Telmo Zarra
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya | ||
| Date of birth | 20 January 1921 | ||
| Place of birth | Erandio, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 23 February 2006 (aged 85) | ||
| Place of death | Bilbao, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1939–1940 | Erandio | 20 | (12) |
| 1940–1955 | Athletic Bilbao | 277 | (251) |
| 1955–1956 | Indautxu | 14 | (3) |
| 1956–1957 | Barakaldo | 12 | (2) |
| Total | 323 | (268) | |
| National team | |||
| 1945–1951 | Spain | 20 | (20) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya (20 January 1921 – 23 February 2006), known as Zarra (Basque: [ˈs̻ara], Spanish: [ˈθara]), was a Spanish football forward. He spent the majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao, from 1940 to 1955, for whom he remains the top scorer in competitive matches with 332 goals.
Zarra signed for Athletic after playing one season for Erandio. He became a prolific goalscorer in his 15 seasons at the club, winning the Pichichi Trophy for the highest scorer in La Liga on six occasions. During his career, Zarra scored a total of 251 league goals, a Spanish record that lasted nearly six decades. His 81 goals in the Copa del Rey remain a record today.
Despite his goalscoring records, he only played for Spain twenty times. Even so, he still managed to score 20 goals, including four in one match as Spain beat Switzerland 6–3 on 18 February 1951. He also scored his country's winning goal against England in the 1950 World Cup finals as Spain reached the final four—their best performance in the competition until winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup 60 years later.
After leaving Bilbao in 1955, he played for one year with SD Indautxu and another with Barakaldo before retiring. He died of a heart attack on 24 February 2006, aged 85. The Zarra Trophy for the highest-scoring Spaniard in La Liga is awarded in his memory.
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