Telmo Zarra facts for kids

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Telmo Zarra

Zarra in 1950
Personal information
Full name	Pedro Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya
Date of birth	(1921-01-20)20 January 1921
Place of birth	Erandio, Kingdom of Spain
Date of death	23 February 2006(2006-02-23) (aged 85)
Place of death	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.80 m
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1939–1940	Erandio	20	(12)
1940–1955	Athletic Bilbao	277	(251)
1955–1956	Indautxu	14	(3)
1956–1957	Barakaldo	12	(2)
Total		323	(268)
National team
1945–1951	Spain	20	(20)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Pedro Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya (born January 20, 1921 – died February 23, 2006), known as Telmo Zarra, was a famous Spanish football forward. He played most of his career for Athletic Bilbao from 1940 to 1955. He is still their top scorer with 335 goals in all games.

Zarra joined Athletic after playing one season for Erandio. He became an amazing goal scorer during his 15 years at the club. He won the Pichichi Trophy six times. This award goes to the top scorer in La Liga, Spain's main football league.

During his career, Zarra scored 251 league goals. This was a Spanish record for almost 60 years. Later, Lionel Messi broke it. Zarra's 81 goals in the Copa del Rey (Spain's main cup competition) are still a record.

Even with all his goals, he only played for the Spanish national team 20 times. But he still scored 20 goals for his country! This included four goals in one game against Switzerland in 1951. He also scored the winning goal against England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Spain reached the final four teams that year. This was their best World Cup result until they won in 2010.

After leaving Athletic in 1955, he played for SD Indautxu and Barakaldo CF. He retired in 1957. Telmo Zarra passed away from a heart attack in 2006 at age 85. The Zarra Trophy is now given in his memory. It goes to the highest-scoring Spanish player in La Liga each year.

Telmo Zarra's Life and Football Journey

Early Life and First Steps in Football

Telmo Zarra was born on January 20, 1921. His birthplace was the Asúa train station in Erandio, Spain. His father, Telmo Zarraonandía, was an engineer and the station head. Telmo was one of ten children. He had five brothers.

When he was a boy, Zarra loved playing football with his friends. Unlike other kids, he had a real football. This was because two of his older brothers played in La Liga. They were Tomás, a goalkeeper, and Domingo. Domingo sadly died during the Spanish Civil War.

Zarra's father did not want him to play football. He thought two brothers playing was enough. But Zarra loved the sport too much. He started playing for local teams like Asia and Pitoberese. Back then, people called him "Telmito the fearful." This was because he played carefully and was a bit shy about his skills.

Zarra signed his first professional contract with SD Erandio Club. This team was in the Second Division. He joined them in the 1937–38 season. Later, he played a friendly match for a team from Biscay against a team from Guipuzcoa. Zarra scored seven goals in that game, which his team won 9–0!

Around this time, Athletic Bilbao was looking for new players. Their team had broken up during the Civil War. They started signing young, talented players from Erandio for the 1940–41 season.

Becoming a Professional Star

Zarra played his first game for Athletic Club on September 29, 1940. It was a league match against Valencia CF. The game ended in a 2–2 tie. Zarra scored both goals for his team. His first league goal came just 17 minutes into the game.

During the 1941–42 season, Zarra left Athletic Bilbao for a short time. He joined the army and was sent to Ceuta. He played some friendly matches there. When he came back to Bilbao, Zarra faced a big disappointment. It was the final of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona. The game was tied after normal time. In extra time, Zarra had a chance to score. But he missed the shot, and Barcelona won the Cup.

The 1942–43 season was very important for Zarra and Athletic Bilbao. Athletic reached the Copa del Rey final. They had beaten Atlético Madrid and Valencia. In the final, they played against Real Madrid. This time, Zarra made up for his earlier miss. He scored the only goal in the final. Athletic won the Cup and also the league title that year!

Zarra had his first serious injury in the 1943–44 season. It happened in a match against Barcelona. He broke his clavicle (collarbone) and could not play for a while. After he recovered, Zarra returned to the field. He helped Athletic win another Copa del Rey title. They had a 2–0 win over Valencia.

In the 1944–45 season, Athletic played Valencia again in the Copa del Rey final. With only four minutes left, a Valencia player fell. Zarra pretended to step on him as a joke. The referee sent him off the field. This was the only time Zarra was ever sent off in his career. Even so, Athletic won the title that year. Rafael Iriondo scored the winning goal, making it 3–2.

Zarra had some of his best moments in the 1944–45 season. He won his first Pichichi Trophy. He scored 20 goals in 26 matches. He would go on to win this award five more times (1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, and 1953).

