.jpg) Lafuente in 1931 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ramón de la Fuente Leal | ||
| Date of birth | (1907-12-31)31 December 1907 | ||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 15 September 1973(1973-09-15) (aged 65) | ||
| Place of death | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1923–1926 | Barakaldo CF | 0 | (0) |
| 1926–1934 | Athletic Bilbao | 96 | (24) |
| 1934–1936 | Atlético Madrid | 20 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 1927–1935 | Spain | 8 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1943–1945 | Deportivo de La Coruña | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ramón de la Fuente Leal, nicknamedLafuente (31 December 1907 – 15 September 1973)[1] was a Spanishfootballer who played as aforward forAthletic Bilbao,Atlético Madrid and theSpain national team.[2]
He was born inBilbao. Lafuente began his sporting career in the ranks ofBarakaldo CF in 1924, at the age of just 16 years old. At Barakaldo, he stood out as an extraordinary forward, which eventually earned him a move to Athletic Bilbao in 1926, with whom he played for nine seasons. In 1928 he was one of the members of the Athletic Bilbao team that played in the first season of theSpanish Football League. At Bilbao, he was the most experienced member of what became a famous and successful forward line, along withJosé Iraragorri,Chirri II,Bata andGuillermo Gorostiza.[3][4][5][6] The highlight of his career was scoring the winning goal of the1930 Copa del Rey Final againstReal Madrid inextra-time in a 3–1 win.[7] In the Bilbao ranks he played a total of 211 official matches (96 in the League, 56 in the Cup and 59 in theRegional Championship), scoring a total of 64 goals (26 in the League, 17 in the Cup and 21 in the Regional Championship). In total, he won three Leagues and four Cups, forming part of the club's first historical striker.[8]
In 1934 he signed for Atlético de Madrid (then Athletic de Madrid), with whom he played his last La Liga season, playing 20 games and scoring just one goal.[2] His career was cut short prematurely in the second leg of the1935 Copa del Presidente de la República quarter-final tie between Madrid andSevilla FC, when a clash withgoalkeeperGuillermo Eizaguirre caused Lafuente to fracture histibia andfibula. The player did not heal well from the injury and was unable to play during the following season.[9] When theSpanish Civil War broke out in thesummer of 1936, Lafuente was still 28 years old, but by then he was already in transition tocoaching.
He earned 8caps for theSpain national team, and participated in Spain's first-everWorld Cup in1934, which ended in a quarter-final exit to the eventual championsItaly.[10]
As a coach, he managedAtlético Aviación during the first ten days of the1940–41 season, whileRicardo Zamora was arrested and disqualified. Between 1943 and 1945, he coachedDeportivo de La Coruña.[11]
He died inMadrid on 15 September 1973 at the age of 65.[1]
