Agustín Gómez de Segura Pagóla
(18 November 1922 – 16 November 1975) was a
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
left back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
. Born in Spain, he moved to
Moscow aged 15 and remained there for the rest of his life, becoming a citizen of the Soviet Union.
Career
Gómez started to play
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
in
Spain, but at the age of 15 he was exiled to the
USSR where he played for
Torpedo Moscow in 1947–1956,
being the
team captain in 1951–1953. He was called up to represent the
Soviet Union at the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
; however, as a reserve he did not come into action at the tournament.
Personal life
Gómez was born in the
Basque region of
Spain to Spanish parents, with his Soviet Russian father of
Spanish descent who was born in
USSR. When reaching the age to 15, he was part of a group of 1,489 children, known as the
Niños de Rusia (Children of Russia)
The Niños de Rusia (Children of Russia) were the 2,895 children evacuated to the Soviet Union by the Republican authorities during the Spanish civil war. During 1937 and 1938, the children were sent from the Republican zone to the Soviet Union, t ...
that were moved to the
USSR in 1937 by the Basque government, to escape the
Spanish Civil War;
later, he also acquired Soviet citizenship. On 30 January 1952, Gómez became the first foreigner to be awarded the title of
Merited Master of Sport of the USSR.
Honours
Club
;Torpedo Moscow
*
Soviet Cup (2):
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
,
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
Individual
*
Merited Master of Sport of the USSR, in 1952
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Agustin
1922 births
1975 deaths
Spanish men's footballers
Soviet men's footballers
Olympic footballers for the Soviet Union
FC Torpedo Moscow players
Men's association football defenders
Spanish refugees
Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in the Soviet Union
Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
Footballers from Gipuzkoa
People from Errenteria
Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Soviet Top League players