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Castor Elzo

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Castor Elzo
Personal information
Full name Castor Elzo Medina
Date of birth (1917-11-07)7 November 1917
Place of birth Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
Date of death 14 September 1989(1989-09-14) (aged 71)
Place of death Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1933 Canalejas FC
1933–1934 Gimnástico FC
1934–1936 Marino FC
1939–1940 Marino FC
1940–1941 Real Zaragoza
1941–1943 Castellón 34 (11)
1943–1944 Valencia 6 (2)
1944–1946 Real Madrid 11 (2)
1946–1948 Deportivo de La Coruña
1948–1950 Málaga
1950–1952 Las Palmas
1952–1953 União Funchal de Madeira
1953–1954 Aviación de Las Palmas
Total 76 (21)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Castor Elzo Medina (7 November 1917 – 14 September 1989) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder in the Spanish first division with seven different clubs in the 1940s, including Valencia and Real Madrid,[1][2][3][4] thus setting a record that he held for 47 years, until Miquel Soler equalled it.[3][5]

Playing career

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First steps

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Born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, on 7 November 1917, Elzo began playing football in the Valencia-based clubs Canalejas FC, Gimnástico FC, and Marino FC, joining the latter in 1934, aged 17.[5]

After the Spanish Civil War, he played with Marino in the 1939–40 season,[5][6] where he started playing as a left midfielder and ended up playing further back.[6] Midway through that season, he signed for Real Zaragoza, with whom he won the Spanish Amateur Championship in 1941.[5][6] He made his senior debut in a league fixture against Sevilla on 19 January 1940, aged 23, which ended in a 3–0 loss.[3] After the Aragonese team was relegated to the Segunda División, he signed for Castellón, then in the top division, where he played 34 games and scored 11 goals throughout two seasons.[3]

Valencia and Madrid

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His good record caught the attention of the Valencia coaches, who decided to sign him in 1943 as a reinforcement for the midfield, and in his first (and only) season at the club, Valencia won the 1943–44 La Liga.[3][6] However, Elzo played a minor role in this triumph, playing only 6 games and scoring twice, both in 3–0 victories, the first over Granada and the other against his future club Deportivo de la Coruña.[3] He was one of the so-called calderones, the name given to the reinforcement troops that season who only played when they were required.[3]

Elzo did not adapt to the Valencian team's game, mainly due to his habit of playing with his back to the goal, and thus, at the end of the season, he signed a contract with Real Madrid for 125,000 pesetas.[3] In his two years at Madrid, he only scored two goals in 11 official matches, all of which in the league,[4] thus not being a member of the Madrid squad that won the 1946 Copa del Generalísimo, after beating his former club Valencia 3–1 in the final.[3]

Later career

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In 1946, Elzo was brought to Deportivo de La Coruña by the hand of Hilario Marrero, a high-profile signing that could not prevent Deportivo from being relegated.[6] In 1948, after two seasons in Galicia, he signed for Málaga, helping his side achieve promotion to La Liga in 1949.[6] In 1950, he finally returned to his homeland to play for UD Las Palmas, helping his side achieve promotion to La Liga in 1951,[6] but he left the club in 1952 after it was relegated to the Second Division.[3] Before retiring, he played one season for both União Funchal de Madeira (1952–53) and Aviación de Las Palmas (1953–54).[5] In total, he scored 21 goals in 76 La Liga matches.[2]

When he joined Las Palmas in 1950, Elzo became the first footballer to play for both Real Madrid and Las Palmas, narrowly beating the likes of Juan Rodriguez Gallardo and Jean Luciano, who joined Las Palmas in 1951, after having already played in Madrid.[7] Furthermore, he also held the record of having played in the First Division with seven different teams for 47 years, until Miguel Soler equaled it.[3][5][6] It has since been equaled by some other players, and finally broken by Carlos Aranda, who played for 8 top division clubs.[8][9]

Death

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Elzo died in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, on 14 September 1989, at the age of 71.[3]

Honours

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Real Zaragoza
Valencia FC

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Elzo, Castor Elzo Medina - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Elzo". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Ficha de jugador: Castor Elzo" [Player profile: Castor Elzo]. www.ciberche.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Cástor "Paco" ELZO Medina". www.elaguanis.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Elzo". amigosmalaguistas-temporadas.es.tl (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cástor Elzo Medina" (PDF). www.historiadelfutbolcanario.com (in Spanish). p. 2. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Jugadores que han militado en Las Palmas y Real Madrid" [Players who have played for Las Palmas and Real Madrid]. as.com (in Spanish). 29 August 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  8. ^ "Los futbolistas que han jugado en más equipos en LaLiga EA Sports" [The footballers who have played for the most teams in LaLiga EA Sports]. as.com (in Spanish). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Los tres jugadores que han jugado en más equipos de la Liga" [The three players who have played for the most teams in La Liga]. www.eldesmarque.com (in Spanish). 9 February 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
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