- Enrique Piñeyro Queralt
Enrique Piñeyro Queralt, also referred to as Enric Piñeyro or the Marqués de la Mesa de Asta, was a Spanish aristocrat and president of
FC Barcelona between 1940 and 1943. Piñeyro, allegedly, knew next to nothing about sport and had apparently never even seen a game of football before his term as Barça president. A close friend of General José Moscardó, he had been a serving officer on the side of Franco during theSpanish Civil War and was appointed club president on the basis of his loyalty to the Franco regime. However despite this he was won over to the Barça cause and became the club’s principal defender during the early Franco era. He resigned as club president following the controversial 1943Copa del Generalísimo semi-final againstReal Madrid . During the Piñeyro presidency the club had to change it’s name and shield. In 1941 a decree issued by Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names and the club had to change it’s name from the Anglised "Football Club Barcelona" to "Club de Fútbol Barcelona". The Catalan flag was also banned, leading to it’s removal from the club shield. The club also formed a handball team, now known asFC Barcelona Handbol , as well asbaseball , and cycling teams.Piñeyro made his inaugural speech to his fellow
FC Barcelona board members on March 13 1940 and outlined his intentions to depoliticise the club off the field, while at same time aiming for sporting greatness on it. One of the first acts of the Piñeyro administration was to campaign against a six year ban imposed by the Franco regime on any exiled sportsmen returning to Spain. This allowed several formerFC Barcelona players, includingDomènec Balmanya andJosep Escolà , to return to club. These reinforcements subsequently proved their worth during the 1941-42 season. Barça, with a team coached byJoan Josep Nogués , had struggled inLa Liga and narrowly avoided being relegated after winning a play-off againstReal Murcia . Despite this however the club managed to win theCopa del Generalísimo , beatingAtlético Bilbao 4-3 after extra time.A week after the play-off against
Real Murcia , after two years and four months in post, Piñeyro resigned as club president on August 13 1942 . However one month later he returned for a second term. During the 1942-43 season Barça finished third inLa Liga and reached theCopa del Generalísimo semi-final where they playedReal Madrid . After winning the first-leg 3-0 at "Les Corts" they were controversially beaten 11-1 at the "Charmartín". It has been alleged that the Barça players were pressurised into losing the game by supporters of the Franco regime and a hostile home crowd. Piñeyro subsequently lodged a complaint with theSpanish Football Federation and resigned as club president permanently on August 20 1943.External links
* [http://www.fcbarcelona.com/eng/historia/historia/enriquepinyeiro.shtml Piñeyro at www.fcbarcelona.com]
ources
* "Barça: A People’s Passion" (1998), Jimmy Burns. [http://www.amazon.com/Barca-Peoples-Passion-Jimmy-Burns/dp/0747545545]
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