Frederick Beaconsfield Pentland (29 July 1883 – 16 March 1962) was an English

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 ...

player and coach. Pentland played club football in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

, and in the

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History Th ...

for

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

five times for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1909. He played as 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 ...

, mainly at

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

. As a manager, he took charge of the German Olympic football team, the France national team, and Spanish club sides

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

and

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city: ''Real Stadium Club Ovetense'' and ''Real Club De ...

, before returning to England where he briefly managed Barrow.

Playing career

Pentland began his football career with Avondale Juniors and Willenhall Swifts before joining

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

club

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

in August 1900 at the age of 17. He played for Small Heath's reserves in the Birmingham & District League, but made no senior league appearances, and after the club's promotion to the First Division at the end of the 1900–01 season, it became more difficult to break through. His only senior appearance was in a 2–1 defeat at

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 ...

in the 1901–02 FA Cup, playing at

inside 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 ...

in a team weakened by injuries, and in 1903 he signed for

. Blackpool used him at centre forward: he scored his first senior goal on 26 September, at home to

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

, completed a run of five goals in four matches with a double in a 4–1 win away to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 17 October, and eleven days later, signed for First Division

in a deal reported as "a good bargain" for Blackpool. Over the next two-and-a-half seasons, Pentland contributed 9 goals from 51 League appearances as Blackburn twice finished near the foot of the division and once climbed to mid-table. In 1906, the club listed him for transfer at a fee of £250. There were no takers from the Football League, so he moved into the Southern League, initially with

. He had been so popular at Blackburn that a "crowd of players and friends", accompanied by the Palace Theatre band, saw him off at the station with renditions of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" and "Auld Lang Syne". He missed only two league matches and contributed twelve goals as Brentford finished in mid-table, but was not retained. He remained in west London with another Southern League club,

, who had ended the previous season eight places below Brentford. Under the management of James Cowan, QPR won the 1907–08 title. Playing at

, Pentland scored 14 goals from 37 Southern League matches, and was selected for The South to face The North in an international trial. Although his performance in the trial did not earn him selection for his country, he was first reserve at outside right for that season's internationals. As Southern League winners, Queens Park Rangers faced the Football League champions, in this case

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, in a match for the new Football Association Charity Shield. Pentland played, and the match was drawn. It was replayed in August, by which time Pentland had left QPR; although he was reportedly keen to play, and the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

granted special dispensation for his inclusion, QPR's directors did not select him because, according to the '' Kilburn Times'', he had been insistent on leaving the club despite being offered the maximum salary. In June 1908, Pentland returned to the First Division with

, who had to pay fees to both clubs with an interest in the player: £350 to Queens Park Rangers and £150 to Blackburn Rovers. Playing with such teammates as

Alf Common Alfred Common (25 May 1880 in Millfield (Sunderland) – 3 April 1946 in Darlington) was an English footballer who played at inside forward or centre forward. He is most famous for being the first player to be transferred for a fee of £1,000 ...

and

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...

, he helped Middlesbrough finish ninth in his first season, and in 1909, was rewarded with his first cap for

. He played at outside right, alongside captain

Vivian Woodward Vivian John Woodward (3 June 1879 – 31 January 1954) was an English footballer who enjoyed the peak of his career from the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of the First World War. He played for Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. He capt ...

, as England beat

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to complete victory in the 1908–09 British Home Championship. He won three more caps, on a tour of central Europe that same year. In the next two seasons, Pentland continued to play regularly, although Middlesbrough were less successful, and in 1911 he spent some time suspended by the club for "neglecting his training". He made only one first-team appearance in 1911–12, to take his totals to 11 goals from 96 appearances in all senior competition. In August 1912 he joined

, newly admitted to the

. He scored freely, finishing the season as the club's top scorer, as well as acting as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

, and helped Halifax reach the first round proper of the

1912–13 FA Cup The 1912–13 FA Cup was the 42nd season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Aston Villa won the competition for the fifth time, beating Sunderland ...

. With the club in straitened financial circumstances, he was sold to Southern League

in February for a substantial fee. He remained with Stoke until December of that year, contributing six league goals in twelve appearances, before returning to Halifax where his career ended a few months later through injury.

