Ricardo Zamora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Silver Antwerp 1920 Team Competition

Ricardo Zamora Martínez (Barcelona, January 21, 1901Barcelona, September 15, 1978) was a Spanish football player nicknamed "el Divino". He was a goalkeeper who played 46 times for Spain.

Zamora began his career with his hometown club of RCD Espanyol in 1916 before an argument with one of the club's directors resulted in him being transferred to local rivals FC Barcelona in 1919. Whilst at Barcelona, Zamora made his international debut at the 1920 Olympics in a 1-0 victory against Denmark on August 28; Spain went on to win the silver medal.

Zamora won the Copa del Rey twice with Barcelona before moving back to Espanyol in 1922, where he won the trophy again in 1929. In the same year Zamora was part of the Spain team which beat England 4-3, this was the first time that a side from outside of the British Isles had beaten England. This feat was made even more remarkable by the fact that Zamora carried on playing after breaking his sternum during the match. Zamora and his Spanish side were embarrassed two years later by football icon Dixie Dean and England, 7-1.

Zamora left Espanyol for a second time at the end of the 1929 season to join Real Madrid, where he was to enjoy the most successful period of his career. He helped Madrid to win their first ever La Liga title in the 1931/32 and to retain the title the following season, he also won the Copa del Rey twice with the club.

Zamora retired from football in 1936 after fleeing to France following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. He held the record as Spain's most capped player for 38 years before being surpassed by José Ángel Iribar. After retiring Zamora went on to become a coach for several teams in Spain.

The annual trophy awarded to the goalkeeper who concedes the least goals in La Liga each season, the Zamora Trophy, is named after Ricardo Zamora. He was voted as one of the greatest players of the 20th century by World Soccer magazine.