Juan Sandalio Arzuaga Anitua was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Athletic Club, and later a referee, and then a coach of Athletic.
12 Facts About Juan Arzuaga
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Juan Arzuaga then moved to Saxony, Germany, to study Mechanical Engineering at the Mittweida technical school, doing so between 1902 and 1904.
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Juan Arzuaga was a very talented athlete and this is confirmed by the chronicles of the English newspapers that reported on him from November 1898, when he had just turned 18, until the spring of 1902.
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Juan Arzuaga then moved to Rockliff, probably because he was hired after these impressive performances, with Rockliff being at that time one of the main teams in the north of England.
5.
Juan Arzuaga's first known match with Rockliff took place against West Hartlepool in mid-January 1902.
6.
Juan Arzuaga stated that he would love to play again with the club's red and yellow colors as they reminded him of his country's flag.
7.
Juan Arzuaga was among the founding members of San Sebastian Recreation Club, which was the very first football club in San Sebastian.
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Juan Arzuaga then became one of the first footballers of the newly formed club in 1904, thus beginning his footballing career at the advanced age of 24.
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Juan Arzuaga become the captain of the team in 1911.
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Juan Arzuaga remained loyal to Athletic until 1912, when the club decided that the low form of an aging Arzuaga did not allow him to continue defending the colours of Athletic, so he was dropped from the first team, and eventually, he left and joined Club Deportivo Bilbao, with whom he retired in 1914 at the age of 34.
11.
On 25 May 1913, the 33-year-old Juan Arzuaga went down in history as one of the eleven footballers who played in the very first unofficial game of the Spanish national team at Estadio de Amute in Hondarribia.
12.
Juan Arzuaga died in Logrono on 26 August 1951, at the age of 70.