_-_El_Gr%25C3%25A1fico_363.jpg) Zamora on the cover of Argentine sports magazineEl Gráfico in June 1926 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ricardo Zamora Martínez | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1901-01-21)21 January 1901 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 8 September 1978(1978-09-08) (aged 77) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Barcelona, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1914–1916 | Universitari SC | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1916–1919 | Espanyol | 48 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1919–1922 | Barcelona | 38 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1922–1930 | Espanyol | 126 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1930–1936 | Real Madrid | 82 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1937–1938 | Nice | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 303 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1920–1936 | Spain | 46 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1937–1938 | Nice | ||||||||||||||||
| 1939–1940 | Atlético Aviación | ||||||||||||||||
| 1940–1946 | Atlético Aviación | ||||||||||||||||
| 1946–1949 | Celta | ||||||||||||||||
| 1949–1951 | Málaga | ||||||||||||||||
| 1951–1952 | Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| 1953–1955 | Celta | ||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1957 | Espanyol | ||||||||||||||||
| 1960 | Celta | ||||||||||||||||
| 1961 | Espanyol | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Ricardo Zamora Martínez (Spanish pronunciation:[riˈkaɾðoθaˈmoɾamaɾˈtineθ]; 21 January 1901[1] – 8 September 1978) was a Spanishfootball player and manager. He played as agoalkeeper for, among others,RCD Espanyol,FC Barcelona andReal Madrid. As an international he played forSpain. As a manager, he won twoLa Liga titles withAtlético Madrid (then Atlético Aviación) and briefly managedSpain.
Born inBarcelona, Spain, Zamora began his career as a junior with Universitari SC before signing for Espanyol in 1916, at the age of fifteen, after playing a series offriendly matches with the club. He made his debut for the club on 23 April 1916 against Madrid FC (nowReal Madrid CF), keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw. He then helped Espanyol win theCampionat de Catalunya in 1918. Zamora never had the support of his parents to play football because they wanted him to focus on studying medicine like his father, but his teammates such asPakán encouraged him to keep playing.[2] But even so, in 1919, he decided to resume his studies, at the will of his family, so he abandoned the ranks of Espanyol. However, he resumed the activity shortly after due to a large offer from local rivalsFC Barcelona, which he accepted despite his family's opposition and an argument with Espanyol's board.[2]
I had promised my parents that I would give up football to finish my studies. But my friends kept telling me to play and then the Barça board came to talk to me. It didn't take long for them to convince me to take my boots and gloves back.
After three successful seasons at Barça he returned to Espanyol in 1922. On 2 February 1929, he made hisLa Liga debut with Espanyol during the competition's inaugural season. In the same year, under the management ofJack Greenwell and together withRicardo Saprissa, he helped the club win both theCampionat de Catalunya and their first everCopa del Rey in1929, after beating the likes ofAtlético Madrid in the quarter-finals, the soon-to-be La Liga champions Barcelona in the semi-finals and Real Madrid 2–1 in thefinal.[3] After playing 26La Liga games for Espanyol, he joined Real Madrid in 1930.
Between 1919 and 1922 Zamora was a prominent member of the legendaryFC Barcelona team, coached byJack Greenwell, that also included his close friendJosep Samitier,Sagibarba,Paulino Alcántara andFélix Sesúmaga. During his time at Barcelona, he helped the team win theCampionat de Catalunya three times and the Copa del Rey twice in1920 and1922, keeping a clean-sheet in the1920 final in a 2–0 win overPichichi'sAthletic Bilbao.[4]
In 1930, Zamora signed for Real Madrid. He was one of several new arrivals, and among the others wasJacinto Quincoces. During the1931–32 season they helped the club win La Liga for the first time. The following season Zamora and Quincoces were joined at the club byJosep Samitier and the trio helped Real retain the title. In 1934Francisco Bru took over as the Real coach and he guided Zamora and company to victory in twoCopa de España finals. In the1934 final they beat aValencia CF team coached byJack Greenwell 2–1.[5] The1936 final saw Real Madrid meetFC Barcelona for the first time in a cup final, and despite playing with ten men for most of the game, the Madrid club beat Barça 2–1 at theMestalla. Barça's attempts to equalize in the final minutes were thwarted by Zamora's spectacular save fromJosep Escolà.[6]
In 1920 together withJosep Samitier,Félix Sesúmaga,Pichichi andJosé María Belauste, Zamora was a member of the first everSpain national team. The squad, coached byFrancisco Bru, won the silver medal at the1920 Olympic Games.[7] Zamora subsequently made 46 official appearances for Spain, including in theinfamous game against England on 15 May 1929, in which England took a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes following mistakes from him, who had injured hissternum early on, but despite that he carried on playing and Spain won the game 4–3, becoming the first team from outside theBritish Isles to defeat England.[8] Zamora also represented Spain at the1934 World Cup.
