Macala

Macala in 1947
Personal information
Full name	Cándido Luis Agustín Gardoy Martín
Date of birth	(1921-01-21)21 January 1921[1]
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Date of death	13 March 1992(1992-03-13) (aged 71)
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1938–1940	Athletic Bilbao	9	(1)
1940–1943	Espanyol	51	(14)
1943–1944	Zaragoza	19	(4)
1944–1947	Hércules	69	(23)
1947–1951	Real Madrid	57	(10)
1951–1953	Racing Santander	35	(6)
1953–1954	Gimnástica	3	(1)
International career
1950	Spain	0	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cándido Luis Agustín Gardoy Martín (21 January 1921 – 13 March 1992), known asMacala, was a Spanishfootballer who played as aforward.

He amassedSegunda División totals of 66 games and 21 goals over the course of six seasons, withZaragoza,Hércules andGimnástica. InLa Liga he appeared forAthletic Bilbao, Hércules,Real Madrid, andRacing Santander, adding 177 matches and 38 goals in a 15-year professional career.

Macala was born inBarcelona.^[2] His father, Luis Gardoy (1891–1939), known asMacala, was a renownedpelotari born inGuernica.^[3][4] Luis spent several years inLatin America, playing the sport in various countries such asCuba, the United States, Mexico, and Peru before eventually settling in Barcelona. During this time, he played a pelota match alongsideRicardo Zamora, the famous Spanish international goalkeeper. In 1917, he married a Catalan woman, and from this marriage, Cándido Gardoy was born in 1921, inheriting his father’s nickname. In 1923, at just two years old, he moved with his family to Guernica.

Macala joinedAthletic Bilbao in late 1938, competing in various matches of theBiscay Regional Championship, alongside several young players such asPiru Gaínza and Jose María Echevarría. With elite competition suspended due to theSpanish Civil War, Macala was part of a squad composed of inexperienced players. In th1939–40 season he made hisLa Liga debut on 3 December 1939, in a 1–3 lose againstAthletic Aviación, as a full member of the first team, helping rebuild the Bilbao side after the war. In his debut season, he made nine appearances in La Liga and eight in the Regional Championship.^[5]

In 1940, he joinedEspanyol, where he played for three seasons, earning more regular playing time. He later played the1943–44 season inSegunda División withReal Zaragoza. In1944–45, he signed forHércules, achieving promotion toLa Liga in 1945. He remained with the Alicante-based club for two more seasons, one in the top division and one in the second tier.

In1947–48, coming from Hércules in Segunda División, he signed forReal Madrid, which spent four seasons with theMerengues, narrowly avoiding relegation in his first year. He was part of the team that won the1947 Copa Eva Duarte against Valencia, which was played in 1948, his first and only major title as a professional footballer. Macala was also known as the first player in Real Madrid's history to wear the number7 jersey, doing so in theMadrid derby in November 1947.

In 1951, he joinedRacing Santander, where he played for two seasons before retiring in Segunda División, concluding his career with Gimnástica de Torrelavega in the1953–54 season.

He was called up once to theSpain national team, though he never made his debut. Years later, a player fromHércules,Rafael Pastor García [es], was nicknamedMakalita orMacalita due to his resemblance to Macala.

Real Madrid

• Copa Eva Duarte: 1947

• Macala at BDFutbol

• Real Madrid CF players
• 1992 deaths
• Spanish men's footballers
• Footballers from Barcelona
• Men's association football forwards
• La Liga players
• Segunda División players
• RCD Espanyol footballers
• Real Zaragoza players
• Hércules CF players
• Racing de Santander players
• Athletic Bilbao footballers
• Gimnástica de Torrelavega footballers
• Spain men's international footballers
• 1921 births

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2025