Spanish footballer
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Zamora
and the second or maternal family name is
Martinez
.
Ricardo Zamora
Zamora on the cover of Argentine sports magazine
El Grafico
in June 1926
|
|
Full name
|
Ricardo Zamora Martinez
|
---|
Date of birth
|
(
1901-01-21
)
21 January 1901
|
---|
Place of birth
|
Barcelona
, Spain
|
---|
Date of death
|
8 September 1978
(1978-09-08)
(aged 77)
|
---|
Place of death
|
Barcelona, Spain
|
---|
Height
|
1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
|
---|
Position(s)
|
Goalkeeper
|
---|
|
1914?1916
|
Universitari SC
|
---|
|
Years
|
Team
|
Apps
|
(
Gls
)
|
---|
1916?1919
|
Espanyol
|
48
|
(0)
|
---|
1919?1922
|
Barcelona
|
38
|
(0)
|
---|
1922?1930
|
Espanyol
|
26
|
(0)
|
---|
1930?1936
|
Real Madrid
|
82
|
(0)
|
---|
1937?1938
|
Nice
|
9
|
(0)
|
---|
|
1920?1936
|
Spain
|
46
|
(0)
|
---|
1920?1930
|
Catalan XI
|
|
|
---|
|
1937?1938
|
Nice
|
---|
1939?1946
|
Atletico Aviacion
|
---|
1946?1949
|
Celta
|
---|
1949?1951
|
Malaga
|
---|
1951?1952
|
Spain
|
---|
1953?1955
|
Celta
|
---|
1955?1957
|
Espanyol
|
---|
1960
|
Celta
|
---|
1961
|
Espanyol
|
---|
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
|
Ricardo Zamora Martinez
(
Spanish pronunciation:
[ri?ka?ðo
θa?mo?a
ma??tineθ]
; 21 January 1901
[1]
? 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a
goalkeeper
for, among others,
RCD Espanyol
,
FC Barcelona
and
Real Madrid
. As an international he played for both the
Catalan XI
and
Spain
. As a manager, he won two
La Liga
titles with
Atletico Madrid
(then Atletico Aviacion) and briefly managed
Spain
.
Club career
[
edit
]
RCD Espanyol
[
edit
]
Born in
Barcelona
,
Spain
, Zamora began his career as a junior with Universitari SC before signing for Espanyol in 1916, at the age of fifteen, after playing a series of
friendly matches
with the club. He made his debut for the club on 23 April 1916 against Madrid FC (now
Real Madrid CF
), keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw. He then helped Espanyol win the
Campionat de Catalunya
in 1918. Zamora never had the support of his parents to play football because they wanted him to focus on studying medicine like his father, but his teammates such as
Pakan
encouraged him to keep playing.
[2]
But even so, in 1919, he decided to resume his studies, at the will of his family, so he abandoned the ranks of Espanyol. However, he resumed the activity shortly after due to a large offer from local rivals
FC Barcelona
, which he accepted despite his family's opposition and an argument with Espanyol's board.
[2]
I had promised my parents that I would give up football to finish my studies. But my friends kept telling me to play and then the Barca board came to talk to me. It didn't take long for them to convince me to take my boots and gloves back.
Ricardo Zamora
[2]
After three successful seasons at Barca he returned to Espanyol in 1922. On 2 February 1929, he made his
La Liga
debut with Espanyol during the competition's inaugural season. In the same year, under the management of
Jack Greenwell
and together with
Ricardo Saprissa
, he helped the club win both the
Campionat de Catalunya
and their first ever
Copa del Rey
in
1929
, after beating the likes of
Atletico Madrid
in the quarter-finals, the soon-to-be La Liga champions Barcelona in the semi-finals and Real Madrid 2?1 in the
final
.
[3]
After playing 26
La Liga
games for Espanyol, he joined Real Madrid in 1930.
FC Barcelona
[
edit
]
Between 1919 and 1922 Zamora was a prominent member of the legendary
FC Barcelona
team, coached by
Jack Greenwell
, that also included his close friend
Josep Samitier
,
Sagibarba
,
Paulino Alcantara
and
Felix Sesumaga
. During his time at Barcelona, he helped the team win the
Campionat de Catalunya
three times and the Copa del Rey twice in
1920
and
1922
, keeping a clean-sheet in the
1920 final
in a 2?0 win over
Pichichi
's
Athletic Bilbao
.
[4]
Real Madrid
[
edit
]
In 1930 Zamora signed for Real Madrid. He was one of several new arrivals, and among the others was
Jacinto Quincoces
. During the
1931?32
season they helped the club win La Liga for the first time. The following season Zamora and Quincoces were joined at the club by
Josep Samitier
and the trio helped Real retain the title. In 1934
Francisco Bru
took over as the Real coach and he guided Zamora and company to victory in two
Copa de Espana
finals. In the
1934 final
they beat a
Valencia CF
team coached by
Jack Greenwell
2?1.
[5]
The
1936 final
saw Real Madrid meet
FC Barcelona
for the first time in a cup final, and despite playing with ten men for most of the game, the Madrid club beat Barca 2?1 at the
Mestalla
. Barca's attempts to equalize in the final minutes were thwarted by Zamora's spectacular save from
Josep Escola
.
[6]
International career
[
edit
]
Spain
[
edit
]
In 1920 together with
Josep Samitier
,
Felix Sesumaga
,
Pichichi
and
Jose Maria Belauste
, Zamora was a member of the first ever
Spain national team
. The squad, coached by
Francisco Bru
, won the silver medal at the
1920 Olympic Games
.
