Luís Gamito

Luís Gamito Iturralde, better known by his nickname Pasabalón (17 December 1893 – 29 October 1966), was a Spanish football manager who served as the technical director of the youth teams of Espanyol and Penya Saprissa for 35 years, from 1923 until 1958.

Early life Born on 17 December 1893 in the Navarran town of Pamplona, Gamito grew up as a fan of the Pamplona SC, which went on to merge with New Club to form CA Osasuna on 24 October 1920.

Career After a short stint at Argentina, he settled in Barcelona in 1923, where he quickly became a fan of Espanyol, so much so that he proposed to them the idea of creating a youth football team, which was approved. He was hired by Genaro de la Riva, the then president of Espanyol, to restructure and coordinate the club's youth system. He proceeded to close down the club's second, third, and fourth teams, replacing them with three children's teams, which he called Pasabalón, Los chavales, and Iruña. During this period, he earned the nickname Pasabalón ("pass the ball") because it was his most frequent instruction to the players.