Highlights from 1945 to 1953

On March 11, 1945, Zarra was chosen to play for the Spanish national team. The coach, Jacinto Quincoces, picked him for a friendly match against Portugal. On May 6 of that year, he played against Portugal again. He scored two of the four goals that helped Spain win the match.

On May 28, 1950, Zarra played in another Copa del Rey final. This time it was against Real Valladolid. He scored four goals in that final! He opened the scoring after 14 minutes. The game was tied at the end of normal time. In extra time, Zarra scored a hat trick (three goals in a row). Athletic won the cup. With those four goals against Valladolid, Zarra holds the record for most goals scored in a Copa del Rey final.

The Spanish team qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. They played against the United States, Chile, and England. Zarra scored one goal in a 2–0 win over Chile. Zarra called the third game, against England, "the game of the century." Zarra's goal past the English goalkeeper Bert Williams won the match. This sent Spain through to the next round, while England was out. This goal is perhaps Zarra's most famous. It gave Spain victory in their first World Cup semi-finals.

In the 1950–51 season, Zarra scored 38 goals in 30 league games. This was a Spanish record until the 2010–11 season. Another player, Hugo Sánchez, also scored 38 goals. However, he did it in 38 matches, not 30.

During the 1951–52 season, Zarra had his most serious injury. It happened on November 25, 1951, in a game against Atlético Madrid. The opposing goalkeeper fell on Zarra's leg. He needed an operation to recover fully. This kept him out for the rest of the season. When he returned in the 1952–53 season, he played 29 games. He scored 25 goals, which is a great scoring average.

Final Years and Retirement

On April 29, 1954, Zarra received a special tribute match in Madrid. It was played between two regional teams. This event honored his long career in Spanish football. Many famous football players attended, like Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Zarra was getting close to the end of his career. Younger, promising players at Athletic started taking his place. One young player, Eneko Arieta, became his successor.

Zarra finished his Athletic career at the end of the 1954–55 season. After that, he played for a few teams in the Second Division. He officially retired from the game in 1957. However, he kept playing football with veteran players from Biscay. He donated the money from these games to charities.

Career Statistics

Club Performance

International Goals for Spain

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zarra goal.

List of international goals scored by Telmo Zarra

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 May 1945	Riazor, Spain	Portugal	1–1	4–2	Friendly
2				2–1
3	2 March 1947	Dalymount Park, Dublin	Republic of Ireland	1–2	2–3	Friendly
4				2–2
5	20 March 1949	Unknown, Jamor, Oeiras, Portugal	Portugal	1–0	1–1	Friendly
6	12 June 1949	Dalymount Park, Dublin	Republic of Ireland	1–1	4–1	Friendly
7				3–1
8	2 April 1950	Nuevo Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, Spain	Portugal	1–0	5–1	1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
9				3–1
10	9 April 1950	Unknown, Jamor, Oeiras, Portugal	Portugal	1–0	2–2	1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	25 June 1950	Estádio Vila Capanema, Curitiba, Brazil	United States	3–1	3–1	1950 FIFA World Cup group stage
12	29 June 1950	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Chile	2–0	2–0	1950 FIFA World Cup group stage
13	2 July 1950	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	England	1–0	1–0	1950 FIFA World Cup group stage
14	16 July 1950	Pacaembu, São Paulo, Brazil	Sweden	1–3	1–3	1950 FIFA World Cup final stage
15	18 February 1951	Nuevo Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, Spain	Switzerland	1–0	6–3	Friendly
16				2–0
17				4–2
18				5–2
19	10 June 1951	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2–3	3–3	Friendly
20				3–3

Telmo Zarra's Achievements and Legacy

Athletic Bilbao

• La Liga: 1942–43 (League Champion)
• Copa del Rey: 1943, 1944, 1944–45, 1949–50, 1955 (Cup Winner)
• Copa Eva Duarte: 1950 (Super Cup Winner)

Individual Awards

• Pichichi Trophy: 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53 (Top Scorer in La Liga)
• Golden Pichichi Trophy: 2003 (Special award for his career)

Special Recognitions

• Sports Merit Medal
• Shiny gold badge of Málaga CF
• Silver badge of Deportivo de La Coruña

Honors After His Death

• Zarra Trophy: An award given to the highest-scoring Spanish player in La Liga each season.
• Memorial bust at Lezama training center (a statue in his honor).

Records He Still Holds

• Top scorer in the history of the Copa del Rey (81 goals).
• Top scorer in the history of Athletic Club (332 goals).
• Second most Pichichi trophies (6).
• Most goals in a Copa del Rey Final (4 goals in 1950).
• Top scorer in the Basque derby vs Real Sociedad (14 goals).
• Top scorer in El Viejo Clásico vs Real Madrid (22 goals).

See also

In Spanish: Telmo Zarra para niños