José María Sión Mortera (8 August 1907 – 25 December 1996) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Real Oviedo[1] and Sporting de Gijón,[2] and later a manager.[3] He was known sportingly as Sión II because his older brother Floro Sión [es] and the younger Luis Sión [es] were also footballers before and after him.[4][5]

José María Sión
Personal information
Full name José María Sión Mortera
Date of birth (1907-08-08)8 August 1907
Place of birth Sama, Asturias, Spain
Date of death 25 December 1996(1996-12-25) (aged 89)
Place of death Sama, Asturias, Spain
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1926–1927 CP La Felguera
1927–1928 Racing de Sama
1928–1930 Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa
1930–1934 Real Oviedo
1934–1935 Racing de Sama
1935–1936 Sporting de Gijón
1939–1941 Racing de Sama
Managerial career
1941–1942 Racing Langreano
1945–1947 Caudal Deportivo
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Born in Sama, Asturias, Sión started his football career in his hometown club CP La Felguera and then Racing de Sama,[5] where he began playing as a defender before being assigned due to military service to León, where he joined the Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa in 1928, coinciding with Floro, his older brother.[4]

Sión was part of the Leonese team that at the creation of the Spanish national league had been placed in group B of the Segunda División, in which, being one of the starting defenders and playing in all the matches, he achieved the title and with it promotion to the second category.[2] He remained in the Leonese team until its relegation in 1930, when he signed for Real Oviedo, then also in the second division,[2] while his brother went to Gijón, so they both went from playing together to being rivals.[4] Sión made his debut with Oviedo on 5 October 1930,[1] and together with Óscar, Isidro Lángara, and Ricardo Gallart, he was a member of the Oviedo squad that won the second division in 1932–33 and was thus promoted to the highest category.[6] The title was sealed against CA Osasuna on 5 March 1933, in which he won a penalty given by the referee José María Steimborn to help his side to a 7–1 win.[7] In total, he played 61 official matches with Oviedo.[1]

Sión stayed loyal to the club for four years, from 1930 to 1934, but after barely not playing in the following year, he decided to return to Racing de Sama.[1] He played a single season with the team, signing the following year for Sporting de Gijón, where he was reunited with his brother Floro.[4][5] He only played in six league matches since he had only been incorporated to play in the regional championship matches, so he left the team at the end of the season, which finished just one point away from promotion to the top category in the league.[5] When the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, he signed for Racing de Sama where he coincided this time with his two brothers forming the axis defense of the whole.[4][5] He spent two seasons with them until he retired in 1941 at the age of 33.[1]

Managerial career

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After his career as a player ended, Sión remained linked to Racing de Sama, now known as Racing Langreano, by becoming its coach, which he oversaw for one season.[3] He later coached Caudal Deportivo for two seasons between 1945 and 1947.[8]

Death

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Sión died in Sama on 25 December 1996, at the age of 89.[5]

Honours

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Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa
Real Oviedo

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "José María Sión Mortera. No. 152". www.veteranosrealoviedo.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Sión II, José María Sión Mortera - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Sión II, José María Sión Mortera - Manager". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "La saga de los Sión" [The Zion Saga]. www.elcomercio.es (in Spanish). 28 August 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "TEMPORADA 1935-36" [1935-36 SEASON]. www.arandaarquitectos.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Squad of Oviedo 1932-33 Second Division". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Oviedo - Osasuna (7 - 1) 05/03/1933". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  8. ^ "CaudalBD - Entrenador - Sión" [CaudalBD - Coach - Sión]. www.caudalbd.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2024.