Antoni Ramallets Simón (1 July 1924 – 30 July 2013) was a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He spent most of his career at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

, during the 1950s and early 1960s, winning the

Ricardo Zamora Trophy The Zamora Trophy () is a football award, established by Spanish newspaper '' Marca'' in 1958. The award goes to the goalkeeper who has the lowest "goals-to-games" ratio.Similar to goals against average in ice hockey or earned run average in b ...

as the best goalkeeper in La Liga on five occasions, and 18 major club honours. He represented Spain in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

and, in the 1960s, managed several clubs in his country, notably winning two major trophies with

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 football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

Club career

Ramallets signed for

in 1946 at the age of 23, from

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

, where he also spent his first season after being purchased, on loan. He returned to the club to play second-fiddle to Juan Velasco, making his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut in a 2–1 win against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

, on 28 November 1948. Although this was his only appearance during the season, he eventually became the starter, being an essential defensive unit as his team - then named Club de Fútbol Barcelona - went on to win six leagues and five domestic cups; in the 1951–52 campaign, as Barça won five major trophies, he contributed with 28 league games, being awarded his first

. During the 1950s, Ramallets was a prominent member of the successful Barcelona side that also included

Joan Segarra Joan Segarra Iracheta (15 November 1927 – 3 September 2008) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender. He spent 16 seasons with FC Barcelona between 1950 and 1964, in which he played 299 matches in La Liga and served as the team's cap ...

Marià Gonzalvo Mariano Gonzalvo Falcón (22 March 1922 – 7 April 2007), also referred to as Gonzalvo III or – especially as of late – by the Catalan rendition of his given name, Marià Gonzalvo, was a Spanish footballer who spent most of his career at FC ...

László Kubala László Kubala (10 June 1927 – 17 May 2002) was a Hungarian professional association football, footballer. He played as a forward (association football), forward for Ferencvárosi TC, Ferencváros, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Slovan Bratislava, F ...

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian Association football, footballer who played for Ferencvárosi TC, Budapest Honvéd FC, Budapest Honvéd, SC Young Fellows Juventus, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelo ...

Evaristo Evaristo is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Evaristo Avalos (born 1933), Mexican equestrian * Evaristo Barrera (1911–1982), Argentine football striker * Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677), Ital ...

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

and

Zoltán Czibor Zoltán Czibor (23 August 1929 – 1 September 1997) was a Hungarian footballer who played for several Hungarian clubs, including Ferencváros and Budapest Honvéd, and the Hungary national team before joining CF Barcelona. Czibor played as ...

. During his spell with the club he made 538 appearances, including 288 in the domestic league; on 6 March 1962 the ''Blaugrana'' played a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

in his honour against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, winning 5–1. Ramallets coached several teams over the following decade, including old acquaintance Valladolid. In the 1963–64 campaign he led

to the fourth place in the league, the

Spanish Cup The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

and the

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...

– a competition he had won twice as a player with Barcelona – defeating fellow league team

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

in the latter.

International career

Ramallets played 35 games for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

during 11 years, making his debut against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

on 29 June 1950, during the

in Brazil. During the tournament he earned the nickname ''The Cat of Maracanã'', helping the nation to the second group stage. Ramallets also played seven games for the unofficial Catalan national side.

Death

Ramallets died in his

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca, is the capital of Alt Penedès county in Penedès, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Penedès Depression on the left bank of the Foix River, and on the main axis of communication from Barcel ...

home near Barcelona, on 31 July 2013. He was 89 years old.Former Spain keeper Ramallets dies aged 89
;

Euronews Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...

, 31 July 2013

Honours

Player

Club

Barcelona *

: 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60 *

Copa del Generalísimo The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

, 1952–53,

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, 1958–59 *

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 n ...

: 1948, 1952, 1953 *

: 1955–58, 1958–60 *

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international official football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949, the football federations came together and requested FIFA launch the competition ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

Small Club World Cup The Small World Cup () was a football tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1975 (with some journalists considering 1952–57 the period of greatest relevance, and the second period that took place between 1963 and 1975 as of minor relevanc ...

: 1957

Individual

: 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60

Manager

Zaragoza *

: 1963–64 *

: 1963–64

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramallets, Antoni 1924 births 2013 deaths Footballers from Barcelona Spanish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Tercera División players CE Europa footballers CD San Fernando players RCD Mallorca players Real Valladolid players FC Barcelona players Spain men's international footballers 1950 FIFA World Cup players Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Real Valladolid managers Real Zaragoza managers Real Murcia CF managers CD Logroñés managers Hércules CF managers Elche CF Ilicitano managers 20th-century Spanish sportsmen