Pruden

Prudencio Sánchez Fernández, commonly known as Pruden (1 September 1916 – 25 February 1998) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Atlético Madrid (then known as Atlético Aviación) and Real Madrid. He was La Liga's top scorer in 1940–41 with Atlético, in which he was the architect of the entity's second league title that same year. At Real Madrid, he played a pivotal role in helping the club win two consecutive Copa del Reys as he scored important goals in both finals.

Playing career Early years Prudencio Sánchez was born on 1 September 1916 in the town of Babilafuente, in the province of Salamanca. His career started in his hometown club Salamanca, in the club's first-ever season in 1934–35, aged 18. In the following season, Pruden helped the club achieve promotion to Segunda División, the second tier in Spain, before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. When the conflict ended in 1939, he stayed at Salamanca for one more season until he received a proposal from Atlético Aviación in 1940. Pruden did not play in the first leg, which ended in a 3–3 draw, but he then made his debut in the second leg, scoring a hat-trick to help Atlético Aviación to a 7–1 victory (10–4 on aggregate). It was at Atlético Aviación, under coach Ricardo Zamora, that Pruden began to stand out as a great goal scorer, a tally never reached by any other footballer at the time as he broke Isidro Lángara's previous record by two goals. He was thus a crucial player in helping the club win the 1940–41 La Liga title (the club's second). During that season, Pruden scored goals in eight consecutive league matches (a total of 14 goals) establishing a club record that was not equaled until 2009 by Diego Forlán.

After his goalscoring success, Pruden, who was an amateur, wanted a professional record, and thus he asked the rojiblanca board for a professional file, but Atlético was reluctant as he had not yet fully recovered from a fibula fracture that he had suffered. The talks did not come to fruition and financial disagreements made him decide to return to his hometown, Salamanca, and signed with his youth club UD Salamanca, then in the Second Division, in exchange for 50,000 pesetas.

During his stint in the capital, he failed to win the league title, although he did win two consecutive Copa del Reys, in 1946 and 1947, and scored in both finals, with a brace in a 3–1 win over Valencia, and a last-minute goal to seal a 2–0 extra-time win over Espanyol. His last season at the capital in 1947–48 was also his worst one, because after scoring a goal on the first matchday against Alcoyano, Pruden then went 25 games in a row without doing so. He combined it for a few years with the position of delegate and later worked as a company doctor until his retirement.

In 1958, the president of UD Salamanca and his former teammate Dámaso Sánchez de Vega gave him the club's highest distinction in tribute to all the years he wore the Salamanca shirt.

Death Pruden died on 25 February 1998, at the age of 81.

Honours Atlético Aviación La Liga: Winners (1): 1940–41. Spanish Super Cup Winners (1): 1940.

Real Madrid Copa del Rey: Winners (2): 1946 and 1947 Copa Eva Duarte: Winners (1): 1947.