Juan de Urruela

Juan Francisco José de Urruela Morales (29 January 1881 - 16 December 1947) was an Guatemalan of Spanish descent footballer who played as a goalkeeper for FC Barcelona at the turn of the century.[1] He is best known for being the very first goalkeeper to wear the FC Barcelona shirt when he played as such in the club's first-ever game on 8 December 1899.[2][3]

Juan de Urruela
Juan de Urruela
Personal information
Full name Juan de Urruela Morales
Birth name Juan Francisco José de Urruela y Morales
Date of birth (1881-01-29)29 January 1881
Place of birth Guatemala City, Guatemala
Date of death 16 December 1947(1947-12-16) (aged 66)
Place of death Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1899–1900 FC Barcelona 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Biography

Born in Guatemala City on 29 January 1881, Juan de Urruela was the eldest brother and fourth of five children. During his youth he settled in Barcelona where he married on 25 June 1907, Àgueda Sanllehy Girona, daughter of the Marquises of Caldes de Montbui.[2]

I cannot end without making special mention of a hotly contested point that was saved by the "goal-keeper" of the "Barcelona Club", Mr. Urruela, who was greeted with applause by the attendees, enthusiastic about the vehemence with which the ball was defended.

Alberto Serra[4][2]

On 8 December 1899, Urruela went down in history for being the first goalkeeper of FC Barcelona in the club's first match of its history, played at the Velódromo de la Bonanova against the city's English colony known as Team Anglès.[2][3] The Guatemalan was thus the first Central American to play for Barcelona. The English won 1–0, courtesy of a goal from Arthur Witty. Despite the defeat, the local newspaper La Vanguardia highlighted Urruela's good performance in the following day, in a chronicle written by Alberto Serra.[4][2]

Juan de Urruela played three more matches: on the 1899 Christmas Eve against Català FC (3–1), on 26 December against Team Anglès (2–1) and on 6 January 1900 again against the English colony (0–4), forming part of a combined team with players from Barcelona and Català in the latter two matches.[2]

Despite some encouraging first steps with the club, he never played for Barça again. Once he left football, he practiced tennis and polo at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona.[2] He was president of the Catalan Tennis Federation.

Being an aristocrat of Spanish descent, King Alfonso XIII granted him Spanish nationality in December 1909, together with his younger brother,[5] and in 1916 he restored the Marquesado de San Román de Ayala,[6] a noble title that had been held by his ancestors.[3]

References
  1. "Juan De Urruela Y Morales stats". players.fcbarcelona.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  2. "Guatemalteco fue el primer portero en la historia del FC Barcelona" [Guatemalan was the first goalkeeper in the history of FC Barcelona]. www.guatemala.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  3. "Juan de Urruela, el guatemalteco que jugó en el FC Barcelona" [Juan de Urruela, the Guatemalan who played for FC Barcelona]. www.soy502.com. 20 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  4. "Edición del sábado, 09 diciembre 1899, página 7" [Saturday's edition, 9 December 1899, page 7]. La Vanguardia. 9 December 1899. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  5. "ABC MADRID 19-12-1909 página 10" [ABC MADRID 19-12-1909 page 10]. www.abc.es. 19 December 1909. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  6. "ABC MADRID 19-02-1916 página 12" [ABC MADRID 19-02-1916 page 12]. www.abc.es. 19 February 1916. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
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