Amancio Amaro, legend of Real Madrid, has died in Madrid at the age of 83 as confirmed by the white team in an official statement.
With him leaves a primal legend of Spanish football. Amancio Amaro began his professional career at Deportivo de la Coruña, with which he made his debut in 1958. In his fourth season at his local club, Amancio stood out with 25 goals in 26 games, being key for the people from Coruña to go up to the First Division. At that time, Real Madrid and Barcelona were interested in his services. The winger chose the whites, although the negotiations were tough and generated division within Real Madrid. The arrival of the Galician was determined by Santiago Bernabéu, who closed a risky operation paying a high sum for him in addition to the transfer of several players.
Amancio, nicknamed El Brujo, arrived as a new star to reinforce veteran Real Madrid, champion of the first five European Cups. In Chamartín he led the transition to keep the whites at the top, closing his professional career with nine Leagues, three Copas del Rey and the sixth European Cup, that of Madrid ‘yé-yé’ with Miguel Muñoz on the bench and a team full of Spanish players with other legends such as Zoco, Manuel Sanchís, Pirri, Grosso or Paco Gento, captain in that final against Partizán Belgrade in which the Whites won 2-1. He hung up his boots in 1976, although he still had more chapters to write in the history of the white team.
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Amaro was the coach who triumphed with Castilla de la Quinta del Buitre de Butragueño, Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Pardeza and Míchel, who were proclaimed champions of the Second Division and eliminated several First Divisions in the Copa del Rey. Later, he would take charge of the first team, with more disparate results than those obtained in the subsidiary.
Although he was replaced on the bench by Luis Molowny, Amancio never left Real Madrid. He was a scout, member of the board of directors in the first stage of Florentino Pérez and also Honorary President, a position he held since October 2022, after the death of Paco Gento.
European Champion also with Spain
His success with Real Madrid led him to the National Team, with which he also won Europe. Amancio was capped 42 times, making his debut on November 25, 1962 against Romania. With Spain, he was also European champion.
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The Galician was a starter in the final of the 1964 Euro Cup, whose semifinals and final were played between the Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabéu between the national team itself, Hungary, Denmark and the Soviet Union. He was the protagonist in the semifinals scoring the winning goal against Hungary in extra time. In addition, he started in the final against the USSR in which Spain won 2-1. Pereda scored the first, Jusainov equalized at the Bernabéu and the The winning goal was the work of Marcelino. For years, because of a NO-DO report, it was thought that he was the one who assisted in that final goal, but it was Pereda. With Spain he only played the World Cup in England in 1966. He did not play the first match against Argentina, but he did start in the victory against Switzerland (2-1), in which he scored, and in the defeat against Germany (2- 1) which led to the elimination of this tournament by being in third place in group 2.