Miguel Gual Agustina
![]() Gual in 1929 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Miguel Gual Agustina | ||
Birth name | Miquel Gual i Agustina | ||
Date of birth | 11 May 1911 | ||
Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
Date of death | 9 March 1989 | (aged 77)||
Place of death | Barcelona, Spain | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Sants | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1928–1929 | Júpiter | ||
1929–1931 | Sevilla | ||
1931 | Racing de Córdoba | ||
1931–1933 | Barcelona | 60 | (30) |
1933–1936 | Sabadell FC | ||
1936–1937 | Barcelona | ||
1938–1939 | Real Club España | ||
1940–1943 | Sabadell FC | ||
1943–1946 | Espanya Industrial | ||
International career | |||
1932–1937 | Catalonia | 7 | (3) |
Managerial career | |||
1947–1956 | Espanya Industrial | ||
1956–1957 | CD Condal | ||
1957–1958 | Mallorca | ||
1958–1959 | Córdoba | ||
1959–1960 | CE Europa | ||
1960–1962 | Osasuna | ||
1962–1963 | Racing de Santander | ||
1963–1965 | Osasuna | ||
1968–1970 | Atlètic Catalunya | ||
* Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Miguel Gual Agustina (11 May 1911 – 9 March 1989) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Sevilla, Barcelona, and Sabadell in the 1930s and 1940s.
He is considered one of the best players in Sabadell's history, playing a crucial role in helping them win their first-ever trophy, the 1933–34 Campionat de Catalunya, reach their first (and only) Copa del Rey final in 1935, and achieve their first-ever promotion to La Liga in 1943, scoring a total of 73 goals in 79 matches, which makes him the club's all-time top scorer.
As a manager, he oversaw Espanya Industrial for 13 years, from 1943 until 1956, as well as Osasuna and Racing de Santander in the early 1960s.
Club career
[edit]Born in the Catalonian town of Barcelona on 11 May 1911, Gual began his career in the youth ranks of Sants, from which he joined Júpiter in 1928, aged 17, where he caught the attention of Sevilla, who gave him his first professional contract after signing him for 8,000 pesetas.[1] Together with Guillermo Eizaguirre, Manuel Roldán, and Pepe Brand, he was a member of the Sevilla team coached by Lippo Hertzka that won the first-ever edition of the Segunda División in 1929.[2] Two years later, in 1931, he signed for Racing de Córdoba, with whom he played a match against his former team Sevilla in October of that year; the local press thus described him as a "chameleon" player, stating it was the result of professionalism.[3]
Shortly after, Gual signed for Barcelona, playing only one official match in his first season there, a La Liga fixture against Real Sociedad in January 1932, helping his side to a 2–0 victory.[4] In total, he scored 2 goals in 4 La Liga matches for Barcelona.[5] After being released by Barça in late 1932, he signed for fellow Catalan club Sabadell in 1933, where he showed a great scoring instinct.[1][6] In his first full season at the club, he played a crucial role in helping them win their first-ever trophy, the 1933–34 Campionat de Catalunya,[6] finishing the tournament as its top scorer with 18 goals.[7] The following year, he helped Sabadell reach the club's first (and only) Copa del Rey final at the Chamartín on 30 June, which ended in a 3–0 loss to his former club Sevilla.[1][8][9] Gual had to play almost the entire match with physical problems.[10]
When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, Gual returned to Barcelona, with whom he won the inaugural edition of the Mediterranean League in 1937, which was created to replace the competitions that had been abruptly stopped.[4] In the summer of 1937, he was a member of the Barça team that toured Mexico, and like so many others, he did not took the risk of returning to Barcelona because of the ongoing War, choosing instead to remain in Mexico, where he played for Real Club España in the 1938–39 season.[1][11]
Once the conflict ended, Gual returned to Sabadell, helping them achieve their first-ever promotion to La Liga in 1943, scoring a goal in the crucial victory against Sporting Gijón at the Creu Alta.[1][8] In total, he scored a total of 73 goals in 79 matches, making him the club's all-time top scorer. Furthermore, he also holds the club records for most goals in a single match with five against Badalona (1934–35), and longest goalscoring streak with seven (1940–41).[8] After leaving Sabadell in 1943, he went to Espanya Industrial, where he retired in 1946, aged 35.[4]
International career
