Every summer one of the most important moments in football is the transfer window. Throughout its history, Real Madrid has had several summer periods to remember, such as in 2009 when Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Kaká and Xabi Alonso among others arrived, in 1996 with the incorporation of Seedorf, Roberto Carlos, Mijatovic and Suker, or in 1985 when Ramón Mendoza signed the ‘Quinta de los Machos’, made up of Maceda, Hugo Sánchez and Gordillo, in one fell swoop.

However, one of the most important summers in the history of the Blancos goes way back in time. It took place in 1931 and was the foundation of the merengue club’s relationship with the Spanish League. At that time, Madrid Football Club -so called after the proclamation of the Second Republic on April 14 of the same year- had gone three seasons without winning the domestic competition, created in 1928, and its last cup trophy dated back to 1917.

President Luis Usera gave orders to technical secretary Hernández Coronado to form a title-winning team, and the ex-White goalkeeper in the 1910s got down to work. He signed three players from Alavés: Ciriaco, Quincoces and Olivares, for 60,000 pesetas (25,000 for the first two and 10,000 for the third); Hilario from the Canary Islands; the midfielder Ateca from Racing de Madrid; Tomás Bestit, from Europa, whose brother Carlos played for Barcelona; and the young Mandáluniz, from Arenas de Getxo. The icing on the cake came in September when Luis Regueiro, from Guipuzcoa, who played for Real Unión, arrived in Madrid.

Real Madrid 31-32 season

Six of these eight signings earned a place in Hungarian coach Lippo Hertzka’s first eleven. The duo of Ciriaco and Quincoces, who complemented each other perfectly, formed a legendary defensive trio alongside goalkeeper Zamora, signed the previous season. Ciriaco was strong, physically powerful and comfortable with the ball, while Quincoces had strength, speed, a great aerial play and a lot of intelligence. In midfield, Ateca, who stood out for his fight and commitment, had a nice battle for minutes with Esparza and Bonet. The inside line was regularly formed by Hilario -an agile, imaginative player with great dribbling skills- and Luis Regueiro, a brilliant player who organized the game with mastery, dribbled with enormous skill and possessed a superb technique. And up front, at the spearhead, was Olivares, known as “El Negro”, who stood out for his opportunism, his effectiveness in front of goal and his excellent finishing with both his feet and also with his head.

After a complicated preseason in which they faced teams of very high level, such as the Budapest and Prague national teams, Borussia Berlin or the Ambrosiana (now Inter Milan) in a tour of Central Europe, they started the League with a draw in Chamartín against the reigning champions, Athletic Club. Little by little Hertzka put the pieces together, despite doubts in the club about his ability to work, and the white team climbed to first place in the standings, tied on points with Athletic.

Hilario Marrero

Unbeaten in the first round, the turning point came on matchday 10. They had to visit San Mamés, a ground where they had won once and lost twice in previous years. The match, considered one of the best of the championship, dazzled the fans present at La Catedral. Madrid took the lead twice with a brace from Olivares, but a Bata strike in the 75th minute left things as they were at the start of the match.

The battle between Bilbao and Madrid continued until matchday 15, when Real Sociedad won the Basque derby and the capital side defeated Espanyol. The advantage was maintained until the last matchday, when Hertzka’s men closed their campaign at Les Corts. A draw was enough to celebrate the victory, and that was the result with which the match ended. Lazcano and Luis Regueiro drilled the blaugrana net and the first league title in the Merengue’s history was won in Barcelona after a 2-2 draw. It was also a historic season, as they finished without defeat and were the lowest-scoring team with 15 goals.

The signings maintained their level in the following seasons, especially Quincoces, Ciriaco, Regueiro, Hilario and Olivares and, until the outbreak of the Civil War, Madrid won another League in the 32-33 season and two Cups in 1934 and 1936, against Valencia and Barcelona respectively. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Source: La Galerna
Author: Alberto Cosín

Gaspar Rubio: The Magician

One of the first geniuses to wear the white jersey. Those who saw him play say that when he had a good day he was unstoppable for the rivals. On the other hand, if he felt lazy or if he wasn’t in good form, he would make the fans frustrated, as they always expected a lot from him.

