| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Alepuz Andrés | |||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1917-10-07)7 October 1917 | |||||||||||
| Place of birth | Burjassot, Spain | |||||||||||
| Date of death | 13 August 2008(2008-08-13) (aged 90) | |||||||||||
| Place of death | Valencia, Spain | |||||||||||
| Position | Defender | |||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||
| Burjassot | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||
| 1934–1936 | Burjassot | |||||||||||
| 1936 | Levante | |||||||||||
| 1936–1937 | Athletic de Castellón | |||||||||||
| 1937 | Valencia | 3 | (0) | |||||||||
| 1937–1938 | Espanyol | |||||||||||
| 1939–1942 | Valencia | |||||||||||
| 1942–1943 | Ferroviaria | |||||||||||
| 1943–1946 | Castellón | 52 | (0) | |||||||||
| 1946–1948 | Deportivo de La Coruña | 13 | (0) | |||||||||
| 1948–1950 | Levante | |||||||||||
| Total | 68 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||
| 1951–1952 | Levante | |||||||||||
| Burgos | ||||||||||||
| Ontinyent | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||
Manuel Alepuz Andrés (7 October 1917 – 13 August 2008) was a Spanishfootballer who played as adefender forValencia, andEspanyol between 1937 and 1942.
Born on 7 October 1917 inBurjassot, Alepuz began his football career in the youth ranks of his hometown clubBurjassot CF, where he became a solid defender, helping his side reach the semifinals of theSpanish Amateur Championship in 1936,[1] which ended in a 1–3 loss toSevilla Amateur.[2]
Following the outbreak of theSpanish Civil War, Alepuz played in theSuperregional Championship with Levante and theMediterranean League withAthletic Club de Castelló [ca], from which he joined Valencia, with whom he played three matches, including the final of the1937 Copa de la España Libre atLes Corts on 18 July, which ended in a 1–0 loss to Levante.[1][3][4] A few years later, Alepuz, now president of Levante, stated that he "would have liked to have been part of the Levante team who won the 1937 Cup, but back then, I was on the losing side".[3][5]
In late 1937, Alepuz joined RCD Espanyol, with whom he only played a single official match in theCatalan Championship.[6] Like so many other players, he was mobilized to the front lines inLérida, participating in theBattle of the Ebro, the longest of the Civil War.[1][3][5] Having completed his mandatory military service inMadrid, he returned to Valencia, playing three league matches in the 1940–41 season, but failing to appear in the club's triumphant campaign in the1941 Copa del Generalísimo, the club's first national title in history.[1] The following season, he failed to make a single La Liga appearance as the club won the league, so, unsatisfied with his lack of playing time, he left the club in 1942, and signed forFerroviaria, with whom he played 11Segunda División matches as the club was relegated.[7]
Alepuz then signed for back-to-back top-flight clubs,Castellón, with whom he played 60 official matches between 1943 and 1946, andDeportivo de La Coruña, with whom he played 38 official matches between 1946 and 1948, although he could not prevent relegation to the Second Division in 1947.[1] In July 1948, he returned to Valencia to play for Levante, where he stayed for two years, until 1950, playing a total of 40 official matches.[1] In total, he played 68 La Liga matches for Valencia, Castellón, and Deportivo.[8]
After retiring, Alepuz remained linked to Levante, now as president, validating the players' contracts in August 1950.[9] The following year, in 1951, he became the club'smanager, but he did not finish the season due to poor results (4 losses in 6 matches), being then replaced byGuillermo Villagrá.[10][11] He also took over the likes ofBurgos,Rayo Vallecano, andOntinyent.[5]
Alepuz then became professor and director of the Valencian coaching school, and later served as the president of the Valencian Coaching Committee.[1][6][3]
Alepuz died inValencia on 13 August 2008, at the age of 90.[1][6][3] Following his death, Paco Real, a former Valencia coach, described him as "Jovial and beloved by the players, he had a very affable personality".[12]