Prisoner in Germany

After retiring as a player, Pentland went to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1914 to take charge of the German Olympic football team. However within a few months, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out and he was subsequently interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in the

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

district of Berlin. The camp contained between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners. Gradually a mini-society evolved and football became a popular activity. Cup and league competitions were organised and as many as 1,000 attended the bigger games. Pentland was prominent in organising and playing football within the camp. He was chairman of the Ruhleben Football Association and regularly contributed to football articles in the camp magazine. Pentland was one of several former professional footballers at Ruhleben. Others included former club teammates and fellow

internationals, Samuel Wolstenholme and

, a

international, John Cameron, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

international

Edwin Dutton Edwin Dutton (8 April 1890 – 24 May 1972) was an Anglo-German footballer and coach. Dutton played as a forward for Britannia Berlin 92, BFC Preussen, Newcastle United and Germany. During the First World War he was interned at Ruhleben, a ci ...

, and

John Brearley John Brearley (October 1875 – 1944) was an English association football player and manager. He played as a forward for several clubs, most notably Millwall Athletic, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. He was able to play in at least five outfi ...

, once of Everton and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. On 2 May 1915 an ''England XI'' featuring Pentland, Wolstenholme, Brearley and Bloomer played a ''World XI'' captained by Cameron. Towards the end of the war an international triangular tournament called the ''Coupe de Allies'', featuring a ''British XI'', a ''French XI'' and a ''Belgium XI'', was organised. Pentland remained in the camp until the end of the war and then returned to England. During his recuperation, he met Nahneen Hayes, a war widow working as a nurse with a

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD); the couple married in 1923.

Olympic Games with France

In 1919, rebuilt

AS Strasbourg Association Sportive de Strasbourg is a French football club from the city of Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France. It was formed in 1920 by the union of FV Straßburg, a German club founded in 1890 when the city was part of the German Empi ...

, formerly ''Straßburger FV'', appointed Pentland as manager-coach. In 1920 Pentland coached

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. France received a bye to the quarter-final stages where they beat

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

3–1. However, in the semi-finals they lost 4–1 to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The final stages of the tournament descended into farce and France missed out on the opportunity to win the silver medal. The host nation,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

won the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off in protest during the final, unhappy with the performance of the referee and the conditions surrounding the match. As a result, they were disqualified and a second consolation tournament was organised to decide the silver and bronze medallists. However France and Pentland, presuming the competition was over, had already returned home and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

eventually won the silver medal.

Manager in Spain

In 1920 Pentland joined

but after one season he was poached by

. He revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game, and in 1923 he led the club to victory in 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 footbal ...

. However, in 1925 he left Athletic and went on to coach

, leading them to the Copa final in 1926. He then left the Madrid club for one season and coached

. In 1927 he returned to Atlético Madrid and guided them to victory in the Campeonato del Centro. He was also manager at the Madrid side during the inaugural

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's ...

season. In May 1929 he helped coach the Spain national team, under manager José María Mateos, when they beat England 4–3 at Athletic Madrid's

Metropolitano Stadium Metropolitano Stadium (Spanish: ''Estadio Metropolitano''), also referred to as Cívitas Metropolitano for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Madrid, Spain. It has been the home stadium of Atlético Madrid since the 2017–18 season. It is lo ...

. As a result, Spain became the first non-British team to beat England. In 1929 Pentland rejoined Athletic Bilbao. He subsequently led them to La Liga–Copa del Rey " doubles" in 1930 and 1931. He also guided the club as they won the Copa del Rey four times in a row between 1930 and 1933 and finished as La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931 he also masterminded Athletic's 12–1 victory over

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 ...

, the latter's worst ever defeat. He was known in Bilbao for his "trademark" cigar and bowler hat. In 1933 he joined Atlético Madrid for a third time but returned to England at the outbreak of 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, lin ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

''Independent'' article on English influence on Athletic BilbaoEdited extract from Phil Ball's ''Morbo'' about Pentland's managerial philosophyBlog post about Pentland's managerial history
*
Atlético Madrid stats at La Liga website
(via archive.org)

at Athletic Club website {{DEFAULTSORT:Pentland, Fred 1883 births 1962 deaths Footballers from Wolverhampton English footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in Germany English expatriate sportspeople in France England international footballers Association football outside forwards Willenhall F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Midland Football League players English football managers English expatriate football managers France national football team managers Racing de Santander managers Athletic Bilbao managers Real Oviedo managers Atlético Madrid managers La Liga managers World War I civilian detainees held by Germany Expatriate football managers in France Expatriate football managers in Germany Expatriate football managers in Spain Brentford F.C. non-playing staff