- Francisco Bru
Football player infobox
playername= Francisco Bru
fullname = Francisco Bru Llense
dateofbirth =April 12 1885
cityofbirth =Madrid
countryofbirth =Spain
dateofdeath =August 31 1965 (age 80)
position = Defender
years = 190x-1911
1911-1915
1915-1916
clubs=FC Barcelona RCD Español FC Barcelona
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 1904-1915
nationalteam = Catalan XI
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 1920
1924-1926
1930
1934-36
1937-39
1939-41
1941-43
1948-49
managerclubs = SpainRCD Español
PeruMadrid CF Girona FC Real Madrid Granada CF Real Zaragoza
pcupdate = October 12 2006
ntupdate = October 12 2006Francisco Bru Llense (born
April 12 ,1885 -August 31 ,1965 ), also referred to as Francesc Bru or Paco Bru, is a former Spanish footballer, referee and manager. As a footballer he played as a defender forFC Barcelona ,RCD Español and the Catalan XI. After retiring as a player, Bru became a referee and took charge of the 1916 and 1917Copa del Rey finals. He later became the first ever manager of Spain, guiding them to the silver medal at the 1920 Olympics Games. As a manager withReal Madrid , then known as "Madrid CF", he won theCopa de España twice during the 1930s.Playing career
Bru began his career with
FC Barcelona and, along withRomà Forns , helped the club win the Championat de Catalunya three times in a row between 1909 and 1911. He also helped them win their firstCopa del Rey in 1910. In 1911 he joinedRCD Español and won two further Championat titles and played in another Copa final in 1915. He then returned to FC Barcelona and, together withPaulino Alcántara andJack 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 one of the earliest games the team ever played, a 4-1 defeat to theCatalan football champions ,Club Español .Referee
After retiring as a player 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. Bru went on to take charge of two
Copa del Rey finals. In 1916 he was in charge asAthletic Bilbao beatMadrid FC 4-0. In the 1917 final Madrid FC returned and beatArenas Club de Getxo . In 1917 Bru also refereed a friendly between the Catalan XI and a Castile XI.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 includedRicardo Zamora ,Félix Sesúmaga , Pichichi,José María Belauste andJosep 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.Real Madrid
Bru had two spells as coach at
Real Madrid . During his first spell with the club, then known as "Madrid CF", he guided the team to victory in twoCopa de España finals. In 1934 he coached a team that includedRicardo Zamora ,Josep Samitier andJacinto Quincoces to a 2-1 win over aValencia CF team coached byJack Greenwell . The 1936 final saw "Madrid CF" meetFC Barcelona for the first time in a cup final. The Madrid club beat Barça 2-1 at theMestalla in Valencia. The final is best remembered for a save made by Zamora. During theSpanish Civil War , Bru returned to Catalonia and coachedGirona FC in theMediterranean League . In 1936 he returned toReal Madrid for a second spell as coach.Others
He was the coach of the
Peru national football team during the first ever World Cup in 1930. [http://cronicasdefutbolperuano.blogspot.com/2007/02/peru-en-el-mundial-del-30.html]Honours
"Player"
FC Barcelona
*
Copa del Rey : 1
**1910
*Catalan Champions: 4
**1908-09, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1915-16RCD Español
*Catalan Champions: 2
**1911-12, 1914-15"Manager"
Spain
* Olympic Games: 1
** Silver medallist 1920Madrid CF
*Copa de España : 2
**1934, 1936External links
* [http://futbol.sportec.es/seleccion/ficha_seleccionador.asp?j=5282&n=Paco%20Bru Spain manager stats]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/spancup1916.html Copa del Rey 1916]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/spancup1917.html Copa del Rey 1917]ources
* "Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football" (2003), Phil Ball. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morbo-Spanish-Football-Phil-Ball/dp/0954013468]
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