Macala (footballer)

Macala
Macala in September 1947
Personal information
Full name Cándido Luis Agustín Gardoy Martín
Date of birth (1921-01-21)January 21, 1921[1]
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Date of death March 13, 1992(1992-03-13) (aged 71)
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1938–1940 Athletic Bilbao 9 (1)
1940–1943 Espanyol 51 (14)
1943–1944 Zaragoza 19 (4)
1944–1947 Hércules 69 (23)
1947–1951 Real Madrid 57 (10)
1951–1953 Racing Santander 35 (6)
1953–1954 Gimnástica 3 (1)
International career
1950 Spain 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cándido Luis Agustín Gardoy Martín (21 January 1921 – 13 March 1992), known as Macala, was a Spanish footballer who played as a Forward.

He amassed Segunda División totals of 66 games and 21 goals over the course of six seasons, with Zaragoza, Hércules and Gimnástica. In La Liga he appeared for Athletic Bilbao, Hércules, Real Madrid, and Racing Santander, adding 177 matches and 38 goals in a 15-year professional career.

Early life

Born in Barcelona.[2] His father, Luis Gardoy (1891–1939), known as Macala, was a renowned pelotari born in Guernica.[3][4] Luis spent several years in Latin America, playing the sport in various countries such as Cuba, the United States, Mexico, and Peru before eventually settling in Barcelona. During this time, he played a pelota match alongside Ricardo Zamora, the famous Spanish international goalkeeper. In 1917, he married a Catalan woman, and from this marriage, Cándido Gardoy was born in 1921, inheriting his father’s nickname. In 1923, at just two years old, he moved with his family to Guernica.

Career

He joined Athletic Bilbao in late 1938, competing in various matches of the Biscay Regional Championship, alongside several young players such as Piru Gaínza and Jose María Echevarría. With elite competition suspended due to the Spanish Civil War, Macala was part of a squad composed of inexperienced players. In th 1939–40 season he made his La Liga debut on 3 December 1939, in a 1–3 lose against Athletic Aviación, as a full member of the first team, helping rebuild the Bilbao side after the war. In his debut season, he made nine appearances in La Liga and eight in the Regional Championship.[5]

In 1940, he joined Espanyol, where he played for three seasons, earning more regular playing time. He later played the 1943–44 season in Segunda División with Real Zaragoza. In 1944–45, he signed for Hércules, achieving promotion to La Liga in 1945. He remained with the Alicante-based club for two more seasons, one in the top division and one in the second tier.

In 1947–48, coming from Hércules in Segunda División, he signed for Real Madrid, which spent four seasons with the Merengues, narrowly avoiding relegation in his first year. He was part of the team that won the 1947 Copa Eva Duarte against Valencia, which was played in 1948, his first and only major title as a professional footballer. Macala was also known as the first player in Real Madrid's history to wear the number 7 jersey, doing so in the Madrid derby in November 1947.

In 1951, he joined Racing Santander, where he played for two seasons before retiring in Segunda División, concluding his career with Gimnástica de Torrelavega in the 1953–54 season.

He was called up once to the Spain national football team, though he never made his debut. Years later, a player from Hércules, Rafael Pastor García, was nicknamed Makalita or Macalita due to his resemblance to Macala.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Athletic Bilbao 1938–39 La Liga — 2 1 — 2 1
1939–40 La Liga 9 1 0 0 — 9 1
Total 9 1 2 1 — 11 2
Espanyol 1940–41 La Liga 8 0 5 1 — 13 1
1941–42 La Liga 21 9 6 2 — 27 11
1942–43 La Liga 22 5 3 0 1[a] 0 26 5
Total 51 14 14 3 1 0 66 17
Zaragoza 1943–44 Segunda División 19 4 2 0 — 21 4
Hércules 1944–45 Segunda División 18 4 0 0 — 18 4
1945–46 La Liga 25 7 2 0 — 27 7
1946–47 Segunda División 26 12 2 1 — 28 13
Total 69 23 4 1 — 73 24
Real Madrid 1947–48 La Liga 11 0 3 1 1[b] 1 15 2
1948–49 La Liga 23 3 3 1 — 26 4
1949–50 La Liga 10 2 5 5 — 15 7
1950–51 La Liga 13 5 1 0 — 14 5
Total 57 10 12 7 1 1 70 18
Racing Santander 1951–52 La Liga 26 5 0 0 5[a] 1 31 6
1952–53 La Liga 9 1 2 0 — 11 1
Total 35 6 2 0 5 1 42 7
Gimnástica 1953–54 Segunda División 3 1 0 0 — 3 1
Career total 243 59 36 12 7 2 286 73
  1. ^ a b Appearances in La Liga play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in Copa Eva Duarte

Honours

Real Madrid

References

  1. ^ "Cándido Luis Agustín Gardoy Martín". BDFutol.
  2. ^ "Macala". Athletic Bilbao.
  3. ^ "El Frontón Jai Alai, la historia del Palacio de los Gritos" (in Spanish). fotosdlahabana. 25 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Macala: el primer 'supergoleador' del Real Madrid queria ser pelotari" (in Spanish). MARCA. 9 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Un pilotari, germans i nois del barri de Gràcia: els catalans del Madrid de Bernabéu". ara.cat.
  6. ^ Macala at BDFutbol
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