Raúl Alfredo Magaña Monzón (24 February 1940 – 30 September 2009) was a

Salvadoran Salvadorans ( Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvad ...

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He is regarded as one of the greats of Salvadoran football.

Club career

Magaña made his debut aged 18 against

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purpl ...

in Costa Rica, coming on as a sub for Humberto Pérez. He played for several Salvadoran top level sides, most prominently for hometown club FAS, and also had spells in Guatemala and Canada. He finished his career with Alianza in January 1975. During his stay at USAC, he earned himself an economy degree.

International career

Nicknamed ''Araña'' (spider) and even ''El Gran Salvadoreño'' (the great Salvadoran), Magaña represented his country at their first ever World Cup, the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to 21 June in Mexico, it was the first World Cup tournament held outside ...

in Mexico, the final match against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

also being his final international. Like his idol, the legendary

Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin (russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990), nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", was a Soviet professional footballer regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the hi ...

, Magaña also dressed in black and wore caps.

Managerial career

He managed the national side in four different periods, making his debut against Guatemala in 1976. One of his last tricks was to lead

Atlético Marte Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

back in the Premier Division after years in the doldrums. Also, he was president of the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; types ...

Technical Commission for more than eight years.

Death

Magaña died of

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Ly ...

on 30 September 2009, aged 69.Hasta siempre, Araña
– El Salvador.com He was survived by his 5 children.

Honours

Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador The ''Primera División'' of the (''Professional Football League''), more commonly known as ''La Liga Mayor'' or ''La Primera'', is the top professional football league in El Salvador. It was established in 1969, and in 2011 had 10 clubs. Init ...

: 6 :: 1957/58, 1961/62, 1962, 1965/66, 1968/69, 1970 *

Liga Nacional de Guatemala Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Lig ...

: :: 1963-1964

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magana, Raul 1940 births 2009 deaths Sportspeople from Santa Ana, El Salvador Association football goalkeepers Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers 1970 FIFA World Cup players C.D. FAS footballers Alianza F.C. footballers C.S.D. Municipal players Toronto Falcons (1967–68) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Canadian National Soccer League players C.D. Atlético Marte footballers Once Municipal footballers Expatriate footballers in Guatemala Expatriate soccer players in Canada Salvadoran expatriate footballers Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Guatemala Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Canada Salvadoran football managers El Salvador national football team managers C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo managers Deaths from cancer in El Salvador Deaths from stomach cancer