Football Revolution: How Spain Became the First Team to Defeat England.
The national teams of Spain and England faced each other in the final of the last Euro. Both teams have already played their final matches in 2024 and continue to be leading teams of the modern era. However, there was a significant encounter in the history of these teams that had important consequences for each side.
This match took place on May 15, 1929, in the Pyrenees, and this victory is remembered as the occasion when "Spain first defeated the 'Sly Albion'." Of course, this refers to football, not naval or other battles. In fact, it was the first time the British had been defeated in anything since Trafalgar.
Sixty-six years prior to that day, football was invented on the British Isles. Since then, no one outside the Kingdom had managed to defeat the England national team.
1Ninety-five years later, Spain won the World Cup and three European Championships, while England has only claimed "one" World Cup. It might be hard to grasp the full significance of that friendly match on Saint Isidore's Day (a Catholic holiday that is popular and respected in Spain).
However, its importance is indeed immense. Just think: if today the inventors of football still hold a high status despite nearly a century of disappointments, imagine what it was like back then. Football was even more prevalent in the English language than it is today, and Spanish (and other) clubs were named in the English manner.
Moreover, football kits were purchased in England, which was considered prestigious, and for a long time, there was no other place with such a selection. Additionally, coaches in Spain (and again, not just there – we recall Mircea Lucescu) are still referred to as "mister" – this is because, in those times, every self-respecting team had to have a British coach. And they called him "mister."
Of course, the English never lost. On their home islands, they could lose to the Scots or other neighbors, but the general perception remained that the English were true professionals, while continental Europe consisted of amateurs.
2Up until May 15, 1929, they had played 23 matches on the continent, winning 22, and only failing to beat Belgium, drawing 2:2. Before arriving in Madrid, the "pros," as they were called due to their professionalism – the English league was then the best-organized and most sophisticated competition – had played in France (4:1) and Belgium (5:1).
Upon arriving by train, they set up their training camp at the Nacional hotel, which still exists on Glorieta de Atocha. There, Mr. Bach, one of their delegates, told the Spanish press that they were not very pleased with their performance against France (winning "only" 4:1). An obvious boastfulness, especially in Spain: football, the royal fleet, the Empire, and Gibraltar – they had and still have much to brag about in front of the Spaniards.
But Spain in 1929 was a very unbalanced society. Modernity always arrived late to this country. The 20th century also entered slowly and unevenly.
The same can be said for all of Spain: in some areas of major cities, one could believe they were in a country with a sufficient level of progress, but as soon as you left them, you found yourself in a time machine.
Among Spaniards, the mentality of the 20th century coexisted with Calderonian temperament, and as a consequence of poverty – violence was a very common occurrence. "Events," as they were called, meaning crimes, were the main section of newspapers. And when dictator Primo de Rivera ordered the protection of matadors' horses to avoid the spectacle of dismembered bulls strewn across the arena after their beating, it nearly sparked a rebellion.
A few decades earlier, the Madrid public still gathered at the walls of Carcel Modelo to witness the public execution of Higinias Balaguer for a crime on Fuencarral street (and seven years later, at the onset of the Civil War, it was not unusual for both sides (Francoists and Communists) to gather crowds for the executions of their victims).
Often, football matches, despite the sport being considered progress and evolution, ended in brawls to the delight of some journalists who made a show out of it, as well as people – they enjoyed that. Nevertheless, football still reached a state of unstoppable development, albeit not without suspicion from the most conservative, who viewed everything new, especially foreign, with distrust.
After several unsuccessful attempts, in 1929 Spain succeeded in creating its first professional national league – known today as La Liga. Some stadiums were already larger than the biggest bullfighting arenas, and this trend would not change in the future.
Then, in the same year, the English arrived. They were awaited by a team led by José María Mateos, a sports journalist. In the first match against Portugal in Seville in March 1929, he included Samora, Quesada, Prats, and José María Peña in the starting lineup, while the rest comprised Urquizu, Sole, Jaime Lascano, Monchín Triana, Gaspar Rubio, and Padrón Bosque. The result was 5:0.
A month later, the Spaniards hosted the French national team in Zaragoza. The journalist-coach kept Lascano and Gaspar Rubio among the debutants and brought back Goiburu, Markuleta and Kinkoses: 8:1. Against England, he decided that there would be no debutants.
Expectations for the match against the English were… at their peak. There was no free space at the old "Metropolitano" stadium even a few hours before the match began at five in the afternoon. Thousands filled the streets of Santa Engracia, Paseo de Ronda, Castellana, Hipódromo (Nuevos Ministerios), and the meadows around the stadium.
For a ticket priced at one duro, sales reached up to seven (about 40 euro cents, but back then it was a week's wage for a mason), while the press, noting the massive influx of Basque fans, suggested that 5,000 tickets were counterfeit. It got to the point where the police intervened in the ticket sales. At a quarter to five, the teams and referee Langenus took to the field.
The day before, in an interview with "Herald de Madrid," England's goalkeeper Hafton stated that "England will win because England always wins." The editor, whose translator was Alfred Pentland, the great "mister" of Spanish football, replied that "Spain can also win because Spain can always win." A profound statement.
3To justify Pentland's words, Mateos devised a somewhat revolutionary lineup. In goal, of course, was the legendary Ricardo Samora. In defense were Madrid's Félix Quesada and the great Jacinto Kinkoses. In midfield was another Madrid player, Prats, and another who was finishing his international career – Markuleta, along with José María Peña, the first Spanish professional. The attack's front line was opened by two players from Osasuna: Jaime Lascano, recently signed by Madrid's Real, and the solid Severiano Goiburu, who was still in Pamplona. In the center of the attack was Gaspar Rubio: "effective when he wanted," as he was described, and on the left wing – the Canarian islander from Espanyol, Padron, and Yurrita from San Sebastián.
Surprisingly, the English lineup featured Hafton; Cooper, Bliquenshop; Keen, Hill, Peacock; Adcock, Kyle, Bradford, Carter, and Barry. Dixie Dean was absent, which felt akin to Argentina leaving Lionel Messi on the bench today.
For most of the public, this circumstance went unnoticed, as knowledge of foreign football was not what it is today, but undoubtedly Mateos and his team breathed a sigh of relief: William Dean was then a predator in the penalty area, and now one of the most legendary English players.
In 1928, he was England's top scorer with 60 (sixty!) goals. He maintained his consistency, scoring 44 in 1932. He led Everton to victory in the league in 1928 and