The Gipuzkoa autonomous football team was the regional football team for the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain, active between the 1910s and the 1930s. They were never affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, because Gipuzkoa is represented internationally by the Spain national football team.
| Association | Basque Football Federation |
|---|---|
| First international | |
 Biscay 2–1 Gipuzkoa  (Bilbao; 13 December 1914) Biscay 1–2 Gipuzkoa (Bilbao; 13 December 1914) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Gipuzkoa 4–0 Biscay (San Sebastián; 6 January 1915) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Gipuzkoa 0–4 Catalonia  (San Sebastián; 26 December 1915) | |
History edit
Early history edit
Gipuzkoa's first recorded game was held at San Mamés on 13 December 1914 against Biscay, and they lost 2–1. Patricio Arabolaza was the scorer of the first goal in the team's history.[citation needed] A month later they faced Biscay again, this time at the Atotxa Stadium, and won comfortably 4–0. Although the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay were both organising their own representative matches occasionally, their players formed a combined 'North' team from the regional championship of that name (which also included Cantabria, but was usually dominated by players from those two Basque provinces), which evolved into the Basque Country team.[1][2] This Basque/North side participated in the first edition of the Prince of Asturias Cup, an official inter-regional tournament organized by RFEF, at Madrid in 1915[3] and won the title after beating the Catalan team 1–0 with a goal from Juan Legarreta, then holding Centro (a team formed by players from the centre of Spain) to a 1–1 (the Basque goalscorer being Gipuzkoa's Patricio).[3] Gipuzkoa took on Catalonia four times in friendlies at the end of 1915, with a draw and a narrow loss in Barcelona, followed by a big win (5–1) in San Sebastián and then an equally heavy defeat (4–0) in Irun. In May and June of 1916, "Team North" faced Catalonia three times, winning by 3–1 away and 5–0 at home with a goalless draw in between. Patricio again scored in both victories, netting four times in the latter. The great Pichichi scored his only goal for the team in one the 3–1 win.
After several disagreements between the clubs of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, which had caused there to be no Basque representation under any banner at the next three Prince of Asturias Cup tournaments and culminated in a pivotal North Championship match between Athletic Bilbao (Biscay) and Real Sociedad (Gipuzkoa) being abandoned,[4] in 1918 the National Committee of the Spanish federation agreed to divide the Northern Federation in these two regions.[5] Thus, Gipuzkoa formed its own federation and launched their own championship in the 1918–19 season.
The Gipuzkoa team participated in both the 1922–23 and the 1923–24 editions of the revived Prince of Asturias Cup, being knocked out by Catalonia in the quarter-finals on both occasions. In the latter, they managed to score a goal in a 2–1 loss, their only goal in the competition as a separate entity; the scorer was René Petit.[3]
Revival edit
In 2013, a match was staged between the amateur teams of Biscay and Gipuzkoa (which continue to operate provincial football leagues at the sixth level of the pyramid and below) resulting in a 1–1 draw, won by Biscay on penalties, to commemorate the centenary of the Biscay Federation (taking its foundation date as that of the North Federation), as had also taken place in 1964 for the 50th anniversary (6–0 to Biscay).[6][7]
The centenary of the Gipuzkoa Federation occurred in 2018,[8] but the organisers opted for a conventional friendly between its two biggest clubs – Real Sociedad and SD Eibar – to mark the occasion rather than any match involving representative teams;[9] that was also the case for the 50th anniversary in 1968, when Real Sociedad played twice against Alavés.[10]
Results edit
| 13 December 1914 Friendly | Biscay  | 2–1 | Gipuzkoa | Bilbao, Basque Country |
Barturen  Pagaza |
Report | Patricio |
Stadium: San Mamés Referee: Angoso |
| 6 January 1915 Friendly | Gipuzkoa | 4–0 | Biscay | San Sebastián, Basque Country |
| Stadium: Atotxa Stadium |
| 31 October 1915 Friendly | Catalonia | 2–1 | Gipuzkoa | Barcelona, Catalonia |
| Report | Stadium: Camp Muntaner |
| 1 November 1915 Friendly | Catalonia | 2–2 | Gipuzkoa | Barcelona, Catalonia |
| Casellas Kinké |
Report | Sena |
Stadium: Camp Muntaner |
| 15 December 1915 Friendly | Gipuzkoa | 5–1 | Catalonia | San Sebastián, Basque Country |
| Stadium: Atotxa Stadium Referee: Sabata |
| 26 December 1915 Friendly | Gipuzkoa | 0–4 | Catalonia | Irun, Basque Country |
| Stadium: Estadio de Amute Referee: Martí |
| 19 November 1922 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup quarter-finals | Gipuzkoa | 0–3 | Catalonia | Irun, Basque Country |
| Report | Samitier Gracia Martí |
Stadium: Estadio de Amute Attendance: 6,000 Referee:  Eulogio Aranguren |
| 25 November 1923 1923–24 Prince of Asturias Cup quarter-finals | Catalonia | 2–1 | Gipuzkoa | Barcelona, Catalonia |
| Olivella 22' Pellicer 29' |
Petit 51' |
Stadium: Camp de Les Corts Referee: Ezequiel Montero |
Table edit
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biscay
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 50.00 |
| Catalonia
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 16.67 |
| Total (2 opponents) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 21 | −2 | 30.00 |
Notable players edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Basque Country (Euskadi) Autonomous Team Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Partidos (1914–2018)". Euskal Selekzioa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Vicente Martínez Calatrava (17 August 2009). "La Copa Príncipe de Asturias" [The Prince of Asturias Cup] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ Félix Martialay (2000). ¡¡¡Amberes!!! Allí nació la furia española [Antwerp!!! There the Spanish fury was born] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. p. 168. ISBN 9788492109777. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Vizcaya-Guípúscoa The lawsuit gives the contrast with National Committee". El Mundo Deportivo. 7 May 1918. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
- ^ "Bizkaia Aficionada se impone a Gipuzkoa, en el tanta de penaltis, en en Trofeo de Centenario" [Biscay Amateurs defeat Gipuzkoa, in the penalty shootout, in the Centenary Trophy] (PDF) (in Spanish). Biscay Football Federation. 1 January 2014. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Ultima hora deportiva" [Last sporting hour]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 27 May 1964. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Congresos, torneos y un amistoso entre Eibar y Real Sociedad, entre los actos del centenario de la Federación Guipuzcoana de Fútbol" [Congresses, tournaments and a friendly match between Eibar and Real Sociedad, among the centenary acts of the Guipuzcoan Football Federation] (in Spanish). Gipuzkoa Sport. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "La Real Sociedad gana en el último minuto" [Real Sociedad wins in the last minute] (in Spanish). Sport. 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Trofeo Bodas de Oro de la Federación Guipuzcoana: Empatan el Alavés y la Real Sociedad" [Trophy of the Gipuzkoa Federation's Golden Anniversary : Alavés and Real Sociedad tie]. ABC (in Spanish). 1 September 1968. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.