Edmundo Suárez Explained

Mundo
Full Name:Edmundo Suárez Trabanco
Birth Date:22 January 1916
Birth Place:Barakaldo, Spain
Death Place:Spain
Position:Forward
Youthclubs1:Kakaleku
Youthclubs2:Lejona (SD Leioa)
Years1:1935–1936
Clubs1:Athletic Bilbao
Caps1:1
Goals1:0
Clubs2:Logroñés
Years3:1939–1950
Clubs3:Valencia
Caps3:210
Goals3:186
Years4:1950–1951
Clubs4:Alcoyano
Caps4:21
Goals4:9
Nationalyears1:1941–1942
Nationalteam1:Spain
Nationalcaps1:3
Nationalgoals1:3
Manageryears1:1951–1952
Managerclubs1:Hércules
Managerclubs2:Gandía
Manageryears3:1954–1956
Managerclubs3:Zaragoza
Manageryears4:1956–1957
Managerclubs4:Lleida
Manageryears5:1957–1958
Managerclubs5:Cultural Leonesa
Manageryears6:1958–1959
Managerclubs6:Real Gijón
Manageryears7:1959–1960
Managerclubs7:Zaragoza
Manageryears8:1960
Managerclubs8:Xerez
Manageryears9:1960–1961
Managerclubs9:Baracaldo
Manageryears10:1962–1964
Managerclubs10:Mestalla
Manageryears11:1964–1965
Managerclubs11:Valencia
Manageryears12:1965–1966
Managerclubs12:Mestalla
Manageryears13:1966–1968
Managerclubs13:Valencia
Manageryears14:1970
Managerclubs14:Murcia
Manageryears15:1971
Managerclubs15:Levante
Managerclubs16:Mestalla

Edmundo Suárez Trabanco (22 January 1916 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish football player and coach – better known as Mundo. He was born in Barakaldo. He played as a forward for Spanish club Valencia CF for most of his career, except for his last season, where he played for CD Alcoyano. As of 2009, he was one of the Top 10 all-time goal scorers in the Spanish La Liga, with 195 goals during 231 appearances.[1]

Club career

Mundo initially played football with various amateur teams in his native Basque Country, but the Spanish Civil War changed his career completely. He had a contract with Athletic Bilbao but this acquisition was made in republican territory, therefore it was not considered valid by the pro-Franco state which remained in power after the War. In 1939, the pro-Franco army created a team, named "Recovery of Levante" formed diverse players who had fought in the military region of Levante. Said team was chosen by Valencia CF as its first opponent after the war, and after seeing 'Recovery of Levante' in action, the established club did not waste the opportunity and acquired all of its players.

After this acquisition, Mundo stayed in Valencia for eleven seasons between 1939–40 and 1949–50. His great physical strength allowed him to dominate Spanish football during the 1940s. Along with,, Vicente Asensi and Guillermo Gorostiza, he formed an electric front line that transformed Valencia into a winning team: they won La Liga three times during that decade (1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47) and were runners-up twice, and claimed the Copa del Rey on two occasions (1941, 1948–49) from five appearances in the final.

Mundo is considered an idol for fans of Valencia because he holds, by a considerable margin, the record for the highest number of goals scored for the club with 238 in the two major domestic competitions, obtaining an average of 0.92 goals per game. He won the Pichichi Trophy (top scoring player) in the 1941–42 and 1942–43 seasons, with 27 and 28 goals respectively. He is currently the tenth highest goal scorer in the history of the Spanish league (with the fifth-highest goals-per-game ratio), and the sixth highest goalscorer in the history of the Copa del Rey.

After a season in which he played only six games, he decided to leave Valencia to join in the nearby, smaller club Alcoyano which was also in the first division. He remained there for the 1950–51 season, until he realised he was no longer able to play at the top level.

International career

Suárez earned three international caps with the Spain national team between 1941 and 1942, scoring three goals. His international debut was on 28 December 1941 against Switzerland.

Coaching career

During the 1963–64 season, Suárez returned to Valencia and took up the position of team coach, replacing Pasieguito, another legend of Valencian football. Thanks to his strong character and tactical flexibility, he went on to improve Valencia's league position, placing them in sixth place. The team's performance in the Fairs Cup was much better, but they lost against Real Zaragoza in a controversial match. After the positive results of that year, the Valencia FC board of directors allowed him to coach for one more year. However, as the team finished the league in fourth place, the directors hired another coach, Barinaga. With Barinaga, the team did not reach its expectations, so Mundo returned to his old position as coach for the next season.

He started the 1966–67 season as the team's coach and achieved great success, winning the Copa del Rey by beating Athletic Club 2–0 in the final. He remained Valencia's coach until 13 October 1968, when he ended his coaching career due to the team's poor performance.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague
DivisionAppsGoals
Valencia1939–40La Liga2014
1940–412221
1941–422527
1942–432223
1943–442628
1944–452117
1945–462520
1946–471010
1947–48115
1948–492219
1949–5062
Total210186
Alcoyano1950–51La Liga219
Total231195

Honours

Player

Valencia

Individual

Manager

Valencia

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ash, Russell . Top 10 of football: 250 lists on the beautiful game . Morrison . Ian . 2010 . Hamlyn . 978-0-600-62067-9 . 206.