Telmo Zarra

Telmo Zarraonaindía Montoya, known as Zarra, ( born January 20, 1921 in Asúa, Vizcaya, † 23 February 2006 in Bilbao) was a Spanish football player and in his own lifetime in Spain a legend.

Zarraonaindía was usually just called Zarra and played on the position of the striker at Athletic Bilbao. In the 1940s and 1950s he was six times top scorer in the Spanish Championship. In the game season 1950/51 he scored 38 goals. This record was equaled in the season 1989 /90 by Hugo Sanchez and surpassed until 60 years later by Cristiano Ronaldo with a total of 41 matches. This record was again surpassed by Lionel Messi in the years 2011/12 ( 50 hits ) and 2012/13 (45 hits).

In Spain, he was considered the typical striker. He saw himself not as an outstanding player, but as a finisher of the game of his team. Zarra scored in 353 games 334 goals, including 251 in La Liga, their record goalscorer he is today. For the Spanish national team, he met 20 times in 20 internationals. However, he could also play on the wing and was also as a template donor extremely effective. His most important results was the gate at the football World Cup in Brazil in 1950 to 1:0 over England. Thus, Spain entered the final round. On February 18, 1951, he scored four goals in a 6-3 victory over Spain Switzerland.

Zarraonaindía died at the age of 85 years to a heart attack. The following weekend a memorial minute was before all games in the Primera División inserted and Zarras Athletic Bilbao played with black armbands.

Achievements

With the club

• Spanish Champion 1943
• Spanish Cup winners: 1943, 1944, 1945, 1950, 1955
• Campeonato de Vizcaya: 1940

Individual Awards

• Scorer in the Primera División: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1953