 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gaspar Rubio Meliá | ||
| Date of birth | (1907-12-14)14 December 1907 | ||
| Place of birth | Serra, Valencia, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 3 January 1983(1983-01-03) (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1926–1927 | Gràcia FC | 14 | (1) |
| 1927–1928 | Levante | 9 | (7) |
| 1928–1932 | Real Madrid | 34 | (30) |
| 1932–1934 | Atlético Madrid | 25 | (10) |
| 1934–1935 | Valencia | 32 | (17) |
| 1939–1940 | Real Madrid | 4 | (2) |
| 1939–1940 | Recreativo Granada | 14 | (5) |
| 1940–1941 | Real Murcia | 10 | (1) |
| 1941–1942 | Levante | 0 | (0) |
| 1942–1943 | Recreativo Granada | 3 | (1[1]) |
| International career | |||
| 1920 | Spain | 4 | (9) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gaspar Rubio Meliá (14 December 1907 – 3 January 1983) was a Spanishfootballforward andcoach.
Born inSerra, Valencia, Rubio amassedLa Liga totals of 61 games and 37 goals over the course of five seasons, representing in the competitionReal Madrid (1928–30),Valencia CF (1934–35),Real Murcia (1940–41) andRecreativo Granada (1942–43). With the first club, he netted 72 times in 75 competitive appearances.[2] In 1930–31, he also played briefly in Cuba with Juventud Asturiana and in Mexico withReal Club España.[3]
NicknamedEl rey del astrágalo (King of theastragalus) due to the many ailments he had in that foot bone,[4] Rubio subsequently worked as a manager with several teams – including asplayer-coach – but never in the top flight. In 1957 he moved toMexico where he would settle after his retirement from football, coachingAtlante F.C. andDeportivo Toluca FC.[5]
Rubio gained fourcaps forSpain in less than one year, scoring nine goals. Seven of those came in his first two appearances, with ahat-trick againstPortugal (5–0)[6] and four againstFrance (8–1),[7] thus becoming the first Spanish footballer to score twointernational hat-tricks. His record remained untouched for more than 60 years, untilEmilio Butragueño netted his second international hat-trick on 19 December 1990 againstAlbania, and remained unbroken for more than 80 years, until bothFernando Torres andDavid Villa scored their third hat-trick for Spain on 20 June 2013 againstTahiti in a 10-0 win.
Rubio also played a major role inEngland's first ever loss outside theBritish Isles, netting twice in a4–3 triumph inMadrid on 15 May 1929.[8]
Rubio died inMexico City on 3 January 1983, at the age of 75.[9]