Antón Achalandabaso

Antón Achalandabaso Zabala (4 April 1898 – 1 October 1939), better known as Antón, was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Athletic Bilbao in the early 1920s. He is best known for being the first-ever player-coach in the history of Real Valladolid, which he captained and coached in the early 1930s.

Biography Born in the Biscayan town of Erandio on 4 April 1898, Achalandabaso began his career playing as a defender at his hometown club Athletic Bilbao, making his debut on 20 February 1921, aged 23. In total, he played seven official matches for Bilbao between 1921 and 1923, all in the Biscay Championship, thus being a member of the Bilbao squad that won the championships 1920–21 and 1922–23. During these three years, he also captained Valladolid on the field, thus becoming the club's first-ever player-coach.

Death Achalandabaso died on 1 October 1939, at the age of 41.

Honours Athletic Bilbao North Regional Championship: Champions (2): 1920–21 and 1922–23