Pahiño

Manuel Fernández Fernández (21 January 1923 – 12 June 2012), known as Pahiño, was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

Pahiño
Personal information
Full name Manuel Fernández Fernández
Date of birth (1923-01-21)21 January 1923
Place of birth Vigo, Spain
Date of death 12 June 2012(2012-06-12) (aged 89)
Place of death Madrid, Spain
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1939–1940 Navia
1940–1943 Arenas de Alcabre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1943–1948 Celta 103 (70)
1948–1953 Real Madrid 124 (109)
1953–1956 Deportivo La Coruña 72 (46)
1956–1957 Granada 15 (8)
Total 314 (233)
International career
1949 Spain B 1 (0)
1948–1955 Spain 3 (3)
Managerial career
1956 Deportivo La Coruña
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Over 12 seasons, he played 278 games in La Liga, scoring 211 goals for Celta, Real Madrid and Deportivo. He won one Pichichi Trophy each with the first two clubs.

Club career

Born in the neighbourhood of San Paio de Navia in Vigo, Province of Pontevedra, Pahiño joined RC Celta de Vigo in 1943, immediately becoming a starter. He only scored four La Liga goals in his first season (from 15 appearances), being relegated.

After the team's return to the top flight, Pahiño never scored less than 15 times until his departure. In the 1947–48 campaign, his league-best 21 goals helped them finish a best-ever fourth and reach the final of the Copa del Generalísimo.[1]

In summer 1948, both Pahiño and Miguel Muñoz signed for Real Madrid.[1] He continued to find the net at a regular rate for his new club, winning his second Pichichi at the end of 1951–52. However, he lost his importance in the squad following the arrival of Alfredo Di Stéfano, who later admitted his frustration of never having played alongside him; across all competitions, he scored 124 goals in 143 matches,[2] ranking 13th in the all-time scoring list at the time of his death.[3]

Until his retirement in 1957, at the age of 34, Pahiño represented Deportivo de La Coruña (top division, three seasons) and Granada CF (Segunda División). On 30 October 1955, whilst at the service of the former, he scored twice in a 2–1 win over his former employer at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[4]

Over a fortnight in February 1956, Pahiño acted as player-coach for Deportivo.[5] The team conceded 12 goals in three games, which included losses against FC Barcelona (0–7, home)[6] and Deportivo Alavés (2–4).[7]

International career

Pahiño earned three caps for Spain, over seven years. He scored on his debut on 20 June 1948, against Switzerland,[8] adding a brace in his final appearance, a 2–2 draw with the Republic of Ireland in another friendly.[9]

Style of play

An ambidextrous player that excelled in the physical aspects of the game, Pahiño possessed a powerful shot with either feet as well as a tremendous heading ability.[2] In 1945, during a promotion play-offs clash against Granada, he played more than 40 minutes with a broken fibula after a challenge by José Millán, in an eventual 4–1 away win.[1]

Personal life

Pahiño received his nickname after a variation of his father's second surname, Paíño. He was an avid reader of the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy.[10]

A half-time incident during the international with Switzerland, in which he sarcastically grinned as the team was being harangued by General Gómez Zamalloa, who was also vocal to the National Sports Delegation, may have led to the small number of appearances for his country.[10][11] He died in the capital Madrid on 12 June 2012, aged 89.[12]

Career statistics

Club

[13][14][15]

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
1943–44CeltaLa Liga15444--198
1944–45Segunda División21133[16]4[16]--2417
1945–46La Liga221541--2616
1946–47231773--3020
1947–48222199--3130
1948–49Real Madrid262130--2921
1949–50222020--2420
1950–51242121--2622
1951–52272867--3335
1952–53251968--3127
1953–54Deportivo281420--3014
1954–55221843--2621
1955–56221400--2214
1956–57GranadaSegunda División15800--158
Total Spain 3142335240--366273
Career total 3142335240--366273

International goals

[17]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.20 June 1948Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland  Switzerland0–13–3Friendly
2.27 November 1955Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland1–12–2Friendly
3.27 November 1955Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland1–22–2Friendly

Honours

Individual

References

  1. "Pahiño" (in Spanish). Yo Jugué en el Celta. 10 April 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. "The brave forward". Real Madrid C.F. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  3. "Pahiño fallece, el 13º mayor goleador de la historia del Real Madrid" [Pahiño, 13th top scorer in the history of Real Madrid, dies] (in Spanish). Goal. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. "R. Madrid, 1 – Coruña, 2". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 31 October 1955. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. "En La Coruña creen que el Barcelona va al encuentro del Deportivo en el mejor momento que pueden desear – Síntomas de pocas esperanzas de éxito" [In La Coruña they believe Barcelona meets Deportivo in the best moment they could hope for – Little hope for success perceived]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 February 1956. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  6. "Coruña, 0 – Barcelona, 7". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 6 February 1956. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  7. "Alavés, 4 – D. Coruña, 2". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 15 February 1956. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  8. "Suiza, 3 – España, 3" [Switzerland, 3 – Spain, 3]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 21 June 1948. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  9. "Irlanda, 2 – España, 2" [Ireland, 2 – Spain, 2]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 28 November 1955. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  10. "Pahíño, el delantero que leía a Dostoievski" [Pahíño, the forward who read Dostoyevsky]. El País (in Spanish). 5 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  11. ""Me sentía un futbolista diferente"" [I felt like a different footballer]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). 14 June 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  12. "Fallece Pahíño, histórico goleador del fútbol español" [Pahíño, historical Spanish football scorer, dies]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  13. "Pahiño". Real Madrid. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Total of 125 goals with Real Madrid (not 124), 109 in LaLiga (not 108)
  14. "Pahiño". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  15. "Pahiño". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  16. "Promotion match". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  17. "Pahiño". European Football. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  18. "Spain – List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929–2015". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
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