Francisco Arencibia

Francisco Martín Arencibia (28 December 1912 – 28 February 2004), also known as Pancho Arencibia, was a Cuban-Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Atlético Madrid and Granada CF. As a player he was a member of what many consider to be the best Deportivo de Tenerife side in its history and then won two league titles for Atlético Aviación. After he retired, he became the very first manager of UD Las Palmas in 1949.

Francisco Arencibia

Personal information
Full name	Francisco Martín Arencibia
Date of birth	(1912-12-28)28 December 1912
Place of birth	Alquízar, Cuba
Date of death	28 February 2004(2004-02-28) (aged 91)
Place of death	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	CD Tenerife
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1930–1935	CD Tenerife
1935–1936	Atlético Madrid	9	(5)
1939–1947	Atlético Aviación	104	(37)
1947–1949	Granada CF	81	(58)
1950–1951	CD Tenerife goals5 =
International career
1942	Spain	1	(0)
Managerial career
1949–1950	UD Las Palmas
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Pancho Arencibia was born in 1911 in Alquízar on the Island of Cuba, as the son of a Canarian family who had emigrated to the Caribbean pearl. Shortly after he was born, his family returned to the Canary Islands, and there, in Tenerife, and more specifically in La Laguna, Arencibia began his football career.

Playing career

Early career

At the age of 15, Arencibia was already playing for the historic Real Hespérides, where he stood out in the matches against their island rivals, such as Club Deportivo de Tenerife, and Real Victoria y Marino de Las Palmas, with the later going on to merge with UD Las Palmas. He then joined the former in 1930, where he reached the highest levels in Canary Islands football at that time, becoming a part of the team that for many fans has been the best Deportivo de Tenerife side in its history, which was Champion of the Canary Islands in 1932 and that subsequently participated in the 1932 Spanish Cup.

In the following seasons, the blue and white team measured their forces against important teams such as Español, Athletic Bilbao, the Austrian club FK Austria Wien, and the English team Everton. He also played matches in Las Palmas against Liverpool, in Madrid against Atlético, in Las Corts against FC Barcelona; and at Tenerife, he starred in several memorable friendly matches at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Stadium against rivals such as Madrid FC and Donosti in 1932, both of these peninsular teams received resounding defeats from the blue and white team led by Arencibia. This Tenerife team was made up of players who would soon confirm their category by being signed, most of them, by clubs from the first division, including Arencibia, who was signed by Atletico Madrid in 1935 (then known as Athletic de Madrid) for 35,000 pesetas and a monthly salary of 1,500 pesetas.

Atlético Aviación

Arencibi made his debut with the Colchoneros against Athletic Bilbao at the Vallecas field, scoring a goal in an eventual 1–2 loss. He quickly became a regular starter in the following days, playing 9 games and scoring 5 goals that season, but football in Spain was then suspended by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. After a three-year break in the football competition, Arencibi joined the ranks of Atlético Aviación, where under coach Ricardo Zamora, and together with Pruden, Paco Campos, and Vázquez, he played a crucial role in helping the club win the first two League titles in the Colchoneros history in 1939–40 and 1940–41.

As the league winners, they contested the 1940 Spanish Super Cup against the Copa del Rey winners, RCD Espanyol, in a two-legged game in September, in which Arencibi scored once in the second leg to help Atlético Aviación to a 7–1 victory (10–4 on aggregate). He stayed loyal to the club until 1947, playing alongside other island football players such as Mesa, Campos, Machín, Mundo, and others who would arrive in later years. In total, he scored 56 goals for Atlético in the 138 League games.

Later years

After leaving the capital, he played one season with Granada CF, which then played in the Segunda División, where he played two seasons until 1949, when he was 37 years old.

International career

Arencibia earned his only international cap for Spanish team on 12 April 1942, at the age of 29, in a friendly match against Nazi Germany held in Berlin, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He was unable to earn any other cap for the national team because of the great competition that there was for the midfield position, where mainly Zarra blocked his way.

Managerial career

After retiring as a player in 1949, he became the first coach of the newly created Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, directing the yellow team's very first training session on 16 September 1949 at the Las Palmas Stadium. Two months later, however, he resigned for work reasons.

Death

Pruden died on 28 February 2004, at the age of 91.

Honours

Atlético Aviación

• La Liga:
  • Winners (1): 1940–41.
• Spanish Super Cup
  • Winners (1): 1940.
• Copa Presidente Federación Castellana
  • Winners (1): 1940–41.