 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick Joseph O'Connell | ||
| Date of birth | (1887-03-08)8 March 1887 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 27 February 1959(1959-02-27) (aged 71) | ||
| Place of death | St Pancras, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Frankfort | |||
| Stranville Rovers | |||
| Liffey Wanderers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1905–1909 | Belfast Celtic | ||
| 1909–1912 | Sheffield Wednesday | 18 | (0) |
| 1912–1914 | Hull City | 58 | (1) |
| 1914–1919 | Manchester United | 34 | (2) |
| 1915 | →Clapton Orient (guest) | ||
| 1918–1919 | →Rochdale (guest) | ||
| ? | →Chesterfield (guest) | ||
| 1919–1920 | Dumbarton | 31 | (0) |
| 1920–1922 | Ashington | 19 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 1912–1919 | Ireland | 6 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1921–1922 | Ashington | ||
| 1922–1929 | Racing Santander | ||
| 1929–1931 | Real Oviedo | ||
| 1932–1935 | Real Betis | ||
| 1935–1940 | Barcelona | ||
| 1940–1942 | Real Betis | ||
| 1942–1945 | Sevilla | ||
| 1947–1949 | Racing Santander | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Patrick Joseph O'Connell (8 March 1887 – 27 February 1959), also known asPaddy O'Connell orPatricio O'Connell, was an Irishfootball player and manager. Awing half, he played forBelfast Celtic,Sheffield Wednesday,Hull City andManchester United. He has the distinction of being the first player from what is now theRepublic of Ireland to play for and captain Manchester United.[2]
As an international, he captainedIreland and was a member of the team that won the1914 British Home Championship. However, O'Connell is probably best remembered for managing several clubs inLa Liga. In1935 he ledReal Betis to their first La Liga title, and during theSpanish Civil War he tookBarcelona on a tour ofNorth America. Despite these successes, he died destitute in London in 1959 and was initially buried in an unmarked grave atSt Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green, London NW6.
O'Connell was born in 11 Jones Terrace, Dublin. From the age of 14, he worked at Boland's Mill and became a foreman at the age of 15. He also played junior football with several local Dublin clubs, includingFrankfort, Stranville Rovers andLiffey Wanderers, before joiningBelfast Celtic.[3] In March 1909, O'Connell and left-back Peter Warren were transferred toSheffield Wednesday for a combined fee of £50.[4]
A terrific performer in the heart of the defence, O'Connell made hisEnglish First Division debut forSheffield Wednesday againstBury on the last day of the1908–09 season. However, in subsequent seasons, he was unable to establish himself as a regular in the Wednesday first team, due to competition fromEnglish McConnell,Jimmy Spoors andBob McSkimming. As a result, he made just 21 senior appearances, 18 in the league and three in theFA Cup. However, while with Wednesday, O'Connell made two of his six international appearances for Ireland.[4]
O'Connell leftSheffield Wednesday forHull City in March 1912, and subsequently made 58Second Division appearances for City during the1912–13 and1913–14 seasons. While with City, he also made a further three appearances for Ireland.[4]
O'Connell's impressive performances with Ireland attracted the attention ofManchester United, for whom he signed in May 1914 for a fee of £1,000.[3] During the1914–15 season, he served as United team captain, made 34First Division appearances and scored twice. He also played one further game for the club in theFA Cup. He made his league debut and scored his first goal for the club on 2 September 1914 in a 3–1 home defeat againstOldham Athletic. He scored his second goal on 10 April 1915 in a 2–2 home draw withMiddlesbrough, and made his final English league appearance for the club on 26 April in a 1–0 home win againstAston Villa.[5][6]
O'Connell's time at United saw the club finish third from bottom in the First Division, narrowly avoiding relegation by a single point. He also became embroiled in the infamous1915 British football betting scandal. On 2 April 1915, relegation threatened United defeated mid-tableLiverpool 2–0 in a home league game. It subsequently emerged that the game was fixed by a small group of players from both sides. David Goldblatt[7] argues that the players' concern was not who went up or down the league, but due to theFirst World War, that there would be no league at all the following season. Believing they would soon be unemployed, the players arranged abetting pool and backed United to win 2–0. This was the score when O'Connell took a penalty which went well wide[8] O'Connell escaped punishment, but three of his teammates –Sandy Turnbull,Arthur Whalley andEnoch West – and four Liverpool players later received lifetime suspensions fromThe Football Association.[9] During the war, O'Connell remained a United player and also guested forClapton Orient,Rochdale andChesterfield.[3]
In August 1919, O'Connell moved toDumbarton; during the1919–20 season, he made 31 league appearances and played twice in theScottish Cup. He made hisScottish League debut as a right-half in a 1–1 draw withAyr United on 16 August 1919, the opening day of the season. His first three appearances for Dumbarton were at right-half, while all the rest were at centre-half, with the exception of the home game againstHamilton Academical on 27 September 1919, when he again played at right-half. He made his final appearance for Dumbarton in a 4–3 away defeat againstAberdeen on 24 April 1920.[10]
