Arsenio Iglesias
Arsenio Iglesias Pardo (born 24 December 1930) is a Spanish retired football forward and coach.
Iglesias in 2016 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Arsenio Iglesias Pardo | ||
Date of birth | 24 December 1930 | ||
Place of birth | Arteixo, Spain | ||
Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | ||
Playing position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Penouqueira | |||
Ciudad Jardín | |||
Bergantiños | |||
Deportivo La Coruña | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1950–1951 | Fabril | ||
1951–1957 | Deportivo La Coruña | 135 | (32) |
1957–1958 | Sevilla | 8 | (2) |
1958–1964 | Granada | 111 | (22) |
1964–1965 | Oviedo | 37 | (6) |
1965–1966 | Albacete | ||
Total | 291 | (62) | |
Teams managed | |||
1967–1971 | Deportivo B | ||
1971–1973 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
1973–1977 | Hércules | ||
1977–1978 | Zaragoza | ||
1978–1979 | Burgos | ||
1979–1980 | Elche | ||
1980 | Almería | ||
1982–1985 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
1986–1987 | Compostela | ||
1988–1991 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
1992–1995 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
1996 | Real Madrid | ||
2005–2008 | Galicia | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Nicknamed O Bruxo de Arteixo ("The Wizard of Arteixo"), his professional career, which spanned more than four decades, was closely associated to Deportivo as both a player and manager.[1]
Playing career
Born in Arteixo, Province of A Coruña, Iglesias started his career with local side Deportivo de La Coruña. He made his La Liga debut on 28 October 1951 in a 1–6 away loss against FC Barcelona, and scored the following weekend against RCD Español (3–1 home win).[2]
Iglesias netted seven goals in three separate seasons for the Galicians, adding a career-best eight in 1956–57, which nonetheless ended in relegation. In six of the following eight years he also played in the top division, representing Sevilla FC, Granada CF and Real Oviedo; he amassed competition totals of 238 games and 50 goals, and retired at 35 after a spell in the lower leagues with Albacete Balompié.[3]
Coaching career
Iglesias started coaching one year after retiring, his first appointment being at Deportivo's reserves, which he accumulated with assistant duties in the main squad. Midway through the 1970–71 campaign he was named the first team's manager, leading them to a top-flight promotion and being relegated in 1973.
In 1973–74, Iglesias repeated the feat with another Segunda División side, Hércules CF, then remained at the club's helm for a further three years, always managing to comfortably stay afloat – this included a fifth place in 1975 and a sixth in 1976; in the 1977–78 season another promotion to the top level befell, this time as champions with Real Zaragoza.
Iglesias worked in the top tier in two of the next three seasons, leading Burgos CF to the 13th position in 1978–79 and leaving AD Almería midway through the 1980–81 campaign, due to several internal disputes. In 1982 he returned to Deportivo, with the club in the second level.
In 1987–88, Iglesias was one of three coaches as Depor nearly suffered relegation to Segunda División B, being saved by a last-minute goal against Racing de Santander. He was again reinstated as first-team manager, finally attaining promotion to the first division in 1991 after ranking second.
Iglesias replaced sacked Marco Antonio Boronat at the club's helm late in 1991–92, as Deportivo had to play a relegation playoff against Real Betis, eventually winning 2–1 on aggregate. In the following seasons, however, Super Depor came to fruition, with several team players winning individual accolades and being called to the Spanish national team as the side finished three consecutive campaigns in the top three; during this timeframe, he was named Manager of the Year three times, twice by Don Balón and once by El País.[4]
Iglesias retired from football after 1994–95. Midway through the following campaign, however, he accepted an offer from Real Madrid to replace fired Jorge Valdano, with the Merengues finally ranking sixth and being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Juventus FC.[5]
In 2005, Iglesias was appointed manager of the Galicia autonomous football team, working alongside Fernando Vázquez.[6] In the previous decade, he also worked as a sports commentator.[7]
In 2016, Iglesias was bestowed with the highest recognition of Deportivo, a special insignia, and was declared "Blue and White Legend". The event took place at halftime of the last game of the 2015–16 season, at the Estadio Riazor.[8]
Honours
References
- Mariño, Lucía (28 April 2011). "Lecciones de humildad para Mou de parte de un viejo "zorro"" [Lessons in humility to Mou from an old "fox"]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- "D. Coruña 3, – Español, 1". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 5 November 1951. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- "Past Players – Arsenio". Deportivo La Coruña Fan Club. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- Pla Díaz, Emilio. "Spain – Footballer of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- "Super six against Spanish opposition". Juventus F.C. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- Beotas, Enrique (14 November 2008). "Arsenio Iglesias: "Nunca se acaba de ser profeta del todo en la tierra propia"" [Arsenio Iglesias: "One is never truly a prophet in your hometown"]. El Correo Gallego (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- Ashdown, John (7 February 2012). "They think it's all over … it is meow, as cat invades Anfield pitch". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- "Arsenio Iglesias, lenda do Deportivismo, recibe a homenaxe de Riazor" [Arsenio Iglesias, legend of Deportivismo, receives Riazor's tribute] (in Galician). Deportivo La Coruña. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- Giménez, Paco (22 April 2018). "Aquel ascenso del Real Zaragoza el Día de San Jorge de 1978..." [That Real Zaragoza promotion on Saint George's Day in 1978...]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- Carbajosa, Carlos E. (28 June 1995). "Supertítulo" [Supertitle]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2014.
External links
- Arsenio Iglesias at BDFutbol
- Arsenio Iglesias manager profile at BDFutbol
- Deportivo archives