Emilio Aldecoa Gómez (30 November 1922 – 4 September 1999) was a Spanish professional

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 ...

who played in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

football leagues and later managed in Spain and England. He made one appearance for the Spain national team, as a substitute in a 2–1 win against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in May 1948 at the Montjuic Stadium, Barcelona.

Career

Refugee in England

Aldecoa was born in the Zorroza neighbourhood of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. He arrived in England as a

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 ...

refugee in 1937. Some of the other refugees also became footballers, including

Raimundo Pérez Lezama Raimundo Pérez Lezama (29 November 1922 – 23 July 2007) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After beginning his professional career in England, he returned to his country, going on to later represent, mainly, Athletic Bilba ...

, José Gallego and

Sabino Barinaga Sabino Barinaga Alberdi (15 August 1922 – 19 March 1988) was a Spanish football forward and manager. He appeared in 205 La Liga matches and scored 92 goals over 13 seasons, almost exclusively for Real Madrid. He later embarked on a manager ...

. Aldecoa began his football career with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, joining them in 1943 from a Staffordshire electrical works team. His first team debut came in September that year, a 2–1 victory away to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

and he finished the season as Wolves’ leading scorer with 11 goals in 30 games. He moved to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

in August 1945 and scored on his first team debut, a 3–1 win at home to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. The following season, as league football resumed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he played 29 times for Coventry, failing to score. During his spell he was noted for his practical skills, helping to repair the

Highfield Road Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game ...

stadium as well as the home of the local family with whom he was living.

Return to Spain

Aldecoa returned to Spain in 1947, joining Atlético Bilbao and making his debut on 21 September 1947 in a 5-1 defeat away to

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

. Winning his sole international cap during his stint in his native region, he scored 9 times in 45 games before moving to

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club c ...

in 1949 where he scored 11 times in 49 games. He joined

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in 1951. In his first season he scored twice in 19 games as Barcelona won the Spanish Championship. He also played in the final of the Copa Latina in 1952, a 1–0 victory over OGC Nice at the Parc des Princes in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Barcelona retained the title the following season, but Aldecoa played only 4 times.

Later years and coaching

He moved to

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, ...

in 1953, playing just 3 times, and then to Girona FC in 1954 where he subsequently became manager. He was assistant manager of

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

between 1960 and 1962, making use of his knowledge of the English language and game, and later managed

CD Condal Club Deportivo Condal was a Spanish football club based in Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1934 and dissolved in 1970, it held home games at ''Camp de Les Corts'', with a capacity of 25,000 spectators. History ...

and

(from 1966–67).

References

External links

Emilio Aldecoa stats
at Neil Brown stat site
Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldecoa, Emilio 1922 births 1999 deaths Spanish footballers Footballers from Bilbao Spain international footballers La Liga players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Athletic Bilbao footballers RC Celta de Vigo players Real Valladolid players FC Barcelona players Sporting de Gijón players Spanish football managers Girona FC managers Real Valladolid managers Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in the United Kingdom English Football League players Association football forwards Spanish refugees