Paulino Alcántara facts for kids

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Paulino Alcántara

Alcántara at Barcelona
Personal information
Full name	Paulino Alcántara Riestrá
Date of birth	(1896-10-07)7 October 1896
Place of birth	Concepcion, Iloilo, Philippines
Date of death	13 February 1964(1964-02-13) (aged 67)
Place of death	Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.70 m
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	FC Galeno
0000	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1912–1916	Barcelona	37	(45)
1916–1918	Bohemian	23	(24)
1918–1927	Barcelona	104	(99)
National team
1915–1926	Catalonia	10	(5)
1917	Philippines	5	(15)
1921–1923	Spain	5	(6)
Teams managed
1951	Spain
1953	Catalonia
Honours  Philippines Far Eastern Championship Games Silver 1917 Tokyo Team
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Paulino Alcántara Riestrá (born October 7, 1896 – died February 13, 1964) was an amazing football player and manager. He played as a forward, which means he was great at scoring goals! Paulino was born in the Philippines. He spent most of his playing days with Barcelona, one of the most famous football clubs in the world. He also played for the national teams of Catalonia, the Philippines, and Spain.

Alcántara started playing for Barcelona when he was just 15 years old. He is still the youngest player to ever play for and score for the club! He scored an incredible 395 goals in 399 games. This was a club record that lasted for 87 years! After he stopped playing football in 1927 at age 31, he became a doctor. He also served as a director for Barcelona from 1931 to 1934. Later, in 1951, Alcántara even coached the Spanish national team for a few games.

Paulino's Club Career

Starting Out in Football

An early Alcántara during his first years with FC Barcelona

Paulino Alcántara was born in Concepcion, Iloilo, in the Philippines. His father was a Spanish military officer, and his mother was from Iloilo. When he was three years old, his family moved to Barcelona, Spain. This was the same year that FC Barcelona was started by Joan Gamper.

Gamper discovered Alcántara when he was about to play for another team called FC Galeno. Paulino then joined Barcelona's youth team. He made his first official game for Barcelona on February 25, 1912. He was only 15 years, 4 months, and 18 days old! In that game, Barcelona won 9–0, and Alcántara scored the first three goals. This made him the youngest player to ever score for FC Barcelona in an official match, a record that still stands! He helped his team win two Catalan football championships and the Spanish Cup in 1913.

Playing in the Philippines

In 1916, Alcántara's parents moved back to the Philippines, and Paulino went with them. There, he continued his studies to become a doctor. He also played football for the Bohemian Sporting Club. He helped them win two Philippine Championships in 1917 and 1918.

In 1917, he was chosen to play for the Philippine national team. He played in the Far Eastern Championship Games in Tokyo. In one game, the Philippines beat Japan 15–2. This is still the biggest win for the Philippines in international football! Paulino also played table tennis for the Philippines.

While he was away, Barcelona struggled to win big trophies. The club really wanted him to come back to Spain. In 1917, he got malaria. It is said that he refused to take his medicine until he was allowed to return to Barcelona!

Back with Barcelona

When Paulino came back to Barcelona, his old teammate and coach, Jack Greenwell, tried playing him as a defender. But Alcántara was not good in that position. The club's members, called "Els Socis," demanded that he be moved back to his usual forward position.

In 1919, he helped Barcelona win another Catalan championship. They also reached the 1919 Copa del Rey Final but lost. On April 13, 1919, Alcántara scored a famous goal against Real Sociedad. His shot was so powerful that it broke the net! This earned him the nickname "El Rompe Redes" or "Trencaxarxes," which means "the net breaker."

In 1920, Barcelona won another Spanish Cup and the Catalan championship. Alcántara scored in the Cup final. This period was the start of Barcelona's first "golden era." They won many titles, including the Spanish Cup in 1922 and 1926.

Playing for His Country

Catalonia and Spain

Like many Barcelona players, Alcántara played for the Catalonian national team. He made his debut on January 3, 1915. He also played in the Prince of Asturias Cup, a competition between different regions of Spain. He scored the very first goal in that competition in 1915. In 1926, he helped Catalonia win the Prince of Asturias Cup for a record third time.

In 1920, Alcántara was chosen to play for the Spanish national team at the Summer Olympics. However, he decided to stay home to take his final medical exams instead. He eventually made his debut for Spain on October 7, 1921, when he was 25. He scored both goals in a 2–0 win against Belgium. He played five games for Spain and scored six goals, which was a national record at the time.

Retirement and Later Life

Paulino Alcántara stopped playing football on July 3, 1927, to become a doctor. He was 31 years old. On that day, FC Barcelona played a special game in his honor. After retiring, he worked as a club director for Barcelona from 1931 to 1934. Alcántara was one of the first football players to write a book about his playing days. In 1951, he was one of the coaches for the Spanish national team for three games.

Paulino's Legacy

Alcántara is famous for his amazing time with FC Barcelona. He scored 395 goals in 399 matches. This was a club record for nearly a century! It was finally broken by Lionel Messi in 2014. Barcelona sees Paulino Alcántara as one of their true "legends."

In his home country, the Philippines, Alcántara was not widely known for a long time. But in the 2010s, football became more popular there, and people started to recognize his achievements. In 2018, the domestic cup tournament in the Philippines, the Copa Paulino Alcantara, was named after him. He was also added to the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.

Career Statistics

Club Performance

International Goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Paulino Alcántara for Spain

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	9 October 1921	San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao, Spain	Belgium	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2.				2–0
3.	18 December 1921	Campo de O'Donnell, Madrid, Spain	Portugal	1–0	3–1
4.				2–0
5.	30 April 1922	Stade Sainte-Germaine, Le Bouscat, France	France	1–0	4–0
6.				2–0

Scores and results list Philippines's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Paulino Alcántara for the Philippines

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 May 1917	Shibaura Ground, Tokyo, Japan	Japan	1–0	15–2	Far Eastern Championship
2				?–?
3				?–?
4				?–?
5				?–?
6				?–?

Scores and results list Catalonia's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Paulino Alcántara for Catalonia

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 May 1915	Campo de O'Donnell, Madrid, Spain	Castile	1–0	2–1	1915 Prince of Asturias Cup
2.	6 February 1921	Camp Muntaner, Barcelona, Spain	South West France		5–1	Friendly
3.
4.	3 April 1921	Camp Muntaner, Barcelona, Spain	Badalona		4–0	Friendly
5.	19 September 1926	Guinardó, Barcelona, Spain	Asturias	3–1	4–3	1926 Prince of Asturias Cup

Awards and Trophies

Barcelona

• Pyrenees Cup: 1912, 1913
• Copa del Rey: 1913, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926
• Catalan football championship: 1913, 1916, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

Bohemian

• Philippines Championship (2): 1917, 1918

See also

In Spanish: Paulino Alcántara para niños

• List of Spain international footballers born outside Spain