Arsenio Iglesias

Arsenio Iglesias Pardo (24 December 1930 – 5 May 2023) was a Spanish football player and manager.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Iglesias and the second or maternal family name is Pardo.

Arsenio Iglesias
Iglesias in 2016
Personal information
Full name Arsenio Iglesias Pardo
Date of birth (1930-12-24)24 December 1930
Place of birth Arteixo, Spain
Date of death 5 May 2023(2023-05-05) (aged 92)
Place of death A Coruña, Spain
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Penouqueira
Ciudad Jardín
Bergantiños
Deportivo La Coruña
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1951 Deportivo 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)
Managerial career
1967–1970 Deportivo Fabril
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
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicknamed O Bruxo de Arteixo ("The Wizard of Arteixo"), he had a five-decade professional career closely associated to Deportivo as both a player and manager.[1]

Playing career

Born in Arteixo, Province of A Coruña, Iglesias played as a forward and started his career with local side Deportivo de La Coruña.[1] He made his La Liga debut on 28 October 1951 in a 6–1 away loss against FC Barcelona,[2] and scored the following weekend against RCD Español (3–1 home win).[3]

Iglesias netted seven goals in three separate seasons for the Galicians, adding a career-best eight in 1956–57, which nonetheless ended in relegation.[4] 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.[5]

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[6] and being relegated in 1973.[7]

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.[8] In the 1977–78 season another promotion to the main division befell, this time as champions with Real Zaragoza.[9]

Iglesias worked in the top tier in two of the next three seasons, leading Burgos CF to the 13th position in 1978–79[10][11] and being fired by AD Almería midway through the 1980–81 campaign amid several internal disputes.[12][13] In 1982 he returned to Deportivo, with the club in division two.[7]

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.[14] He was again reinstated as first-team manager, finally attaining promotion to the first division in 1991 after ranking second.[7]

Iglesias replaced the dismissed 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.[15] In the following seasons, however, Super Depor came to fruition, with several team players winning individual accolades and being called to the Spain national team as the side finished three consecutive campaigns in the top three;[16] during this timeframe, he was named Manager of the Year three times, twice by Don Balón and once by El País.[17]

Iglesias retired from football after 1994–95. Midway through the following campaign, however, he accepted an offer from Real Madrid to replace the fired Jorge Valdano, with the Merengues eventually ranking sixth and being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Juventus FC.[18][19]

In 2005, Iglesias was appointed manager of the Galicia national team, working alongside Fernando Vázquez.[20] In the previous decade, he also worked as a sports commentator.[21]

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.[22]

Death

Iglesias died in A Coruña on 5 May 2023, at age 92.[23]

Honours

Manager

Zaragoza

Deportivo

References
  1. 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.
  2. Pardo, Carlos (29 October 1951). "Barcelona, 6 – Coruña, 1". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. "D. Coruña, 3 – Español, 1". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 5 November 1951. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  4. "Morre Arsenio Iglesias, historia e lenda do Deportivo e do fútbol galego" [Death of Arsenio Iglesias, history and legend of Deportivo and Galician football] (in Galician). G24. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. "Arsenio Iglesias, 90 años de leyenda deportivista" [Arsenio Iglesias, 90 years of deportivista legend]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 24 December 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  6. Flores, Jesús (19 February 2021). "Arsenio Iglesias y su debut en el banquillo coruñés en un duelo bronco contra el Racing" [Arsenio Iglesias and his debut in Coruña's bench in tough-as-can-be clash against Racing]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  7. Balado, Lois (4 June 2021). "Hay un hombre en Riazor: Arsenio Iglesias" [There's a man in Riazor: Arsenio Iglesias]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  8. "Riazor aplaude el homenaje del Hércules a Arsenio Iglesias" [Riazor cheers Hércules homage to Arsenio Iglesias]. Diario Información (in Spanish). 27 July 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  9. Giménez, Paco (23 April 2016). "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.
  10. Angulo, Ana Isabel (27 August 2012). "Carmelo Ortega, dos décadas en el vestuario del Burgos CF" [Carmelo Ortega, two decades in Burgos CF's locker room]. Diario de Burgos (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  11. García, Diego (25 December 2017). "El Burgos CF, una leyenda de los 70" [Burgos CF, legend of the 70s]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  12. De la Cruz, Pedro Manuel (19 December 2020). "Fuertes sanciones en el Almería" [Heavy sanctions at Almería]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  13. Bretones, J.L. (10 January 2015). "Sólo dos veces cambió de entrenador la AD" [AD only changed managers twice]. Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. Cobas, Eugenio (19 July 2020). "Vicente Celeiro: "Está complicado, pero hay que creer hasta el final"" [Vicente Celeiro: "We have it tough, but we have to believe until the end"]. La Opinión A Coruña (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  15. Miranda, Carlos (19 April 2017). "Y con Arsenio empezó todo" [The beginning of it all was with Arsenio]. La Opinión A Coruña (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  16. Lowe, Sid (19 May 2020). "El Deportivo La Coruña revive su único título de La Liga, en el 20 aniversario de su triunfo" [Deportivo La Coruña relive their only La Liga title, in the 20th anniversary of their conquest] (in Spanish). ESPN. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  17. Pla Díaz, Emilio. "Spain – Footballer of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  18. "Super six against Spanish opposition". Juventus F.C. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  19. Rodríguez, Jaime (22 January 2016). "Hace 20 años pasó un 'Brujo' por Madrid" [A 'Wizard' went by Madrid 20 years ago]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. "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.
  23. Barreiros, Pedro; Centeno, Alexandre (5 May 2023). "Muere a los 92 años Arsenio Iglesias, leyenda del Deportivo" [Death at 92 of Arsenio Iglesias, Deportivo legend]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  24. Carbajosa, Carlos E. (28 June 1995). "Supertítulo" [Supertitle]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2014.
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