Francisco Bru Sanz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Francisco Bru | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Bru Sanz | |
| Date of birth | April 12 1885 | |
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | |
| Position | Defender | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 190x-11 1911-15 1915-16 |
FC Barcelona RCD Español FC Barcelona |
X (X) X (X) X (X) |
| National team** | ||
| 1904-15 | Catalan XI | X (X) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1920 1924-26 1934-36 1937-36 1936-41 1941-43 |
Spain RCD Español Madrid CF Girona FC Real Madrid Granada CF |
|
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Francisco Bru Sanz (born April 12, 1885, Madrid), also referred to as Francesc Bru or Paco Bru, is a former Spanish/Catalan footballer, referee and manager. As a footballer he played as defender for FC Barcelona, RCD Español and the Catalan XI. He later became the first ever manager of Spain, guiding them to the silver medal at the 1920 Olympics Games and led Real Madrid, then known as Madrid CF, to two Copa de España wins during the 1930s.
After retiring as a player in 1916, Bru became a referee. According to legend, before his first game in charge he walked into the dressing room and pulled out a Colt pistol from his bag. He placed the gun on a table in the middle of the room for everybody to see and when finished changing, he stuffed the pistol down his shorts. After being asked by a player what was going on, he explained he wanted to guarantee a quiet match, given that it was his first game in charge.
Contents |
[edit] Playing Career
Bru began his career with FC Barcelona and, along with Romà Forns, helped the club win the Championat de Catalunya three times in a row between 1909 and 1911. He also helped them win their first Copa del Rey in 1910. In 1911 he joined RCD Español and won two further Championat titles and played in another Copa final in 1915. He then returned to FC Barcelona and, together with Paulino Alcántara and Jack Greenwell, helped the club win one more Championat. During his playing career he also played at least 5 times for the Catalan XI. However records from the era do not always include accurate statistics and he may have played more games. On May 30 1904, Bru played in the very first game the team ever played, a 4-1 defeat to the Catalan champions, CD Español.
[edit] Olympic Games
In 1920 when the Spanish Football Federation decided to send a team to the Olympics Games, Bru was one of three selectors chosen to pick the squad. However after an initial training session, he found himself on his own. He subsequently rejected many of the players that turned up for the original session and insisted on the inclusion of more Basque players. With a squad that included Ricardo Zamora, Félix Sesúmaga, Pichichi, José María Belauste and Josep Samitier, Bru and Spain returned from the competition with the silver medal.
The final stages of the tournament had descended into farce. Belgium won the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off in protest during the final, unhappy with the performance of the referee. As a result they were disqualified and a second consolation tournament was organised to decide the silver and bronze medallists. However beaten semi-finalists, France, had already returned home, so the beaten quarter-finalists played-off for the right to play the other beaten semi-finalist, Holland. Spain emerged triumphant after overcoming Sweden 2-1, Italy 2-0 and then beating Holland 3-1 in the silver medal final.
[edit] Honours
Player
FC Barcelona
- Copa del Rey: 1
- 1910
- Catalan Champions: 4
- 1908-09, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1915-16
RCD Español
- Catalan Champions: 2
- 1911-12, 1914-15
Manager
Spain
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Football | |||
| Silver | Antwerp 1920 | Team Competition | |
- Olympic Games: 1
- Silver medallist 1920
Madrid CF
- Copa de España: 2
- 1933-34, 1935-36
[edit] External links
[edit] Sources
- Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football (2003), Phil Ball.
