Rafael Garza Gutiérrez (13 December 1896 – 3 July 1974), nicknamed "Récord", was a Mexican

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. He, along with other members of the Garza family, are recognized as the founders of

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

. He was a defender for that club as well as the Selección de fútbol de México (Mexico national team). Upon retiring, he took the reins of his beloved club as an executive and later served as the national team manager on four separate occasions.. He is an Olympian.

Club América

Garza Gutiérrez, and a group of young men, championed the idea of a Club América when on 12 October 1916 (Columbus Day; Spanish, "Día del descubrimiento de America"/"Day of the discovery of America"), met. There existed Garza's "Récord" (which would later become his personal nickname) and Germán Nuñez's "Unión"; they consolidated forces. The name came from the significance of the day on which the club was established. Garza continued in 1917 to be a force when América was "promoted" to compete in ''Liga Mayor de la Ciudad'' (Major League of Mexico City). Garza led América to four consecutive championships (player in 1924–25; and player/coach in 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28). America would have its next league championship in 1965–66.He retired from America in 1932.

Mexico national football team

Garza's early success brought him to the attention of those that championed the idea of a national team to represent Mexico in international competition. This team would be governed by

Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (; abbreviated as Femexfut or FMF) is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It adm the Mexico national team, the Liga MX and all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, direc ...

(; FEMEXFUT), when it was created in 1927. Garza was elected to be the team's first head coach, although he had been informally coaching what was then the team since 1923. He continued at his post until 1928. He played as a defender at the first

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, held in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in 1930. After his retirement as a player, he continued to coach the Mexico national team three times (1934–35, 1937 and 1949).

1928 Olympic Summer Games - Amsterdam

He was on the football team sent by Mexico to compete at the 1928 Olympic Summer.

Honours

Player

América

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

: 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28 Copa Challenger: 1927

Managerial

América

: 1926–27, 1927–28

International

NAFC Championship The North American Nations Cup and NAFC Championship were association football tournaments for teams in the area of North America. In 1947 and 1949, the NAFC Championship was organized by the North American Football Confederation. Cuba, Mexico, a ...

: 1949

References

External links

*
Stats as a player

Chronologic list of Mexico National Team coaches
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza Gutierrez, Rafael 1896 births 1974 deaths Footballers from Mexico City Association football defenders Mexican footballers Mexico international footballers Olympic footballers of Mexico 1930 FIFA World Cup players Club América footballers Mexican football managers Club América managers Mexico national football team managers Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics