Juan Manuel Elorduy Saracibar (21 December 1888 – 12 November 1977) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Athletic Bilbao.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Manuel Elorduy Saracibar | ||
| Date of birth | 21 December 1888 | ||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Biscay, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 12 November 1977 (aged 88) | ||
| Place of death | Unknown | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1910–1913 | Athletic Club | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Biography
editIn 1909, Juan Elorduy, then a Mining Engineering student and a rich heir, was going to spend the Christmas of 1909 in London,[3] and taking advantage of this trip, the then president of Athletic Bilbao Alberto Zarraoa commissioned him to purchase 25 shirts for the team.[4][5] The ones the players had, donated at the time by Juan Moser, were beginning to be worn out from so much sweat and washing, and the locker room had to be renewed.[3] Elorduy had the firm intention of fulfilling the order, but he failed to do so because there were not enough left in the store and he could not find such a large number of harlequinade zamarras.[3][4][5] It was when he was waiting in the port city of Southampton for the ship back to Bilbao and empty-handed, that Elorduy realized that the colours of the local team, which instead of being blue and white were red and white stripes, matched the colours of the City of Bilbao, and bought 50 shirts to take with him.[3][4][6] It is not known what the reaction of the Athletic board chaired by Zarraoa was when they saw the shipment of shirts, but what is known is that, just a few days after Elorduy's return, Athletic wore new clothing in Irun on 9 January 1910 and stayed with it forever.[3][4] Of the 50 shirts bought by Elorduy, half of them stayed at his grandparents' house, and it was after Athletic's tribute dinner to its Madrid branch, Atlético Madrid, on 1 January 1911, that he was approached by Manuel Rodríguez Arzuaga, the patron of Atlético,[7] who asked him to bring them from his home in Bilbao to Madrid, stating "When you return to Madrid after Epiphany, you can bring them with you, I will pay for them all".[8] However, one source states that it was in a match between both Athletics, that the Madrid residents fell in love with the new shirt and adopted it.[9]
The origin of the red and white Athletic Club shirts has been the subject of numerous debates throughout the history of the club, and recent studies carried out by Basque sports researchers and historians have questioned this story and come up with a much more logic and well-thought-out new theory, which states that during a friendly match between Athletic Club and San Sebastian in November 1909, to mark the opening of their new stadium, Athletic's goalkeeper Crawford complained about both sides sharing the same colours, and following a month-long debate over which team should change their colours, it was Athletic who did it, with Juan Arzuaga and William Dyer, the latter born in Sunderland, making it known that Sunderland AFC had a kit with white and red vertical stripes, and Arzuaga then contacted a friend of his in Sunderland who could purchase some of those shirts from Henry A. Murton's Shop.[5]
Elorduy only made his debut for Athletic Club on 9 April 1911, in a preliminary round of the 1911 Copa del Rey against Fortuna Vigo, helping his side to a 2–0 win.[1] He did not play a competitive match for Athletic ever again, but by playing in this match, Elorduy was part of the squad that then won the 1911 Cup title.[10][11]
Honours
editAthletic Club
- Copa del Rey:
- Winners (1): 1911
References
edit- ^ a b "Elorduy - Player: Midfielder". www.athletic-club.eus. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Elorduy, Juan Manuel Elorduy Saracibar - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Agiriano, Jon (6 January 2010). "Los Colores del Siglo" [The colours of the century]. El Correo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Nace el Atlético de Madrid" [Atlético de Madrid is born]. sucedioque.com (in Spanish). 26 April 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "Exploring the links between Sunderland AFC, Bilbao and the famous red and white stripes!". rokerreport.sbnation.com. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Camisetas inglesas" [English jerseys] (PDF) (in Spanish). 5 December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "The origin of the red and white colours of Atlético de Madrid". medium.com. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "1.3. La fundación del Athletic Club de Madrid" [1.3. The foundation of Athletic Club de Madrid] (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Athletic-Atlético, historia de dos parientes" [Athletic-Atlético, history of two relatives]. ABC (in Spanish). 8 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Athletic Club - Real Club Fortuna (2 - 0) 09/04/1911". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Spain - Cup 1911". RSSSF. 13 January 2000. Retrieved 17 May 2024.