Pachuco Prats

Gaudencio Manuel Prats Guerendiaín, better known as Pachuco Prats (1 January 1902 – 22 September 1976), was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Real Murcia and Real Madrid between 1927 and 1932. He also played nine matches for the Spain between 1927 and 1930.

He later worked as a manager, taking charge of several Catalan teams in the 1940s.

Club career Real Murcia Born on 1 January 1902 in Portugalete, Biscay, Prats began his football career at Barakaldo, with whom he was crowned interregional champion in 1919, aged 17, and with whom he played for seven years. In 1926, he was signed by Real Murcia, who had been monitoring Catalan and Basque players from second-tier teams, as they were very competitive footballers and their salaries were affordable for the club. He made his debut for Murcia in a friendly match against Levante on 30 June 1926, in which he delivered a performance that convinced Murcia to begin the formalization process of his signing. who was so impressed by his tenacity and relentless pursuit of the ball that he told the national coaches about him, and thus, two weeks later, he was called up for the Spanish national team for the first time. most notably against the Argentine national team on 9 July, in which he successfully nullified Raimundo Orsi, who went on to score in the 1934 FIFA World Cup final, in an eventual goalless draw. The following season, on 10 February, he was one of the eleven footballers who played in Real's first-ever match in the Spanish top division, helping his side to a 5–0 win over CE Europa. In the following matchday, he started in La Liga's first-ever El Clásico, helping his side to a 2–1 win over Barça.

Together with the likes of Félix Quesada, José María Peña, Jaime Lazcano, and Gaspar Rubio, he was a member of the Madrid squad that reached back-to-back finals in the Copa del Rey in 1929 and 1930, both of which ending in losses to RCD Espanyol (2–1) and Athletic Bilbao (3–2). In the 1931–32 season, Prats played 14 league matches as Madrid won its first-ever La Liga title, finishing the league unbeaten. The following season, Madrid won the league again, but this time, Prats did not play a single league match. including 1 goal in 50 La Liga matches, 30 cup matches, and 37 in the regional championship.

During his time in Madrid, Prats played a further six matches for Spain, including in the famous match against England on 15 May 1929 at the Estadio Metropolitano, where he was one of the five Madrid players who helped Spain achieve a 4–3 victory, thus becoming the first team from Continental Europe to defeat the English. He earned his last international caps for Spain on 30 November 1930, in a friendly Iberian derby against Portugal, helping his side to a 1–0 win. In his second season at the club, Avilés faced Racing de Santander for the first time, winning 1–0, but Prats was replaced midway through the season by Hilario Fernández. During the 1940s, he took charge over several Catalan clubs, such as Indauchu (1943–44), Constància (1944–45), and Barakaldo (1945–47). He was hired by Indauchu at the behalf of its president Luis María Uribe, who had coincided with him at Madrid in the 1928–29 season. He also coached Lucense in 1948–49, and San Fernando.

Later life Whilst in the capital, Prats opened a bar in Barakaldo in 1931, which he began to run four years later. On 16 May 1969, his former clubs Barakaldo and Madrid faced each other for the so-called "Pachuco Prats Trophy", and after the match, he received a cup from the then Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu.

Death Prats died on 22 September 1976, at the age of 74.

Honours Madrid FC La Liga: Champions (1): 1931–32 Copa del Rey Runner-up (2): 1929 and 1930 Campeonato Regional Centro: Champions (3): 1929–30, 1930–31, and 1931–32 Copa Federación Centro: Champions (1): 1927–28