Paco Bienzobas

Paco Bienzobas

Personal information
Full name	Francisco Bienzobas Ocáriz
Date of birth	(1909-03-26)26 March 1909
Place of birth	San Sebastián, Spain
Date of death
Place of death	San Sebastián, Spain
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1921–1926	Unión San Sebastián
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1926–1934	Real Sociedad	65	(39)
1934–1940	Osasuna	22	(10)
1940–1942	Real Sociedad	5	(1)
Total		92	(50)
International career
1928–1929	Spain	2	(2)
Managerial career
1936–1937	Osasuna
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Bienzobas and the second or maternal family name is Ocáriz.

Francisco 'Paco' Bienzobas Ocáriz (26 March 1909 – 30 April 1981) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.

Having spent most of his 16-year career with Real Sociedad – 196 official games and 109 goals– he was the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy award, given to the top scorer in La Liga.

Club career

Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Bienzobas arrived at local Real Sociedad at the age of 17, from amateurs Unión Deportiva de San Sebastián, helping the Basques win the regional championship in his first year. He reached his first Copa del Rey final with the club in 1928, facing FC Barcelona in three games (1928 Copa del Rey|two 1–1 draws and a 1–3 loss]]).

In 1929 a national league was created, and Real Sociedad participated in La Liga's first edition, finishing fourth out of the ten teams competing. Bienzobas scored 14 goals during the season, being the first player to be crowned Pichichi; he spent a further four years with the club, netting 39 goals in 65 league matches.

In 1934 Bienzobas joined CA Osasuna, at the time in Segunda División, helping the Navarrese immediately achieve promotion but being immediately relegated back. The Spanish Civil War put a stop to his career for several years and, subsequently, he returned to Real Sociedad, retiring from football at the end of 1941–42 (aged 33) after making only five appearances during the campaign, and amassing Spanish top division totals of 92 games and 50 goals.

International career

Bienzobas appeared for Spain on two occasions, scoring as many goals. His debut came on 4 June 1928, as the national team lost 1–7 against Italy in the Summer Olympics.

Coaching / Refereeing career

After his retirement, Bienzobas worked briefly as a manager with Osasuna. In 1942 he begun a referee spell that would eventually feature him in 48 Spanish top flight games, his debut coming in 1948.

External links

• Paco Bienzobas profile at BDFutbol
• National team data (Spanish)
• Paco Bienzobas at National-Football-Teams.com
• Spain stats at Eu-Football
• Olympic stats at SportsReference