Julián Ruete

Julián Ruete Muniesa (29 January 1887 – 15 March 1939) was a player, referee, coach and football manager in Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. He was also a director of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

Some of his main achievements was getting the funds for the construction of a new ground for Athletic Madrid (now known as Atlético Madrid), the Campo de O'Donnell in 1913.

Playing career He was born at the beginning of 1887 in Madrid, a city in which he would develop an extensive career linked to football. Between 1904 and 1910 he was a player, member and secretary of the Board of Directors of the Madrid Football Club (now known as Real Madrid). His position was midfielder, but took no part in any of the club's four consecutive Copa del Rey final wins between 1905 and 1908, instead serving as captain of the reserve team. In 1910, he played for Athletic de Madrid. He also played for Athletic Bilbao, featuring in one Copa del Rey match in 1909 and another in 1911.

Club presidency In 1912, he was elected President of Athletic de Madrid for the first time, a position he held initially until 1919. During his tenure he oversaw the move to a new ground, the Campo de O'Donnell in 1913.

Refereeing career In addition to his relationship with Atlético Madrid, Ruete went much further in his relationship with the world of football. He was a football referee, being among the 5 men who established the College of Referees of the Central Regional Federation on 15 April 1914, which was the first College of Referees in Spain. Together with the likes of Manuel Prast and José Manuel Kindelán, Ruete was a member of the College's first constitution, serving as its first Secretary. However, he resigned from the position just a few weeks later, on 19 May, to become one of the first category referees.

As a referee, he oversaw the first game of the Prince of Asturias Cup, an official inter-regional football competition contested by the regional selections of Spain. The game was held at the Campo de O'Donnell on 10 May 1915, between the teams of Centro (a Castile/Madrid XI) and Catalonia, ending in a 2-1 win to the Catalans. He also refereed the final of the 1917 Prince of Asturias Cup between Madrid and Catalonia, this time ending in a controversial win to Madrid, because in the 70th minute, with the score already at 2-0, the Catalan side had a goal disallowed in the 70th minute for having scored directly from a corner kick, a circumstance not allowed at the time, and this event led Ruete to send off a visiting player due to the protests, to which the Catalan team left the match in protest.

Coaching career He also worked as a coach, training Atlético and Nacional and acting as technical secretary of Club Deportivo Castellón.

Between 1921 and 1922 he was the manager of the Spain national football team, leading the nation in four games that ended with victory.

Death He died in Barcelona in March 1939.