Manuel Amechazurra

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Manuel Amechazurra
Personal information
Full name Manuel Amechazurra Guazo
Date of birth(1888-03-08)8 March 1888
Place of birth Bacólod, Captaincy General of the Philippines [1]
Date of death(1965-02-13)13 February 1965
Place of death Barcelona, Spain
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1902–1906 FC Irish 137 (20)
1906–1908 F.C. Barcelona
1908 St. Boniface's College
1908 Star United
1908 Unión Católica
1909 Stoke Chuchife
1909 Real Unión
1909–1915 FC Barcelona
International career
1910–1912 [2] Catalonia 6 (0)
Managerial career
1923 Philippines [3]
Medal record
Flag of the Philippines (1919-1936).svg  Philippines
Far Eastern Championship Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1923 Osaka Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel Amechazurra was a Philippine-born Spanish footballer who played as a defender. [4] His nickname was Amecha. He is best known for his second spell at FC Barcelona, playing a total of 137 games in the first team and scoring 20 goals.

Contents

Amechazurra was one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of FC Barcelona, serving as its captain for 5 years between 1909 and 1914, and thus playing a crucial role in Barça's huge sporting success of the early 1910s, [5] winning four championships in Catalonia, three Copa del Reys in Spain and four Pyrenees Cups in a row. In addition to his contributions on the field, he was also one of the club's first undercover professional.

Club career

Originally from the Philippines, he settled in Barcelona as a young man, where he began playing football at his local club FC Irish in 1902. In Irish, Amechazurra stood out as an extraordinary defender, which earned him a move to FC Barcelona in 1906. After two unsuccessful years at Barça, he went to England in 1908 where he played for several clubs such as St. Boniface's College and Stoke Chuchife. In England, he learned the most modern techniques and tactics, which he transported to Barcelona when he returned in 1909.

He played at FC Barcelona until 1915, almost a whole decade with the brief exception of his travels, which made him known among his colleagues with the nickname of the Adventurer. He formed a great defensive partnership with José Irízar. Together with Carles Comamala, Amechazurra was the fundamental head behind piece in Barcelona's first great team, which also had the likes of Paco Bru, Alfredo Massana, the Wallace brothers (Charles and Percy) and Pepe Rodríguez, but it was Amechazurra who was named the team's captain. No one disputed this decision in a time when the captain had the duty of dictating the tactics to be followed (since the coach as we know him today did not exist back then) and who had to make up the line-ups and game plans. Amechazurra captained this team to five Catalan championships including three back-to-back titles between 1909 and 1911, along with four Pyrenees Cups in a row between 1910 and 1913, and three Copa del Rey titles in 1910, 1912 and 1913. In the latter's final, Barça needed three games to beat Real Sociedad and Amechazurra captained in all of them, including the decisive game which Barça won 2–1. [6] Amechazurra played a total of 137 games in the first team and scored 20 goals.

He is considered the club's first undercover professional at a time when football was amateur. He earned 300 pesetas in disguise in exchange for teaching English to some executives, despite opposition from Joan Gamper. A few months later, players like José Irízar or Alfredo Massana also started to get paid in disguise.[ citation needed ]

International career

Like many other FC Barcelona of his time, he played several matches for the Catalan national team in the early 1910s, being one of the eleven footballers who played in the team's first-ever game recognized by FIFA on 20 February 1912, which ended in a 0–7 loss to France. [7]

Managerial career

Amecha, briefly, coached the Philippines National Football Team in the sixth edition of the Far Eastern Games in Osaka, in 1923. His team was influenced by the absence of several players and had to rely on some junior division players, all college students aged 16 to 18. Prior to the Far East Games he and the team had beaten a British/Spanish selection with a 2-0 win result in Manila. Amecha's first game at the tournament begun with a 0-3 loss, against Filipinos' rivals China, which saw a brawl break out leading to a full-scale battle and members of the crowd were also involved. The two sides, however, agreed to finish the game after the police managed to restore order. The next game against Japan did not start as Amecha hoped, as his team conceaded after 5 minutes, despite the rough start, the Filipinos were able to turn it around in the last minutes of the game, resulting in a 2-1 victory and a silver medal for Amecha and his team. [3]

Honours

Player

Barcelona

Manager

Philippine national football team

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References

  1. ↑ Alcazaren, Paulo (30 April 2011). "More Azkals and a national stadium". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Antoni Closa, Jaume Rius. Selecció Catalana de Futbol: nou dècades d'història. Any 1999. Editorial Jaume Rius. ISBN   8492294434
  3. 1 2 "Sixth Far Eastern Games 1923 (Osaka)".
  4. ↑ "Manuel Amechazurra Guazo - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Manuel Amechazurra Guazo stats". players.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Spain - Cup 1913". RSSSF . 13 January 2000. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Catalonia 0-7 France". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Hemeroteca. 22 February 1912. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
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