He was one of a handful of coaches who had actually played the game," said Fresno City men’s soccer coach Eric Solberg, who teamed with Jose Elgorriaga on Mr. Elgorriaga’s Tenaya Stallions that won the unofficial 1979 under-14 national championship.

"One of Jose’s greatest assets was that his players wanted to win for him. He was more than a soccer coach. He was a life coach."

Mr. Elgorriaga had the nickname "Eagle Eye" with his players.

"He’d get in the goal with us," Solberg said, "and said he always knew where the ball was going."

But little did Mr. Elgorriaga know where he’d wind up after the ’79 season. Fresno State president Harold Haak approached Mr. Elgorriaga and offered him the Bulldogs coaching job.

Mr. Elgorriaga took over what amounted to a club team and transformed it into a national top-20 program by recruiting mainly local players with a mix of international talent.

Tim Martin, a 1989 All-American, said Mr. Elgorriaga’s "personality and charm" won over recruits.

"You’d come away saying, ’Wow, I want to play for that guy.’ He was liked and respected by everyone."

Mr. Elgorriaga won what was then a record 14 games his first year. In his final year, 1990, the Bulldogs won 18 games -- a mark that still stands because Fresno State eliminated the program after the 2003 season -- and made the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in his tenure.

First and foremost, Jose Elgorriaga said, his father was a teacher, on the soccer field and in the classroom:

"He loved both, just teaching, reading, helping people. One of his biggest joys was later in life when a former student or player came back and told him, ’You changed my life.’ That was his greatest reward."

Funeral plans for Mr. Elgorriaga are pending, Jose Elgorriaga said. In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Elgorriaga is survived by his sister, Maria Delores Elgorriaga.

Jose Elgorriaga, former Fresno State coach, dies

Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 1:15 PM ET

[COLLEGE] Jose Elgorriaga, who turned Fresno State’s men’s team into a national contender during his 11 years as the Bulldogs head coach, died on Wednesday at age 82. Elgorriaga coached Fresno State from 1980 to 1990 and guided the team to 170-58-20 record and seven conference championships. He was Soccer America’s Coach of the Year in 1986, when the Bulldogs reached the NCAA final four. During that year’s playoffs, 24,783 fans attended four NCAA tournament games at Bulldog Stadium. Elgorriaga also taught Spanish for 31 years and chaired Fresno State’s foreign language department. "Dad was so competitive in sports, yet so versatile and cultured. I’m in awe of him to this day," his only son, Jose "Chato" Elgorriaga Jr., a second-team All-America goalie for his father in 1986, told the Fresno Bee. "He’d do concerts and read poetry while [Juan Serrano] played guitar. I remember we lost to Akron 1-0 in the final four and he changed from his sweats after the game into a tuxedo and delivered a poetry recital that night."