Ricardo Teruel García

Ricardo Teruel García (25 February 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Espanyol in the 1940s. He was considered the best Spanish right-back after the Spanish Civil War, playing four matches for Spain in 1941–42, and a few more for the Catalan national team between 1941 and 1950.

Club career Early career Born on 25 February 1917 in the Asturias town of Gijón, Teruel was two months old when his father's work, a small textile business, forced the family to move to Catalonia, where he began his career at Peña Rosés, from which he joined Peña Guardiola, where he quickly stood out from his teammates due to his prodigious abilities, which soon caught the attention of Pasabalón, the head of Peña Saprissa, Espanyol's youth academy, where he played for a few years.

Espanyol Teruel then joined the club's amateur team, with whom he won the Catalan Amateur Championship, after which he was called up for the first team, making his debut in a Catalan regional championship match against Badalona in October 1935. He stayed at Espanyol for 15 years, from 1935 until 1940 (except for the 1947–48 season, which he was loaned to Mallorca), scoring a total of 7 goals in 195 official matches, including 5 goals in 133 La Liga matches. with whom he played for two seasons, until 1952, when he went to Sant Andreu, where he retired in 1953, aged 36.

International career On 28 December 1941, the 24-year-old Teruel made his international debut for Spain in a friendly match against Switzerland at the Mestalla Stadium, helping his side to a 3–2 victory. In total, he earned four international caps for Spain, which ended in two wins, one draw, and one loss.

As an Espanyol player, Teruel was eligible to play for Catalonia, which he did for 9 years, between 1941 and 1950, including some charity matches.

Later life and death After retiring, Teruel worked as a taxi driver and company chauffeur in Barcelona, where he died on 3 November 1975, at the age of 58.

Honours RCD Espanyol Copa del Rey: Champions (1): 1940 Campionat de Catalunya: Champions (2): 1936–37 and 1939–40