Manuel Santacatalina
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Santacatalina Ferreres | ||
| Date of birth | 1914 | ||
| Place of birth | Puerto de Sagunto, Valencia, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 9 February 1936 (aged 21–22) | ||
| Place of death | Puerto de Sagunto, Valencia, Spain | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1932–1934 | SC Puerto Sagunto | ||
| 1934–1936 | Valencia | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Manuel Santacatalina Ferreres (1914 – 9 February 1936) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Valencia CF.[1][2][3]
Biography
[edit]Nicolás Santacatalina was born in Puerto de Sagunto, Valencian, in 1914.[1][3] as the son of Rosa Ferreres and Eustaquio de Santa Catalina, a hard-working laborer,[4] who had been placed as a baby in the vestibule of the church of Santa Catalina in Alzira, where he was taken in, raised, and baptized with the name of that 14th century church.[1][5][4] It was he who enchanted the sport of football to Nicolás, one of his younger brothers, who later also played top division matches for Valencia.[5]
Santacatalina began his football career at his hometown club SC Puerto Sagunto, where he remained until 1934, when Valencia signed him.[2] He was a tall, strong midfielder with a somewhat rough style of play, whom Valencia coach Antonín Fivébr tried to refine so that his technique would be similar to that of Carlos Iturraspe.[1] He made his debut in the First Division on 17 March 1935, which ended in a 4–2 loss to Sevilla; he only played three league games that season.[1][3]
Santacatalina continued with Valencia to play the following season, but a poorly cured pneumonia ended his life unexpectedly on 9 February 1936, at the tender age of only 22, just a few months before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.[1][5] According to some media of the time, the illness was caused by a shower of cold water after training; this case was quite a shock in the Valencian community and his brother Nicolás had a hard time convincing his parents to let him continue playing football.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Ficha de jugador: Manuel Santacatalina" [Player profile: Manuel Santacatalina]. www.ciberche.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Santacatalina, Manuel Santacatalina Ferreres - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Santacatalina". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b "JUGADOR DEL CASTELLÓN Y DEL VALENCIA: Nicolás Santacatalina fue patrón de pesca y futbolista" [CASTELLÓN AND VALENCIA PLAYER: Nicolás Santacatalina was a fishing captain and footballer]. www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com (in Spanish). 24 June 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "El orgullo de Santacatalina" [The pride of Santacatalina]. www.sport.es (in Spanish). 29 October 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2024.