[edit]Like so many other Barça and Sabadell players, Gual was eligible to play for the Catalan national team, scoring 1 goal in 3 matches.[6] He made his debut on 26 June 1932, in a friendly match against Torino FC, a team that fielded 8 internationals from the Italian national team, helping his side to a 3–2 victory.[12] The following year, on 24 June 1933, in a match against his future club Sabadell, he scored in a 2–4 loss.[13] The following year, in June 1934, he started for Catalonia in a friendly against the Brazilian national team, scoring once in a 2–2 draw.[14] A few weeks later, on 29 July, he started for Sabadell against the Catalan national team in a tribute match to benefit Sabadell player Santiago Sitges, who had been hospitalized after a motorcycle accident a few days earlier; it ended in a 1–1 draw.[15]
Managerial career
[edit]After retiring, Gual remained linked to Espanya Industrial, now as a coach, which he oversaw for 13 years, from 1943 until 1956, leading it through promotion after promotion from the regional level to the top-flight in 1956, when the club was renamed CD Condal.[16] He stood out as a discoverer of young players,[17] to whom he always told "to press the opponent with three players and look for the least technical player".[16]
After brieft stints at Córdoba (1958–59) and CE Europa (1959–60),[6] he took the helm of both Osasuna (1961–62) and Racing de Santander (1962–63), and again of Osasuna (1963–65).[5][18] He later coached Atlètic Catalunya from 1968 until 1970.[4][6]
Death
[edit]He died on 9 March 1989.
Honours
[edit]- Sevilla
- Segunda División:
- Champions (1): 1929
- FC Barcelona
- Copa Macià:
- Champions (1): 1932
- Sabadell
- Catalan championship:
- Copa del Rey:
- Runner-up: 1935
- Segunda División
- Champions (1): 1942–43
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Miquel Gual". historia.cesabadellfc.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Squad of Sevilla 1928-29 Second Division". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Gual, visto por alfonso (fotografia)" [Gual, seen by Alfonso (photograph)]. hemeroteca.abcdesevilla.es (in Spanish). ABC. 24 October 1931. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Miquel Gual Agustina stats". players.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Gual". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Miquel Gual Agustina". www.enciclopedia.cat. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Maximo goleadores del Campionat de Catalunya 1933-34" [Top scorers of the 1933-34 Catalan Championship]. www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Hoy recordamos a... Miguel Gual" [Today we remember... Miguel Gual]. www.cesabadellfc.com (in Spanish). 9 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Spain - Cup 1935". RSSSF. 12 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Historia del Sabadell FC" [History of Sabadell FC]. www.cesabadell.cat (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Plantel del FC Barcelona en México" [FC Barcelona squad in Mexico]. historiafutbolmexicano.com (in Spanish). 18 June 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "En el Estadio - Selección Calalana, 0 - Selección Vasca, 1" [At the Stadium - Calana Selection, 0 - Basque Selection, 1]. hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com. Mundo Deportivo. 27 June 1932. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "C. E. Sabadell, 4-Seleçción, 2" [C. E. Sabadell, 4-Selection, 2]. hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 25 June 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Seleção Brasileira 1934-1938" [Brazilian National Team 1934-1938]. www.rsssfbrasil.com (in Portuguese). 19 June 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Sabadell 1 Selección 1". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 30 July 1934. p. 3. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Un filial en la élite" [A subsidiary in the elite]. hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 31 October 2010. p. 67. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Miguel Gual: Entrenador que descubre nuevas figuras" [Miguel Gual: Coach who discovers new figures]. hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 5 February 1964. p. 35. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "Gual, Miguel Gual Agustina - Manager". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
External links
[edit]- Miguel Gual Agustina at BDFutbol
- 1911 births
- 1989 deaths
- Spanish men's footballers
- Footballers from Catalonia
- Sportspeople from Barcelona
- Men's association football forwards
- Catalonia men's international footballers
- Sevilla FC players
- FC Barcelona players
- CE Sabadell FC footballers
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Spanish football managers
- CD Condal managers
- RCD Mallorca managers
- CA Osasuna managers
- Racing de Santander managers
- La Liga managers
- Segunda División managers
- 20th-century Spanish sportsmen