Jesús Cacho
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 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Jesús Cacho y Soriano | ||
| Date of birth | 7 November 1894 | ||
| Place of birth | Iloilo City, Captaincy General of the Philippines | ||
| Date of death | 5 May 1967 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Manila, Philippines | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ateneo de Manila | |||
| Colegio de San Juan de Letran | |||
| University of Santo Tomas | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1912-1919 | Bohemian | ||
| International career | |||
| 1913–1919 | Philippines | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jesús Cacho y Soriano (7 November 1894 – 5 May 1967) was a Filipino international football player who played for Bohemian SC and represented the Philippine Islands football team in the Far Eastern Championship Games. Besides his football career, he was a successful businessman and philatelist.
Jesús Cacho was born in Iloilo on 7 November 1894 to Francisco Tejedor Cacho, a pharmacist from Tiedra, Spain, and Candelaria Ditching Soriano, owner of the Panay Electric Company from 1927.[1] Cacho later moved to Manila, where he studied at the Ateneo de Manila and San Juan de Letran College before transferring to the University of Santo Tomas, where he obtained his B.S.C. and LL.B. degrees.[2][3]
Club career
Bohemian Sporting Club
Jesús Cacho was one of the early players of Bohemian Sporting Club. He joined shortly after the club was founded and at the beginning of the first National Football Championship in 1911. He achieved recognition as a Philippine champion in 1912 and earned a call-up to participate in the Far Eastern Games, held in Manila the following year.[3][4] After winning the tournament, he, alongside his Bohemian teammates, faced South China AA for the "Campeonato del Carnaval" and added another continental success to their tally.[5] Cacho also won his second National Title that year, winning a total of three trophies. In 1914, the team was unable to achieve another gold, with the Manila Nomads stripping Bohemian of their title. In the following years, he contributed to the Bohemian team's run of four consecutive Philippine Championships from 1915 to 1918.[4]
International career
1913 Far Eastern Championship Games
Cacho, along with many of his Bohemian teammates, was called up to represent the Philippine Islands football team in the first edition of the Far Eastern Games in 1913 held in Manila. The match was against China and ended in favor of the home side with a 2–1 score, securing Cacho's first and only gold medal. During half-time, he and his teammates were accused by the Chinese of not being "natives" of the Philippines and caused the birth of a rivalry between the two teams.[5]
1915 and 1919 Far Eastern Championship Games
He represented the country for two more tournaments in the 1915 Shanghai edition and in the 1919 Manila edition, while he did not make it to the 1917 edition. In Shanghai, the Filipinos faced the host team three times. The Islanders were defeated by one goal in the first match, which proved decisive, as the other two games ended in 0–0 and 1–1 draws. This resulted in a silver medal for Cacho and his team.[6]
Cacho made his final appearances for the national team in three tough matches against China, again held in Manila. The first game saw the Filipinos dominate the first half but in the second the game took another turn. China scored two goals to win the game, capitalizing on a mistake by Cacho, who missed the ball while attempting a clearance, and a subsequent error by his Bohemian teammate, goalkeeper German Montserrat. The Filipinos won the second game 2–1, forcing a third match to decide the gold medal. Despite a bright start by Cacho and his teammates, who led at half-time, the Chinese turned the score around, leaving the Philippines with a silver medal.[7]