Ramón Sánchez–Pizjuán Muñoz (21 December 1900 – 28 October 1956) was a Spanish lawyer. He was the president of

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 ...

from 1932 to 1941, and again from 1948 to 1956. Under his presidency, the club reached

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 ...

and won the

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

twice, while the land was brought for the stadium that bears his name.

Biography

Born in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, he played football as a goalkeeper for

, rising no higher than the club's second team in 1917–18. He then pursued his legal career, before becoming the club's secretary in 1923 and president nine years later. In 1933–34, Sevilla won the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

to enter

for the first time, before winning the

Copa del Rey 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 Spanis ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. Due to the political upheaval at the time, the tournaments were titled the ''Copa del Presidente de la República'' and ''Copa del Generalísimo'', respectively. In 1937, he purchased land by the club's

Estadio de Nervión Estadio de Nervión was a multi-use stadium in Seville, Spain. It was used mostly for football matches and hosted the home matches of Sevilla FC. The stadium was able to hold 20,000 people and opened in 1928. It was closed in 1958 when Estadio ...

to build a larger stadium; around the same time, he negotiated for his players to not be conscripted to the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, who were then occupying the city. Players of his club and

Seville derby The Seville derby (''Derbi Sevillano''), also known as The Great Derby (''El Gran Derbi''), is the name of a local city derby located in Seville, Spain contested between Real Betis and Sevilla. Sevilla FC were founded in 1890. This was followe ...

rivals

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

were placed in an anti-aircraft unit far from action. In 1941, the totalitarian new regime ousted him from his Sevilla presidency to bring in an ideological ally, while giving him a new job as vice president of the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the natio ...

. Seven years later, he was voted back in by club members. Following his sudden death in 1956, his successor Ramón de Carranza pledged to complete Sánchez-Pizjuán's planned stadium, which was finished in 1958 and has borne his name ever since. He has since been honoured by the club on anniversaries of his death, as the "Eternal President".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez Pizjuan, Ramon 1900 births 1956 deaths Footballers from Seville Sevilla FC players Sevilla FC non-playing staff Lawyers from Seville Spanish football chairmen and investors Men's association football goalkeepers Spanish men's footballers 20th-century Spanish lawyers 20th-century Spanish sportsmen