| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luis Molowny Arbelo | ||
| Date of birth | (1925-05-12)12 May 1925 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 12 February 2010(2010-02-12) (aged 84) | ||
| Place of death | Las Palmas, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vera | |||
| 1942–1943 | Santa Cruz | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1943–1946 | Marino | ||
| 1946–1957 | Real Madrid | 172 | (90) |
| 1957–1958 | Las Palmas | 3 | (1) |
| Total | 175 | (91) | |
| International career | |||
| 1950–1955 | Spain | 7 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1958 | Las Palmas | ||
| 1960 | Las Palmas | ||
| 1967–1970 | Las Palmas | ||
| 1969 | Spain | ||
| 1974 | Real Madrid | ||
| 1977–1979 | Real Madrid | ||
| 1982 | Real Madrid | ||
| 1985–1986 | Real Madrid | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Luis Molowny Arbelo (12 May 1925 – 12 February 2010) was a Spanishfootball player andcoach.
Amidfielder, he amassedLa Liga totals of 175 matches and 91 goals over 12 seasons, withReal Madrid andLas Palmas. He went on to work as a manager with the two clubs, winning 14 major titles with the former both capacities combined.[1]
Molowny representedSpain at the1950 World Cup. For a brief period in the late 1960s, he also coached the national team.
Molowny was born inSanta Cruz de Tenerife,Canary Islands; his surname originated fromCounty Clare in Ireland, being most often speltMaloney in later years.[2] He trialled forCD Tenerife as a youngster, but was not allowed to play in the scouting match. He positioned himself behind one of the goals in order to act as a ball boy and retrieve lost balls and return them, and after a display of skills he was signed by Santa Cruz CF but, not being 18 at the time, he was limited to appear infriendly games.[3][4][5]
In 1946, after winning the Canarian regional championships with Marino FC,[5] Molowny caught the eye of bothFC Barcelona andReal Madrid. The former club sent an emissary by boat to sign him, and the latter's president,Santiago Bernabéu, upon reading the developments inLa Vanguardia whilst he was travelling toReus, telephoned to directorJacinto Quincoces and ordered that the player be signed; after he performed poorly in a match where he was due to showcase his talent, Bernabéu was still adamant, and a deal was eventually closed for 250.000pesetas and a 3.000 monthly salary.[6]
Molowny made his debut for his new team on 1 December 1946, scoring through a 79th-minuteheader in a 2–1La Liga home win against Barcelona.[7] He finished hisfirst season with a further ten goals in 15 appearances,[4]winning theCopa del Generalísimo.[8]
During his 11-year stint inMadrid, Molowny appeared in 208 games in all competitions, scoring 104 times.[9][10] He claimed five titles with his main club, including two national championships and the1955–56 edition of theEuropean Cup, even though he did not take part inthe final of the latter tournament itself.[11][12]
Molowny earned sevencaps forSpain in five years.[4] His first came on 2 April 1950, and he contributed with one of his two international goals to a 5–1 win overPortugal for the1950 FIFA World Cupqualifiers, at theNuevo Chamartín.[13]
Selected by managerGuillermo Eizaguirre for the finals in Brazil, Molowny appeared in the 2–2 second group stage draw againstUruguay,[14] helping to a final fourth place.[15]
Molowny retired in January 1958 at the age of 32, and immediately started coachingUD Las Palmas where he had last played. Over the following seasons he often acted asinterim manager, not being able to prevent top-flight relegation in1960; in the1968–69 campaign, already as a full-time coach, he led the team to a best-ever runner-up finish only behind champions Real Madrid.[16]
From March to June 1969, Molowny was in charge of the Spanish senior side whom he coached for four games. During his tenure, he won twice, drew once and lost toFinland.[17][18]
Late into1973–74 Molowny, who was working with Real Madrid in directorial capacities (where he remained until 1990), replacedMiguel Muñoz at the helm of the first team. Hewon the domestic cup that year,[19] and successively took the place ofMiljan Miljanić,Vujadin Boškov andAmancio Amaro after they were fired, being crowned champion in1978 and1979;[18][20] additionally, he was on the bench as theMerengues won consecutiveUEFA Cups in1984–85 and1985–86.[21][22][23]
After quitting football altogether, Molowny settled in his native region. He died on 12 February 2010 at the age of 84, inLas Palmas.[24]
Molowny played himself in three Spanish films:Eleven Pairs of Boots (1954),Radio Stories (1955) andBlond Arrow (1956, a biopic aboutAlfredo Di Stéfano).[25][26][27]
Real Madrid
Real Madrid
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