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Amado Arana Mendívil (3 March 1879 – after 1904) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Athletic Club. He was one of the co-founders of Athletic Club in 1901 and was part of the team that won the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, the first national championship disputed in Spain, and the team that won the 1903 Copa del Rey, the first official national championship.

Biography

Together with his younger brother Mario, he was one of the pioneers of football in Bilbao. On 5 September 1901, Amado Arana was one of the 33 members who signed the documents that officially established the Athletic Club at the historic meeting in Café García (Mario did not do so as he was only 17 at the time). He was then one of the first players of the newly created team, with whom he played several friendly matches against city rivals Bilbao Football Club at the Hippodrome of Lamiako.

In 1902, the two rivals agreed to combine the best players of each club to face the Bordeaux-based side Burdigala. This temporary merge became known as Club Bizcaya and Larrañaga ousted Bilbao FC's defenders to be part of the first-ever line-up of the Bizcaya team that faced Burdigala on 9 March, contributing to a clean-sheet in a 2–0 win in France. Three weeks later, on 31 March 1902, he was again in Bizcaya's starting XI for the return fixture at Lamiako, the first visit by a foreign team to Bilbao, helping his side to a 7–0 win. Together with Juan Astorquia, Armand Cazeaux, William Dyer and Walter Evans, he was part of the Bizcaya team that won the first national championship disputed in Spain, the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, forerunner of the Copa del Rey.

He was also part of the Athletic team that won the 1903 Copa del Rey, featuring in the final alongside the likes of Alejandro de la Sota, and club founders Juan Astorquia and Eduardo Montejo; Arana was at the heart of a 3–2 comeback win over Madrid FC (now known as Real Madrid) in the final. He was also part of the team for the 1904 Copa del Rey, which Athletic won without playing a single match since their opponents failed to turn up.

Honours

Club Bizcaya

• Copa de la Coronación: 1902

Athletic Club

• Copa del Rey: 1903, 1904

References

1. ^ "Amado Arana Mendívil - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
2. "Amado Arana - Player: Player". www.athletic-club.eus. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
3. "Orígenes del Athletic" [Origins of Athletic] (in Spanish). 13 September 2004. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
4. "118 años de la primera rivalidad" [118 years since the first rivalry]. www.aupaathletic.com (in Spanish). 7 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
5. "Burdigala VS Athletic Club 3/9/1902". www.athletic-club.eus (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
6. "Athletic Club VS Burdigala 3/31/1902". www.athletic-club.eus (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
7. "Squad of Club Vizcaya 1902 Copa de la Coronación". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
8. "Spain - Cup 1902". RSSSF. 15 September 2000. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
9. ^ "Spain - Cup 1903". RSSSF. 13 January 2000. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
10. ^ "Copa del Rey / Spanish Cup 1903". www.linguasport.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
11. "Spain - Cup 1904". RSSSF. 13 January 2000. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.

• 1879 births
• Spanish men's footballers
• Athletic Bilbao footballers
• Men's association football defenders
• Footballers from Bilbao