Born in Valencia, specifically in Serra, the town where he was born in 1907, he earned the nickname El Mago (The Magician) for his quality and the nickname Rey del Astrágalo (King of the Astragalus) for his problems with that small bone in his foot. A forward of great class, he stood out for his mastery of the ball, his ability, his intelligence and his outstanding dribbling skills.

He began playing soccer for several modest clubs until he signed for Levante. At the end of the 1920s, Pablo Hernández Coronado, the club’s technical secretary, saw him play and was impressed by his skills. The Madrid club paid 4,000 pesetas for his transfer and he was part of the team that debuted in the newly created Spanish League.

With a peculiar character, when he arrived in the capital he defined himself as a “Samitier, but better”. He had all the conditions to succeed but his temperament was always an obstacle. He saw soccer as a spectacle and was also one of the first players to demand bonuses in case of scoring goals or performing well during matches.

In his two and a half seasons with the white jersey, he had a fantastic performance. In the 28-29 season, he scored 11 goals and was the team’s top scorer along with Lazcano. The following season, he was one of the few who was saved in a Merengue team that occupied mid-table positions. He scored 19 goals, which made him the second top scorer in La Liga, and three of them were scored in a derby against Athletic Madrid in which he was a nightmare for the red and white defence.

However, in terms of titles, he had to settle for three Regional Championships. The team coached by José Quirante reached the Cup final in 1929 and 1930, but were defeated in both. First they came up against Zamora and Bosch’s RCD Español in the famous ‘Water Final’, and then were defeated by Pentland’s Athletic Bilbao after extra time. As a result, the Basques revenged their elimination the previous year in the ‘Match of the Frogs’, where the Madrid side overwhelmed their opponents in San Mamés by 1-4.

In the summer of 1930, after several months of complaining about pains in his foot (the rumours were that they were fabricated), he underwent surgery on his talus. Four splinters were removed and he was out of action for several weeks. However, to the surprise of the club and the fans, his career took a different path in November. He decided to pack his bags and together with two friends embarked in Vigo on the ‘Cristobal Colón’ bound for Cuba. He did not warn anyone and his farewell was cold and premeditated, as he considered it unfair that Zamora was the best-paid player in the squad.

On the island, he played for Juventud Asturiana and shortly afterwards also for Real Club España de México. In 1932 he returned to Madrid with the intention of resuming his career as a Madrid player, but nothing was ever the same. His teammates did not welcome him with open arms and he had disagreements with several of them. After playing a friendly against Athletic Madrid, he criticized Hilario Marrero and Luis Regueiro and the board of directors transferred him to the los colchoneros.

He played for a couple of years in the eternal white rival and also in Valencia and Levante where he won the Copa de la España Libre. After the war, he enjoyed a third spell at Madrid, with whom he played in the 1939 Campeonato Mancomunado Centro tournament, but after the tournament, he no longer stayed at the club.

A Spanish international on only four occasions, he has the second-best goal average in the history of the national team. In his first two games against Portugal and France, he scored three and four goals respectively, although his best performance was yet to come. England visited the Metropolitano on May 15, 1929 and lost for the first time in Madrid to a team from the continent. Rubio shone that afternoon and, in addition to beating Hufton on two occasions, he had a match to remember according to the chronicles of the time. A year later, he said goodbye to the national team against Czechoslovakia in a match held in Montjuic.

In his life after football, he devoted himself to coaching. He coached Levante, Hércules and UD Lérida, and also crossed the pond to sit on the bench of several Mexican teams. He lived there until he died of pneumonia in the Aztec capital at the age of 75.

Source: La Galerna
Author: Alberto Cosín