Rafael Garza
Mexican footballer and coach (1896-1974)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rafael Garza Gutiérrez (13 December 1896 – 3 July 1974), nicknamed "Récord", was a Mexican football coach and former professional defender. Garza was among the founders of Club América and captained Mexico at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay.[1] He and his younger brother Francisco were one of the first brother pairs to play together at a World Cup.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rafael Garza Gutiérrez | ||
| Date of birth | December 13, 1896 | ||
| Place of birth | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Date of death | July 3, 1974 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1916–1932 | América | ||
| International career | |||
| 1923–1930 | Mexico | 11 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1917–1919 | América (player-manager) | ||
| 1920–1926 | América (player-manager) | ||
| 1929–1931 | América (player-manager) | ||
| 1933–1935 | América | ||
| 1934 | Mexico | ||
| 1935–1936 | América | ||
| 1937–1938 | Mexico | ||
| 1937–1942 | América | ||
| 1946–1949 | América | ||
| 1949 | Mexico | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
International career
Garza's early success brought him to the attention of those that championed the idea of a national team to represent Mexico in international competition. This team would be governed by Mexican Football Federation (Spanish: Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación; FEMEXFUT), when it was created in 1927. Garza was elected to be the team's first head coach, although he had been informally coaching what was then the team since 1923. He continued at his post until 1928. He played at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics[3][4] and the 1930 World Cup. After his retirement, he continued to coach Mexico in three separate tenures (1934–35, 1937 and 1949).[citation needed]
Honours
Player
América
Primera División: 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28
Copa Challenger: 1927
Manager
América
International
NAFC Championship: 1949