Zamora was also Spain's most capped player for 45 years until being surpassed byJosé Ángel Iribar.[citation needed]
Zamora also played at least 13 games for theCatalan XI. However, records from the era do not always include accurate statistics and he may have played more. Together withPaulino Alcántara,Sagibarba andJosep Samitier, he helped the Catalan XI win two tournaments of thePrince of Asturias Cup, an official inter-regional competition organized by theRFEF, winning in1923-24 and1926.[9]
Zamora, nicknamedEl Divino, was noted for wearing a cloth cap and a white polo-neck jumper on the field, a look later copied by several of his contemporaries. He claimed it was to protect him from both the sun and his opponents. As a goalkeeper, he was primarily known for his athleticism, quick reflexes, shot-stopping abilities, large frame, and bravery in goal.[10][11][12][13] In 1929 while playing forSpain againstEngland, he carried on playing despite breaking hissternum. Spain won the game 4–3, becoming the first team from outside theBritish Isles to defeat England.[8] Zamora is also remembered for a spectacular last-minute save he made in the1936 Copa del Rey final while playing forReal Madrid againstFC Barcelona.
Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, along withGianpiero Combi andFrantišek Plánička,[14] as well as one of the greatest of all time,[15] in 1999, theIFFHS elected Zamora as the best Spanish goalkeeper – as well as the fourth best in Europe and fifth best overall – of the twentieth century;[16][17] in the same year, he was voted one of thegreatest players of the 20th century byWorld Soccer magazine. The award for the best goalkeeper inLa Liga, theRicardo Zamora Trophy, is named in his honour.
In July 1936 during the early days of theSpanish Civil War,ABC falsely reported that Zamora had been killed byRepublicans. The Nationalists then attempted to exploit this as propaganda. However, Zamora was alive and well and, as rumours began to spread of his death, he wasarrested by Republican militia and then imprisoned at the Modelo prison. Among his fellow prisoners wereRamón Serrano Súñer andRafael Sánchez Mazas. His life was saved by both the actions of the prison governorMelchor Rodríguez García and because of his own willingness to play and talk football with the guards. Zamora was eventually released after the Argentinian Embassy interceded on his behalf. He then made his way to France where he was reunited withJosep Samitier atOGC Nice. He later returned to Spain and on 8 December 1938 played for aSpain XI againstReal Sociedad in a benefit game for Nationalist soldiers.
In the 1950s, theFranco regime awarded Zamora the Great Cross of the Order of Cisneros, a medal created in 1944 to reward "political merit."[18]
Zamora was also the subject of controversy throughout his career. He allegedly enjoyed drinkingCognac and smoking up to three packs of cigarettes a day. During the1920 Olympic Games he was sent off againstItaly after punching an opponent and on the way back from the same tournament he was arrested, imprisoned and fined for attempting to smuggleHavana cigars. In 1922 he was suspended for a year when he lied to the tax authorities about the signing on fee he received when he returned toRCD Espanyol. He also received 40,000 pesetas of the 150,000 peseta fee that took him from Espanyol to Real Madrid.[citation needed]
Zamora's ostensible political allegiances were also the subject of debate and controversy. In 1934, he was awarded an Order of the Republic medal by his namesakeNiceto Alcalá-Zamora, president of theSecond Spanish Republic, while during theSpanish Civil War he was exploited by Nationalist propagandists and he played in a benefit game for their cause. During the 1950s he was awarded the Great Cross of the Order of Cisneros by theFranco regime.[18]
In 1939 Zamora was appointed coach ofAtlético Madrid, then known asAthletic Aviación and later to becomeAtlético Aviación, following a merger withAviación Nacional, a Spanish Air Force team. With Zamora as manager, the club won their first La Liga in 1940 and then retained the title in 1941. In 1946 he moved toCelta de Vigo and during the 1947–48, he led a Celta team that includedPahiño andMiguel Muñoz to fourth in La Liga and theCopa del Generalísimo final. In June 1952 he coachedSpain for two games. In 1953 was hired as coach byLa Salle F.C. of Caracas (Venezuela). He later returned to Celta de Vigo and then had two spells as coach at Espanyol.
Zamora died on 8 September 1978 in Barcelona. His son,Ricardo Zamora de Grassa, was also a footballer.[19]
Espanyol
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Spain
Catalan XI
Individual
Atlético Aviación
Celta Vigo
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Spain squads | |||||||||||||
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| National | |
| People | |
