Josep Samitier

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Personal information
Josep Samitier

Date of birth	February 2 1902
Place of birth	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Image:Flag of Spain.svg
Position	Midfielder
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1914-16 1919-32 1932-34 1936- ?	Internacional FC Barcelona Madrid CF OGC Nice
National team**
1920	Spain	21 (2)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of July 13 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of July 13 2006.

Josep Samitier Vilalta, also known as José Samitier (b. Barcelona, February 2 1902- d. Barcelona, May 5 1972) was a Catalan Spanish footballer, manager and scout who played for FC Barcelona, Madrid CF, OGC Nice and Spain. He also coached Athletic Madrid, OGC Nice and CF Barcelona and then worked as a scout for CF Barcelona and Real Madrid. During his FC Barcelona career he scored 326 goals and is second only to Paulino Alcántara as the clubs all time top goalscorer. As a manager he led CF Barcelona to the La Liga title in 1945 and as a scout he recruited Ladislao Kubala. Despite his role in the Alfredo Di Stéfano affair, twice defecting to Real Madrid and his friendship with Franco, he remained a legendary figure at FC Barcelona and when he died in 1972 he was given a virtual state funeral by the club.

Samitier played as a junior between 1914 and 1916 for Internacional before he made his debut for FC Barcelona in 1919, aged 17. As his signing-on bonus, he received a luminous watch and a three-piece suit. By 1925 he was the highest paid player in Spain. He was a member of the legendary FC Barcelona team, coached by Jack Greenwell, that also included Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarbá, Ricardo Zamora, Félix Sesúmaga and, later, Franz Platko. Between 1919 and 1933 he won twelve Championat de Catalunya, five Copa del Rey and the inaugural La Liga title. As a player he pioneered the midfield general role and was nicknamed The Magician and The Lobster due to his kicking style. Among the goals he scored were four in the Copa del Rey finals of 1922, 1925, 1926 and 1928. In 1920 he was also a member of the first ever Spanish selección that won the silver medal at Olympic Games. He subsequently made 21 appearances for the selección and scored 2 goals.

In 1933 Samiter found himself in dispute with the FC Barcelona management and he was dropped from the first team. Real Madrid were quick to take advantage of the situation. Samiter joined Ricardo Zamora at the club, then know as Madrid CF and played 8 La Liga games and scored 4 goals, and helping them win La Liga in 1932/33 and the Copa de España in 1934. In early 1936 however he was reconciled with FC Barcelona when they organized a testimonial for him. On January 19 at the Les Corts, Samitier scored as a Catalan XI drew 1-1 with SK Sidenice of Czechoslovakia.

1936 also saw Samitier make a brief start to his career as a coach. He took over from Fred Pentland at Athletic Madrid in mid-season but failed to prevent them from being relegated. However both his new career and Athletics relegation were postponed with start of the Spanish Civil War. Samitier found himself arrested by an anarchist militia, but was eventually released and left for France on a warship. His escape was later exploited by the Nationalist side in an account printed in Marca. In October 1936 he joined OGC Nice, where he was reunited once again with Ricardo Zamora, and subsequently scored 47 goals in 82 matches. He retired as a player in 1939 and was briefly coach at OGC Nice in 1942.

Samiter returned to Spain and became manager of CF Barcelona. In 1945 he guided them to only their second ever La Liga title and to victory in the Copa de Oro Argentina, a one-off game against Copa del Rey winners Atlético Bilbao. He subsequently worked as the clubs chief scout and was instrumental in the recruitment of another CF Barcelona legend Ladislao Kubala. However he was later accused of acting as a double agent when the club tried to sign Alfredo Di Stéfano and in the 1960s he fell out with Helenio Herrera and went to work for Real Madrid.

[edit] Honours

Player

FC Barcelona

Spanish Championship: 1
- 1928/29
Copa del Rey: 5
- 1919-20, 1921-22, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1927-28
Catalan Champions: 12:
- 1918-19, 1919-20, 1920-21, 1921-22, 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1927-28, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32

Madrid CF