Rubén Hugo Ayala Zanabria (born 8 January 1950 in Santa Fe, Argentina

Santa Fe, Argentina

Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...

) is a former Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.

Playing career

During his club career he played for Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro

Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro

Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....

 in Argentina where he was part of the team that famously went unbeaten for the whole of the 1972 Nacional championship

Nacional championship

The Nacional championship was an Argentine football tournament that existed between 1967 and 1985. The Nacional formed one half of the Argentine 1st division taking place in the second half of the year, the Metropolitano took place in the first half of the year. This arrangement lasted until 1982...

.

In 1973 he left for Atlético de Madrid

Atlético de Madrid

Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D., commonly known as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish football club based in Madrid who play in La Liga. Atlético have won both La Liga and the Copa del Rey on nine occasions, including a double in 1996; in Europe, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, were...

 in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 where he won several titles. In 1980 he moved to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to play for Oro de Jalisco and Club Atlante.

During his playing career he earned 25 caps and scored 11 goals for the Argentina national football team

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

, and played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup

1974 FIFA World Cup

The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...

.

He was nicknamed Ratón (Mouse) due to his short height.

Titles

Season	Club	Title
1972 Metropolitano Metropolitano championship The Metropolitano championship was an Argentine football tournament that existed between 1967 and 1984. The Metropolitano formed one half of the Argentine 1st division taking place in the first half of the year, the Nacional took place in the 2nd half of the year. This arrangement lasted until 1982...	San Lorenzo Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....	Primera Division Argentina Primera División Argentina The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...
1972 Nacional Nacional championship The Nacional championship was an Argentine football tournament that existed between 1967 and 1985. The Nacional formed one half of the Argentine 1st division taking place in the second half of the year, the Metropolitano took place in the first half of the year. This arrangement lasted until 1982...	San Lorenzo Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....	Primera Division Argentina Primera División Argentina The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...
1974	Atlético de Madrid Atlético de Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D., commonly known as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish football club based in Madrid who play in La Liga. Atlético have won both La Liga and the Copa del Rey on nine occasions, including a double in 1996; in Europe, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, were...	Copa Intercontinental Intercontinental Cup (football) The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
1976	Atlético de Madrid Atlético de Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D., commonly known as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish football club based in Madrid who play in La Liga. Atlético have won both La Liga and the Copa del Rey on nine occasions, including a double in 1996; in Europe, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, were...	Copa del Rey Copa del Rey The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
1976–1977	Atlético de Madrid Atlético de Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D., commonly known as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish football club based in Madrid who play in La Liga. Atlético have won both La Liga and the Copa del Rey on nine occasions, including a double in 1996; in Europe, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, were...	La Liga La Liga The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

Managerial career

After retiring as a player Ayala took up coaching in Mexico he has been manager of Cobras de Querétaro (1986–1987), Tampico-Madero (1987–1988), Cobras de Ciudad Juárez

Cobras de Ciudad Juárez

Cobras de Ciudad Juárez was a Mexican football team. It was based in the city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.-History:Cobras was founded on 12 May 1980 as Cobras Querétaro, which was owned by television company Televisa. In 1985, the club acted as Club América's reserve team, while also pitching its...

 (1988–1989), Correcaminos (1992–1994) and C.F. Pachuca (2000–2005). During his time with Pachuca he guided them to two league titles the Invierno 2001 and the Apertura 2003 as an assistan coach.

External links

La Liga statistics Futbol Factory profile (Archived)