Rafael Moreno Aranzadi (23 May 1892 – 1 March 1922), known as Pichichi, was a Spanish

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

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 ...

. He played for

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 ...

during the 1910s and 1920s. He received his nickname because of his frail build.

Club career

Born in

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 ...

, Pichichi played in his first

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 March 1913 as

, his sole club, lost 1–0 against Racing Club de Irún. Later the same year, on 21 August, the same opponents, now renamed Real Unión, were invited to play the inaugural game at San Mamés Stadium, and he scored the very first goal at the ground; two months later, he also scored the first goal at

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

's new

Atotxa Stadium Atotxa ( es, Atocha) was a football stadium in San Sebastián, Spain. It was the home ground of Real Sociedad until 1993 when it was replaced by Anoeta Stadium. It had superseded Ondarreta Stadium 80 years earlier. It had a capacity of 17,0 ...

in the opening fixture for that venue. Easily identifiable on the pitch due to a white cloth he tied to his head, Pichichi subsequently played in five other domestic cup finals, winning four and netting a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the 1915 final as Athletic beat

RCD Español Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

5–0. After returning from the 1920 Olympics, some supporters felt that his performances were no longer measuring up to his 'star' status, and this criticism caused him to abruptly quit playing altogether in order to become a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

. Pichichi died on 2 March 1922 at age 29 from a sudden attack of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

, with the grief among the fans at the shock news heightened with regret for the acrimonious manner in which their hero had departed the club. He scored a total of 83 goals in 89 games for his only team.

International career

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

, Pichichi was a member of the very first Spain national team that played at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

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 ...

. He earned five senior

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

in one month, his debut coming on 28 August in a 1–0 win against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Personal life

Pichichi's father was mayor of Bilbao, and he was

Miguel de Unamuno Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. His major philosophical essay w ...

's nephew. Both he and his future wife were immortalised in a painting by

Aurelio Arteta Aurelio Arteta Errasti (2 December 1879 – 10 November 1940) was a Spanish painter who worked in several styles, including Symbolism, Cubism and Social Realism. He is remembered mostly for his murals. Biography Arteta was born in Bilbao; his ...

(although it is said that the image originally depicted teammate

José María Belauste José María de Belausteguigoitia Landaluce (3 September 1889 – 4 September 1964), known as Belauste, was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Belauste played with Athletic Bilbao from ages 15� ...

, and came to be known as a representation of Pichichi and his fiancée following his death). Busto a Pichichi en San Mamés

In 1926, a

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

was erected in Pichichi's honour at the San Mamés Stadium. It was tradition for teams visiting the ground for the first time pay homage by leaving a bouquet of flowers at its base. Despite concerns that it might not be accommodated at Athletic's new ground, a suitable spot was identified at the entrance to the players' tunnel, allowing the tradition to continue at the new location from 2013 onwards. In 1953, Spanish sports newspaper ''

Diario Marca ''Marca'' (), stylised as ''MARCA'', is Spain's national daily sport newspaper owned by Unidad Editorial. The newspaper focuses primarily on football, in particular the day-to-day activities of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid ...

'' introduced 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 ...

in his honour. It was awarded each year to the top scorers in

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 ...

and

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

Honours

Athletic Bilbao *

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

* Northern/Vizcayan Regional Championship: 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1919–20, 1920–21 Spain *

Silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

References

External links