Alfonso Aparicio

Alfonso Aparicio Gutiérrez de la Fuente (14 August 1919 – 1 February 1999) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Atlético Madrid. With them, he won four La Liga titles in 1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, and 1950–51, thus being the player in the club's history who has won the most league titles. He was called up 8 times for Spain between 1945 and 1949.

After retiring, he became a manager and, for a long time, field delegate of Atlético Madrid.

His passion for the sport was such that at Unión Juventud de Santander, he even paid to play, but his sint there was cut short by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, with the then 17-year-old Aparicio enlisting as a volunteer in Aviation Corps.

Club career Club Aviación Nacional Two years later, in the middle of the war, Aparicio was transferred to Zaragoza, where he met Ensign Francisco Salamanca, who was recruiting men for the project of forming a football team for the soldiers to entertain themselves on their days off: the Club Aviación Nacional. In this way he became a First Division footballer when the championships resumed. He later formed a defensive trio with José Luis Riera and Alfonso Silva, which went down in history both at Atlético and in Spanish football as the so-called "Iron Curtain". The trophy was presented by Armando Muñoz Calero, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who handed the cup to Aparicio, Atlético's team captain. In 1942, due to a rebellion with his club over financial disagreements, Aparicio was on the verge of joining Rayo Cantabria, a mountain team where his brothers Manuel, José, and Ángel played, the latter as a goalkeeper. With four league titles, he is the player with the most leagues in the history of Atlético de Madrid. He subsequently returned to Atlético to occupy the honorable position of Field Delegate until his retirement, which materialized in the mid-1980s.

Future footballers like Miguel González, Paco Gento, and even a young Vicente Calderón had him as their first idol. The sticker of Alfonso Aparicio became the most sought-after stickers of Atlético Madrid by children in the post-war period.

Honours Club Aviación Nacional La Liga: 1939–40, 1940–41 Copa de los Campeones de España: 1940

Atlético Madrid La Liga: 1949–50, 1950–51 Copa Eva Duarte: 1951