Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Paulino Alcántara Riestrá | ||
Date of birth | 7 October 1896 | ||
Place of birth | Iloilo, Captaincy General of the Philippines | ||
Date of death | 13 February 1964 | (aged 67)||
Place of death | Barcelona, Spain | ||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Playing position | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
FC Galeno | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1912–1916 | Barcelona | 47 | (55) |
1916–1918 | Bohemian Sporting Club | 23 | (24) |
1918–1927 | Barcelona | 130 | (145) |
Total | 200 | (224) | |
National team | |||
1915–1924 | Catalonia | 4 | (4) |
1917 | Philippines | 2 | (1) |
1921–1923 | Spain | 5 | (6) |
Teams managed | |||
1951 | Spain | ||
1953 | Catalonia | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Paulino Alcántara Riestrá (7 October 1896 – 13 February 1964) was a Spanish Filipino football player and manager who played as a forward. He spent most of his playing career at FC Barcelona and also represented Catalonia, the Philippines and Spain.
Alcántara made his debut for Barcelona at the age of 15 and remains the youngest player to play or score for the club. He scored 369 goals in 357 official and friendly matches for Barcelona, a club record that stood for 87 years. After retiring as a player in 1927 at the age of 31, he became a doctor. He served as a club director between 1931 and 1934. In 1951, Alcántara became a coach and managed Spain for three games.
Alcántara was born in the province of Iloilo in the Philippines to a Spanish military officer and an Ilongga mother. He was three years old when his family moved to Barcelona, the same year that FC Barcelona was formed by Joan Gamper. Alcántara was slated to play for FC Galeno when he was discovered by Gamper. He then joined Barcelona's youth team. He made his debut at the age of 15 years, 4 months and 18 days old on 25 February 1912 against Catalá SC in the Campionat de Catalunya (Catalan football championship) at the old Carrer de la Indústria ground. Barcelona won that game 9–0, with Alcántara scoring the first three goals of the game, setting the still unbroken record for being the youngest player to ever score for FC Barcelona in an official match. Among his team mates during his time at the club were Francisco Bru Sanz, Jack Greenwell and Romà Forns. He went on to help the club win a Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) and Campionat de Catalunya in 1913 and a Campionat de Catalunya in 1916.