| Manuel Meana | |
| Fullname: | Manuel Meana Vallina |
| Birth Date: | 21 October 1901 |
| Birth Place: | Gijón, Spain |
| Years1: | 1917–1927 |
| Clubs1: | Sporting de Gijón |
| Nationalteam1: | Cantabric |
| Nationalyears1: | 1918 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalteam2: | Spain |
| Nationalyears2: | 1921–1924 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalteam3: | Asturias |
| Nationalyears3: | 1922–1925 |
| Nationalcaps3: | +5 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 1 |
Manuel Meana (21 October 1901 - 1 August 1985) was a Spanish footballer.[1] He was capped for Spain 7 times and was part of Spain's squad for the football tournament at the 1924 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.[2] Under the presidency of Santiago Bernabéu he was the creator and first director of the Real Madrid Sports City, a position he held until his retirement.
Born in Gijón, Meana began to play football in his hometown club, Sporting de Gijón, making his debut at El Molinón on 2 September 1917 against RCD Espanyol.[3]
In May 1918, he was summoned to play for the Cantabric national team, a side consisting of players from the provinces of Asturias and Cantabria, being a member of the team that participated in the 1918 Prince of Asturias Cup, an inter-regional competition organized by the RFEF.[4]
He made his international debut on 9 October 1921 (aged 19) in a friendly match against Belgium that ended in a 2–0 win.[5] He played in seven matches for the Spain national football team from 1921 to 1924,[6] and scored just once, netting the first-ever goal in the Iberian derby when he scored the opening goal of a 3–1 win over Portugal on 18 December 1921, which is also the first-ever goal that Portugal ever conceded.[7]
Being Sporting de Gijón player, he was eligible to play for the Asturias national team, and he was part of the team that reached the final of the 1922-23 Prince of Asturias Cup, an inter-regional competition organized by the RFEF. In the final against Galicia, they fell 0-1 behind early in the match, and it was Meana who equalized still in the first-half, which paved the way for José Luis Zabala to score a second-half brace to seal the title with a 3–1 win.[8] This was his only goal for Asturias, but its also the most important in the team's history.
In 1928, despite still being a player, he trained Sporting de Gijón, and he managed to lead them to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. He repeated his stay on the Gijón bench in two other stages: 1939-40 and 1948-49.
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Meana goal.
| scope=col | No. | scope=col | Date | scope=col | Venue | scope=col | Opponent | scope=col | Score | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 1 | 18 December 1921 | Campo de O'Donnell, Madrid, Spain | align=center | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | ||||||
Asturias score listed first, score column indicates score after each Meana goal.
| scope=col | No. | scope=col | Date | scope=col | Venue | scope=col | Opponent | scope=col | Score | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 1 | 25 February 1923 | Coia, Vigo, Spain | 1-1 | 3–1 | ||||||||