On A Day Like Today: Antonio Puchades passes away

On May 24th, 2013, club legend Antonio Puchades Casanova passed away at the age of 87. The former player -born and raised in Valencia- was one of the most highly regarded midfielders to have pulled on the white shirt in the 1940s and 1950s.

He made his debut on the second matchday of the 1946/47 LaLiga season, in a 1-2 win over Celta away from home. His career at the club would continue for 13 seasons and almost 300 official appearances, including lifting the 1946/47 LaLiga title, Copas in 1949 and 1954, and the 1950 Copa Eva Duarte (Spanish Supercopa) along the way. He was also capped for Spain on 23 occasions, amongst which was his participation in the 1950 World Cup.

His partnership in the middle of the park with Bernardino Pérez Elizarán ‘Pasieguito’ was formidable, and was an early predecessor to the duo of David Albelda and Ruben Baraja in the same positions.

Puchades was brought to the club thanks to Carlos Iturraspe, a striker in the 1930s and 1940s who had seen him play and spoke to the board to convince them to make a signing. They took his advice, and Puchades would initially play for CD Mestalla in his debut season , besides four first team appearances.

From there, he was a regular fixture for Valencia CF. Many clubs tried to coax him away, including FC Barcelona. “The honour for a kid from Sueca is to play for Valencia CF, not for Barcelona or Real Madrid. I could have played for Barça, because they wanted me, but I turned it down. I didn’t want to leave -and that was even with them offering to pay me triple my salary! But I said no, that I would prefer to stay at Valencia CF,” he told RTVV in an interview before his passing.

At just 33 years of age, Puchades was forced to retire due to sciatica. He played his final game on March 23rd, 1958, curiously against his very first Primera División opponents, Celta Vigo. The club held a testimonial for him on December 8th, 1959, at Mestalla, against Nice.

His legacy lives on at Valencia CF, who named the stadium used by several VCF Academy teams after him.