Amancio Amaro Varela, commonly known simply as Amancio, was born on 16 October 1939 in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. He is a former Galician football player. He played for Deportivo de La Coruña, Real Madrid and also for the Spanish national team.
Amancio Amaro began his career at the age of 15 on a team in his city of birth, Victoria, and in the 1958-59 season joined the Deportivo de La Coruña , which at that time was a member of the Spanish second division. When Deportivo was promoted to first division, Amancio started to call the attention of the scouts for major teams, such as Real Madrid.
The signing of Amancio by Real Madrid almost did not happen; if it had not been for Santiago Bernabéu Yeste’s insistence in signing the player, his astronomical signing-fee would have spoiled the negotiations.
During the 1963-64 season, Amancio and Real Madrid reached the final of the European Cup, only to be beaten by Inter Milan by 3-1. The following season brought more heartache, with Benfica eliminating the youthful Madrid side in the quarterfinals.
The ensuing season brought success for Madrid, as Miguel Muñoz added young players such as Pirri, Velázquez, Sanchís and Grosso. This was known as the “Ye-Ye team. Strong at the back, and devastating going forward, Madrid fought their way to another final, this time against FK Partizan. The venue was Heysel Stadium in Brussels, and on the 11th May 1966, Amancio stepped out on to the pitch for his second and last European Cup final. FK Partizan’s Vasovic scored the first goal of the match. Amancio drew level twenty minutes from the end, after collecting a signature pass, faking out a defender and skillfully booting the ball past the Yugoslav keeper. Five minutes later, a thunderous shot by teammate Serena from 30 metres out settled the game.
It was Amancio’s first and only European Cup winner’s medal. In his first 6 seasons in Madrid, he won a breathtaking 6 La Liga titles. He would then go on to win another 3, giving him 9 titles in total. He even took the title of Pichichi on back to back occasions, 1969 and 1970.
As a Real Madrid player, Amancio’s reputation reached such international fame, that he had the honour of being called for a world team, promoted by FIFA.
Amancio retired in 1976 and joined the technical staff of Real Madrid.
Full name: Amancio Amaro Varela
Date of birth: October 16, 1939
Place of birth: A Coruña, Spain
Height: 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position: Forward
Former Clubs
1954-1958: Victoria
1958-1962: Deportivo La Coruña
1962-1976: Real Madrid