 Iglesias in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arsenio Iglesias Pardo | ||
| Date of birth | (1930-12-24)24 December 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Arteixo, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 5 May 2023(2023-05-05) (aged 92) | ||
| Place of death | A Coruña, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft6+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Penouqueira | |||
| Ciudad Jardín | |||
| Bergantiños | |||
| Deportivo La Coruña | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1950–1951 | Deportivo Fabril | ||
| 1951–1957 | Deportivo La Coruña | 135 | (32) |
| 1957–1958 | Sevilla | 8 | (2) |
| 1958–1964 | Granada | 111 | (22) |
| 1964–1965 | Oviedo | 37 | (6) |
| 1965–1966 | Albacete | ||
| Total | 291 | (62) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1967–1970 | Deportivo Fabril | ||
| 1971–1973 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
| 1973–1977 | Hércules | ||
| 1977–1978 | Zaragoza | ||
| 1978–1979 | Burgos | ||
| 1979–1980 | Elche | ||
| 1980 | Almería | ||
| 1982–1985 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
| 1986–1987 | Compostela | ||
| 1988–1991 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
| 1992–1995 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
| 1996 | Real Madrid | ||
| 2005–2008 | Galicia | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Arsenio Iglesias Pardo (24 December 1930 – 5 May 2023) was a Spanishfootball player andmanager.
NicknamedO Bruxo de Arteixo ("The Wizard ofArteixo"), he had a five-decade professional career closely associated toDeportivo as both a player and manager.[1]
Born inArteixo,Province of A Coruña, Iglesias played as aforward and started his career with local sideDeportivo de La Coruña.[1] He made hisLa Liga debut on 28 October 1951 in a 6–1 away loss againstFC Barcelona,[2] and scored the following weekend againstRCD Español (3–1 home win).[3]
Iglesias netted seven goals in three separate seasons for theGalicians, adding a career-best eight in1956–57, which nonetheless ended in relegation.[4] In six of the following eight years he also played in the top division, representingSevilla FC,Granada CF andReal Oviedo; he amassed competition totals of 238 games and 50 goals, and retired at 35 after a spell in the lower leagues withAlbacete Balompié.[5]
Iglesias started coaching one year after retiring, his first appointment being atDeportivo's reserves, which he accumulated with assistant duties in the main squad. Midway through the1970–71 campaign he was named the first team's manager, leading them to a top-flight promotion[6] and beingrelegated in 1973.[7]
In1973–74, Iglesias repeated the feat with anotherSegunda División side,Hércules CF, then remained at the club's helm for a further three years, always managing to comfortably stay afloat – this included afifth place in 1975 anda sixth in 1976.[8] In the1977–78 season another promotion to the main division befell, this time as champions withReal Zaragoza.[9]
Iglesias worked in the top tier in two of the next three seasons, leadingBurgos CF to the 13th position in1978–79[10][11] and being fired byAD Almería midway through the1980–81 campaign amid several internal disputes.[12][13] In 1982 he returned to Deportivo, with the club in division two.[7]
In1987–88, Iglesias was one of three coaches asDepor nearly suffered relegation toSegunda División B, being saved by alast-minute goal againstRacing de Santander.[14] He was again reinstated as first-team manager, finally attaining promotion to the first division in1991 after ranking second.[7]
Iglesias replaced the dismissed Marco Antonio Boronat at the club's helm late in1991–92, as Deportivo had to play arelegation playoff againstReal Betis, eventually winning 2–1 on aggregate.[15] In the following seasons, however,Super Depor came to fruition, with several team players winning individual accolades and being called to theSpain national team as the side finished three consecutive campaigns in the top three;[16] during this timeframe, he was named Manager of the Year three times, twice byDon Balón and once byEl País.[17]
Iglesias retired from football after1994–95. Midway throughthe following campaign, however, he accepted an offer fromReal Madrid to replace the firedJorge Valdano, with theMerengues eventually ranking sixth andbeing eliminated in the quarter-finals of theUEFA Champions League by eventual winnersJuventus FC.[18][19]
In 2005, Iglesias was appointed manager of theGalicia national team, working alongsideFernando Vázquez.[20] In the previous decade, he also worked as asports commentator.[21]
In 2016, Iglesias was bestowed with the highest recognition of Deportivo, a special insignia, and was declared "Blue and White Legend". The event took place at halftime of the last game of the2015–16 season, at theEstadio Riazor.[22]
Iglesias died inA Coruña on 5 May 2023, at age 92.[23]
Zaragoza
Deportivo
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