Arthur Vere Scott Johnson (12 April 1879 – 23 May 1929) was an Irish

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

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 both a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

and

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Madrid FC Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. He was one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of

Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn ...

, since it was the knowledge that he brought from a more advanced football in England that helped the club to have a rapid sporting growth in its early years, thus being one of the main architects of the foundations that saw the club win its first titles and become one of the best teams in the country in the early 20th century. Johnson was also a historic player of Real Madrid, having been part of the first-ever team fielded by them in 1902 and then serving as the club's very first coach for ten years, between 1910 until 1920.

Biography

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

when Ireland was still part of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, Johnson identified himself as an "Englishman" rather than an "Irishman" according to at least one report, though "English" at the time was often used interchangeably to denote "British citizen". On 13 May 1902, Johnson went down in history as one of the eleven footballers who played in the very first official game of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

at the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, which was also the first

El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...

, and it was he who scored the very first competitive goal in Real Madrid's history in a 1–3 loss to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. He then helped Madrid win the consolation trophy called the Copa de la Gran Peña, which was the club's first-ever piece of silverware. Due to his great knowledge of football, which he brought from England, he played in many midfield roles and even as a

, being in between the posts in the first-ever

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

final in 1903, which ended in a 2–3 loss to Athletic Club. Johnson was part of the legendary Madrid team that won the

four times in a row between

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

. During his time as a player, he used to show and express his knowledge by organizing and giving instructions to the team, who adopted them as their first tactical rules. In 1910, he became the first coach of Real Madrid, a position that he occupied for ten seasons. Only

Miguel Muñoz Miguel Muñoz Mozún (19 January 1922 – 16 July 1990) was a Spanish football player and manager. A midfielder, he spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid before going on to coach the club, where he is widely considered one of the mos ...

has been head coach for more games. It was Johnson, who influenced Madrid to play in the classic all-white strip, mirroring the strip worn by

Corinthian Casuals Corinthian-Casuals Football Club is a football club based in Tolworth in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, England. Affiliated to the London Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at King George's Field. His ...

. As a manager he conquered four regional championships and one Copa del Rey in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

, in which his side beat

Arenas Club Arenas Club de Getxo is a Spanish football club based in the town of Getxo, near Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1909, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at Campo Mu ...

by the score of 2–1. He died of pneumonia aged 50, on 23 May 1929.

Honours

Player

Campeonato Regional Centro The Campeonato Regional Centro (Spanish for Central Regional Championship) was an important annual association football competition for clubs based primarily in the Castile region of Spain, including the Community of Madrid, during the first half ...

: **Champions (4): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08. *

: **Champions (4):

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

and

. **Runner-up (1): 1903 * Copa de la Gran Peña: **Champions (4): 1902

Coach

: **Champions (4): 1912–13, 1915–16, 1916–17 and 1917–18 *

: **Champions (1):

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Arthur 1879 births 1929 deaths Association footballers from Dublin (city) Irish association footballers (before 1923) English footballers Association football forwards Association football goalkeepers Real Madrid CF players Irish expatriate association footballers English expatriate footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Irish association football managers English football managers Real Madrid CF managers Irish expatriate association football managers English expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain