Edmundo Suárez Trabanco (22 January 1916 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish
football player and coach – better known as Mundo. He was born in
Barakaldo
Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo h ...
. He played as a
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
for Spanish club
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
for most of his career, except for his last season, where he played for
CD Alcoyano
Club Deportivo Alcoyano, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcoy, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1928 it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games in '' Estadio El Collao'', with a 4,850-sea ...
.
Club career
''Mundo'' initially played football with various amateur teams in his native
Basque Country, but the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
changed his career completely. He had a contract with
Athletic Bilbao but this acquisition was made in republican territory, therefore it was not considered valid by the
pro-Franco state which remained in power after the War. In 1939, the pro-Franco army created a team, named "Recovery of Levante" formed diverse players who had fought in the military region of Levante. Said team was chosen by Valencia CF as its first opponent after the war, and after seeing 'Recovery of Levante' in action, the established club did not waste the opportunity and acquired all of its players.
After this acquisition, ''Mundo'' stayed in Valencia for eleven seasons between 1939–40 and 1949–50. His great physical strength allowed him to dominate Spanish football during the 1940s. Along with , ,
Vicente Asensi and
Guillermo Gorostiza
Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes (15 February 1909 – 23 August 1966) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.
In a 14-year professional career, he played for Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, amassing La Liga totals of 255 games and 178 go ...
, he formed an electric front line that transformed Valencia into a winning team: they won
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
three times during that decade (
1941–42,
1943–44,
1946–47) and were runners-up twice, and claimed the
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 footb ...
on two occasions (
1941,
1948–49) from five appearances in the final.
Mundo is considered an idol for fans of Valencia because he holds, by a considerable margin, the
record for the highest number of goals scored for the club with 238 in the two major domestic competitions, obtaining an average of 0.92 goals per game. He won the
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
(top scoring player) in the 1941–42 and 1942–43 seasons, with 27 and 28 goals respectively. He is currently the
tenth highest goal scorer in the history of the Spanish league (with the fifth-highest goals-per-game ratio), and the
sixth highest goalscorer in the history of the Copa del Rey.
After a season in which he played only six games, he decided to leave Valencia to join in the nearby, smaller club
Alcoyano
Club Deportivo Alcoyano, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcoy, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1928 it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games in '' Estadio El Collao'', with a 4,850-seat ...
which was also in the
first division. He remained there for the 1950–51 season, until he realised he was no longer able to play at the top level.
International career
Suárez earned three international caps with the
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol) has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football i ...
between 1941 and 1942, scoring three goals. His international debut was on 28 December 1941 against
Switzerland.
Coaching career
During the 1963–64 season, Suárez returned to Valencia and took up the position of team coach, replacing
Pasieguito
Bernardino Pérez Elizarán (21 May 1925 Hernani, Guipúzcoa – 21 October 2002 Valencia), commonly known as Pasieguito, was a Spanish football player and manager.
As a player, in an 18-year career, Pasieguito played at three clubs, including ...
, another legend of Valencian football. Thanks to his strong character and tactical flexibility, he went on to improve Valencia's league position, placing them in sixth place. The team's performance in the
Fairs Cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup (no ...
was much better, but they lost against
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...
in a controversial match. After the positive results of that year, the Valencia FC board of directors allowed him to coach for one more year. However, as the team finished the league in fourth place, the directors hired another coach,
Barinaga. With Barinaga, the team did not reach its expectations, so ''Mundo'' returned to his old position as coach for the next season.
He started the 1966–67 season as the team's coach and achieved great success, winning the
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 footb ...
by beating
Athletic Club 2–0 in the final. His remained Valencia's coach until 13 October 1968, when he ended his coaching career due to the team's poor performance.
Club statistics
Honours
Player
Club
Valencia CF
*
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
: 1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47
*
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 footb ...
: 1941, 1949
*
Copa Eva Duarte
The Copa Eva Duarte was a Spanish football tournament organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo.
History
In September 1940, a match with this format had the nam ...
: 1949
Individual
* 2
Pichichi trophy for the highest goalscorer of the season in the Spanish league: 1941–42, 1943–44
Manager
Valencia CF
* 1
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 footb ...
: 1967
References
External links
*
Mundo in www.lfp.esProfile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez, Edmundo
1916 births
1978 deaths
Spanish footballers
Footballers from Barakaldo
Association football forwards
La Liga players
Valencia CF players
CD Alcoyano footballers
Pichichi Trophy winners
Spain international footballers
Spanish football managers
La Liga managers
Segunda División managers
Hércules CF managers
Real Zaragoza managers
UE Lleida managers
Xerez CD managers
Barakaldo CF managers
Sporting de Gijón managers
Valencia CF managers
Real Murcia managers
Levante UD managers
CF Gandía managers
Valencia CF Mestalla managers