[7]
Zamora subsequently made 46 official appearances for Spain, including in the
infamous game against England
on 15 May 1929, in which England took a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes following mistakes from him, who had injured his
sternum
early on, but despite that he carried on playing and Spain won the game 4?3, becoming the first team from outside the
British Isles
to defeat England.
[8]
Zamora also represented Spain at the
1934 World Cup
.
Zamora was also Spain's most capped player for 45 years until being surpassed by
Jose Angel Iribar
.
[
citation needed
]
Catalan XI
[
edit
]
Zamora also played at least 13 games for the
Catalan XI
. However, records from the era do not always include accurate statistics and he may have played more. Together with
Paulino Alcantara
,
Sagibarba
and
Josep Samitier
, he helped the Catalan XI win two tournaments of the
Prince of Asturias Cup
, an official inter-regional competition organized by the
RFEF
, winning in
1923-24
and
1926
.
[9]
Player profile
[
edit
]
Style of play
[
edit
]
Zamora, nicknamed
El Divino
, was noted for wearing a cloth cap and a white polo-neck jumper on the field, a look later copied by several of his contemporaries. He claimed it was to protect him from both the sun and his opponents. As a goalkeeper, he was primarily known for his athleticism, quick reflexes, shot-stopping abilities, large frame, and bravery in goal.
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
In 1929 while playing for
Spain
against
England
, he carried on playing despite breaking his
sternum
. Spain won the game 4?3, becoming the first team from outside the
British Isles
to defeat England.
[8]
Zamora is also remembered for a spectacular last-minute save he made in the
1936 Copa del Rey final
while playing for
Real Madrid
against
FC Barcelona
.
Legacy
[
edit
]
Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, along with
Gianpiero Combi
and
Franti?ek Plani?ka
,
[14]
as well as one of the greatest of all time,
[15]
in 1999, the
IFFHS
elected Zamora as the best Spanish goalkeeper ? as well as the fourth best in Europe and fifth best overall ? of the twentieth century;
[16]
[17]
in the same year, he was voted one of the
greatest players of the 20th century
by
World Soccer
magazine. The award for the best goalkeeper in
La Liga
, the
Ricardo Zamora Trophy
, is named in his honour.
Spanish Civil War Prisoner
[
edit
]
In July 1936 during the early days of the
Spanish Civil War
,
ABC
falsely reported that Zamora had been killed by
Republicans
. The Nationalists then attempted to exploit this as propaganda. However, Zamora was alive and well and, as rumours began to spread of his death, he was
arrested by Republican militia
and then imprisoned at the Modelo prison. Among his fellow prisoners were
Ramon Serrano Suner
and
Rafael Sanchez Mazas
. His life was saved by both the actions of the prison governor
Melchor Rodriguez Garcia
and because of his own willingness to play and talk football with the guards. Zamora was eventually released after the Argentinian Embassy interceded on his behalf. He then made his way to France where he was reunited with
Josep Samitier
at
OGC Nice
. He later returned to Spain and on 8 December 1938 played for a
Spain XI
against
Real Sociedad
in a benefit game for Nationalist soldiers.
In the 1950s, the
Franco regime
awarded Zamora the Great Cross of the Order of Cisneros, a medal created in 1944 to reward "political merit."
[18]
Controversies
[
edit
]
Zamora was also the subject of controversy throughout his career. He allegedly enjoyed drinking
Cognac
and smoking up to three packs of cigarettes a day. During the
1920 Olympic Games
he was sent off against
Italy
after punching an opponent and on the way back from the same tournament he was arrested, imprisoned and fined for attempting to smuggle
Havana cigars
. In 1922 he was suspended for a year when he lied to the tax authorities about the signing on fee he received when he returned to
RCD Espanyol
. He also received 40,000 pesetas of the 150,000 peseta fee that took him from Espanyol to Real Madrid.
[
citation needed
]
Zamora's ostensible political allegiances were also the subject of debate and controversy. Despite playing regularly for the
Catalan XI
, he was accused of rejecting
Catalan nationalism
. In 1934, he was awarded an Order of the Republic medal by his namesake
Niceto Alcala-Zamora
, president of the
Second Spanish Republic
, while during the
Spanish Civil War
he was exploited by Nationalist propagandists and he played in a benefit game for their cause. During the 1950s he was awarded the Great Cross of the Order of Cisneros by the
Franco regime
.
[18]
Coaching career
[
edit
]
In 1939 Zamora was appointed coach of
Atletico Madrid
, then known as
Athletic Aviacion
and later to become
Atletico Aviacion
, following a merger with
Aviacion Nacional
, a Spanish Air Force team. With Zamora as manager, the club won their first La Liga in 1940 and then retained the title in 1941. In 1946 he moved to
Celta de Vigo
and during the 1947?48, he led a Celta team that included
Pahino
and
Miguel Munoz
to fourth in La Liga and the
Copa del Generalisimo
final. In June 1952 he coached
Spain
for two games. In 1953 was hired as coach by
La Salle F.C.
of Caracas (Venezuela). He later returned to Celta de Vigo and then had two spells as coach at Espanyol.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Zamora died on 8 September 1978 in Barcelona, and is interred in the city's
Montjuic Cemetery
.
[
citation needed
]
Honours
[
edit
]
Player
[
edit
]
Club
[
edit
]
- Espanyol
- Barcelona
- Real Madrid
International
[
edit
]
- Spain
- Catalan XI
Individual
[
edit
]
Manager
[
edit
]
Atletico Aviacion
Celta Vigo
References
[
edit
]
- General
- Specific
External links
[
edit
]
Ricardo Zamora managerial positions
|
---|
|