José Luis Zabala Explained

José Luis Zabala
Fullname:José Luis Zabala Arrondo
Birth Date:14 December 1898
Birth Place:Irun, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Death Place:Barcelona, Spain
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:1914–1916
Years1:1916–1917
Clubs1:Club Izarra de Eibar
Years2:1917–1918
Years3:1918–1919
Years4:1919–1923
Years5:1923–1926
Years6:1926–1929
Years7:1929-1930
Nationalteam1:Spain
Nationalyears1:1923-1924
Nationalcaps1:4
Nationalgoals1:4
Nationalteam2:Asturias
Nationalyears2:1922-1923
Nationalcaps2:6
Nationalgoals2:7
Nationalteam3:Catalonia
Nationalyears3:1923-1926
Nationalcaps3:4
Nationalgoals3:2
Manageryears1:1932
Managerclubs1:UE Sants
Manageryears2:1934–1936
Managerclubs2:Girona FC
Manageryears4:1941–1942
Managerclubs4:Girona FC
Manageryears5:1943–1944
Managerclubs5:FC Lleida

José Luis Zabala (14 December 1898  - 22 April 1946)[1] was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.[2] He played in four matches for the Spain national football team in 1923 and 1924, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against Portugal on 16 December of 1923.[3]

Club career

Born in Irun, he began to play football in the youth ranks of his hometown club Sporting de Irún. After short spells at Izarra de Eibar and Unión de Irun, Zabala joined Espanyol in 1918, where he played for a season as a midfielder. After inflicting an injury to an opposing player, he was sanctioned by the Catalan Football Federation, earning three months of inactivity. This fact caused him to leave Espanyol and join Real Club Deportivo Oviedo,[4] which would later merge with Real Stadium Club Ovetense to form Real Oviedo in 1925. In the first-ever Asturian derby between Sporting de Gijón and Real Oviedo (Real Club Deportivo Oviedo at the time) held on 25 January 1920, it was Zabala who scored Oviedo's first equalizer on a 2-2 draw.[5]

After four seasons at Oviedo, Zabala returned to Espanyol in 1923, and in his second spell there, he became a brilliant forward, forming an attacking partnership with the likes of Rafael Oramas, Alfredo Arróniz, and José Padrón, and earning his first international call-ups for the Spanish and the Catalan national teams. In 1926 he returned to Oviedo and finished his career at Valencia in the 1929–30 season.[6]

International career

He made his debut for Spain on 28 January 1923 against France, and scored his side's second in a 3–0 win. In his next cap on 16 December 1923 he scored again, netting a hat-trick in the Iberian derby to help his side to a 3–0 win. In total, Zabala scored 4 goals in 4 caps.[7] He scored another hat-trick for Spain in a 7–0 win over a Catalonia XI on 13 March 1924.[8]

Being a Real Oviedo, he was eligible to play for the Asturias team, being one of the eleven footballers that played in the team's first-ever game on 4 June 1922, in a friendly against St Mirren F.C., and even though they lost 3–7, Zabala was the author of the first goal in the team's history.[9] The Regional Asturian team then played seven official games between 1922 and 1926 in the Prince of Asturias Cup, winning the 1922–23 edition, largely thanks to Zabala who scored twice in their 4–3 win over Biscay in the quarter-finals, followed by a last-minute winner against Catalonia in the semi-finals and to seal his memorable campaign in style, he netted a second-half brace in the final to give his side a 3–1 win over Galicia. His brace in the final game of the tournament saw him become the top goal scorer of the tournament with 5 goals. However, the following edition of the competition wasn't as successful because Asturias were knocked out by Biscay in the quarter-finals despite yet another Zabala goal.[10] With those 6 goals, Zabala is the all-time top goal scorer of the prince of Asturias Cup along with Kinké and Juan Monjardín, who also scored 6 goals. Zabala is also the record-goalscorer of the Asturian team with 7 goals.

When he returned to Espanyol in 1923, he become eligible to play for the Catalan national team, however, due to the little statistical rigor that the newspapers had at that time, the exact amount of caps he earned is unknown.

International goals

Goals for Spain

Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zabala goal.

List of international goals scored by José Luis Zabala
scope=colNo.scope=colDatescope=colVenuescope=colOpponentscope=colScorescope=colResultscope=colCompetition
scope=row style=text-align:center128 January 1923 Atotxa Stadium, San Sebastián, Spain align=center 2–0 3–0 Friendly
scope=row style=text-align:center216 December 1923 Reina Victoria, Seville, Spain align=center 1–0 3–0
scope=row style=text-align:center3align=center 2–0
scope=row style=text-align:center4align=center 3–0

Goals for Asturias

Asturias score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zabala goal.

List of international goals scored by José Luis Zabala
scope=colNo.scope=colDatescope=colVenuescope=colOpponentscope=colScorescope=colResultscope=colCompetition
scope=row style=text-align:center14 June 1922 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain align=center 3–7 Friendly
scope=row style=text-align:center213 November 1922 align=center 1–0 4–3 1922-23 Prince of Asturias Cup quarter-finals replay
scope=row style=text-align:center3align=center 2–1
scope=row style=text-align:center414 January 1923 align=center 1–0 1–0 1922-23 Prince of Asturias Cup semi-finals
scope=row style=text-align:center525 February 1923 Coia, Vigo, Spain align=center 2–1 3–1 1922-23 Prince of Asturias Cup final
scope=row style=text-align:center6align=center 3–1
scope=row style=text-align:center718 November 1923 San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain align=center 2–2 2–4 1923-24 Prince of Asturias Cup quarter-finals

Honours

Club

Unión de Irun

International

Asturias XI

Individual

Asturias XI

Records

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ZABALA JOSÉ LUIS ZABALA ARRONDO. FC Barcelona. 8 March 2023.
  2. Web site: José Luis Zabala . Olympedia . 6 September 2020.
  3. Web site: José Luis Zabala . National Football Teams . 6 September 2020.
  4. Web site: A propósito de Zabala . About Zabala . es . . 6 June 2022.
  5. Web site: Una rivalidad centenaria . A century-old rivalry . es . www.elcomercio.es . 25 January 2020 . 10 July 2022.
  6. Web site: José Luis ZABALA . es . hallofameperico.com . 6 June 2022.
  7. Web site: National football team player José Luis Zabala . EU-football.info . 6 June 2022.
  8. Web site: Edición del Friday 14 March 1924, Página 1 - Hemeroteca . Edition of Friday 14 March 1924, Page 1 - Hemeroteca . es . MundoDeportivo.com . 9 June 2022.
  9. Web site: El Comercio (Gijón) 06/06/1922 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190509110220/http://hemeroteca.elcomercio.es/cgi-bin/Pandora.exe?fn=select;query=id:0000138062;xslt=pagina;publication=El%20Comercio;place=Gij%C3%B3n;day=06;month=06;year=1922;page=002;filename=22J06;encoding=utf-8 . 2019-05-09 . El Comercio . es . 6 June 1922 . 2 October 2022.
  10. Web site: La Copa Príncipe de Asturias . The Prince of Asturias Cup . es . . Vicente Martínez Calatrava . 17 August 2009 . 5 June 2022.