O'Connell finished his playing career withAshington. During his first season with the club, 1920–21, they played in theNorth Eastern League and finished ninth out of twenty teams. The1921–22 season saw O'Connell appointed player-coach, and Ashington playing in theEnglish Division Three North. O'Connell oversaw massive changes at Ashington, as a result of the club's league status having changed. Their home ground was upgraded from a typical non-league venue containing no more than a simple seated and covered stand to a stadium designed for 20,000. O'Connell played in the club's first everEnglish League fixture, a 1–0 win againstGrimsby Town in front of 9,000 supporters. Ashington eventually finished the season in a respectable tenth position, with O'Connell making his last appearance for the club in a 2–2 home draw againstSouthport.[11] In January 1921, while with Ashington, O'Connell also represented theNorth Eastern League against theCentral League.[4]
Between 1912 and 1919, O'Connell played six times forIreland. He made his international debut on 10 February1912, in a 6–1 defeat againstEngland atDalymount Park. His teammates on the day included, among others,Billy Scott,Val Harris andBill Lacey. On 16 March 1912, he also played in the 4–1 defeat againstScotland atWindsor Park. In 1914, together with Harris, Lacey,Louis Bookman andBilly Gillespie, he was a member of the Irish team that won the1914 British Home Championship. After beatingWales 2–1 away on 19 January, Ireland then beat England 3–0 atAyresome Park on 14 February. O'Connell then captained the team, while playing with a broken arm, as a ten-man Ireland clinched the title with a 1–1 draw against Scotland atWindsor Park on 14 March. He made his last appearance for Ireland in a 1919Victory international against Scotland.[3][12][13][14]
In 1922, O'Connell succeededFred Pentland as the manager ofRacing Santander. He subsequently guided the team to five regional titles, and in1928, they became founding members ofLa Liga. He would later return to Racing for a second spell as manager between1948 and1949.[15][16]
From September 1929 until May 1931, O'Connell managedReal Oviedo in theSegunda División.[17]
Between 1931 and 1935, O'Connell managedReal Betis, at the time known asBetis Balompie. After leading them to theSegunda División title in1932, he then guided Betis, with a team that includedLecue, to their one and onlyLa Liga title in1935. Betis won the title on 28 April 1935, with a 5–0 win against O'Connell's former teamRacing Santander. The night before the game, which was played in Santander, O'Connell visited the Racing squad at a hotel where they were staying, and allegedly tried to persuade them to lose the game. Betis had to beat Racing to overtake their rivalsReal Madrid.[16]
O'Connell's success withReal Betis attracted the interest ofBarcelona, who appointed him as successor toFranz Platko for the1935–36 season.[18] With a squad that includedJosep Escolà,Domènec Balmanya,Joan Josep Nogués andEnrique Fernández, O'Connell guided Barça to theCampionat de Catalunya and theCopa de España final. In the final, they playedReal Madrid and with Real leading 2–1, Escolà was denied a late equaliser after a spectacular save byRicardo Zamora.
During the 1936–37 season,La Liga was suspended because of theSpanish Civil War. However, clubs in theRepublican area of Spain competed in theMediterranean League. In early 1937, Barcelona received an offer from a businessman, Manuel Mas Serrano, via one of their players, Josep Iborra. Serrano proposed that the club travel to play a series of exhibition matches inMexico and theUnited States. According to the offer, the club would be paid $15,000 with all costs covered. This was to involve a Barcelona party of 20: 16 players, plus O'Connell, Ángel Mur, Rossend Calvet, the club secretary and Modest Amorós, the club doctor. In Mexico, they played against, among others,Club América,Atlante,Necaxa and aMexican XI. In the United States, they played againstBrooklyn Hispano,Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic and anAmerican Soccer League XI. They finished the tour with a game against a Hebrew XI.[19][20]
Due to the financial success of this tour, Barcelona cleared their debts and saved the club; however, O'Connell returned to Spain with only four players, after the others chose to go into exile in Mexico andFrance. By the 1937–38 season, the Republican area was reduced in size, and a second Mediterranean League was impossible to organise. However, aLliga Catalana, featuring just Catalan teams, was organised. Despite a depleted squad, O'Connell and Barcelona won both the Lliga Catalana and theCampionat de Catalunya.[21][22]
O'Connell went on to manageSevilla between 1942 and 1945. During his first season in charge,1942–43, he guided the club to second place inLa Liga.[15][23]
A bust commemorating O'Connell's league title achievement with Real Betis was installed at the club'sEstadio Benito Villamarín in 2017.It was organised by the Patrick O'Connell Memorial Fund, Alan McLean, Fergus Dowd and Simon Needham. A documentary about O'Connell and the Fund, by Michael Andersen was released in May 2018, with the support of the Memorial Fund. O'Connell's new memorial was installed by the fund in April 2016.[24]
The memorial fund also unveiled a Dublin City Council plaque at 87 Fitzroy Avenue, Dublin where O'Connell lived in later years. A blue plaque was also unveiled by the group on Albert Street off the Falls Road in Belfast where he lived as a Belfast Celtic player. A mural was also commissioned by the POCMF on the Whiterock Road; painted by Belfast artists Danny Devenney and Marty Lyons.
A monument in Seville commemorates Real Betis's only La Liga title.
Ireland
Racing Santander
Real Betis
Barcelona