Venancio Pérez García

Venancio Pérez García (22 April 1921 – 28 November 1994), known simply as Venancio, was a Spanish footballer who played mainly as a forward.

Early life From a poor family in Sestao, Biscay, Venancio started working at a young age in the Altos Hornos de Vizcaya factory. Tall and powerfully built, he played pelota mano (an offshoot of Basque pelota) in his youth, and only became a full-time professional footballer at the age of 24.

Club career Venancio started playing the sport as a hobby, whilst he was performing his military service in Vitoria-Gasteiz. he signed with Athletic Bilbao in early 1945 for 25.000 pesetas, but featured sparingly in his first seasons, being loaned to Barakaldo CF from Segunda División.

International career Venancio earned 11 caps for Spain in five years. His debut came on 12 June 1949, in a 4–1 friendly win over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

On 6 January 1954, Venancio scored the last of his four goals for the country to help to a 4–1 defeat of Turkey for the 1954 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but the opposition would eventually reach the finals in Switzerland after a drawing of lots.

Post-retirement and death After retiring, Venancio settled in Bilbao and opened a metal shop. Married with two sons, he died in San Sebastián on 28 November 1994, at 73.

Honours Athletic Bilbao Copa del Generalísimo: 1944–45, 1949–50, 1955 Copa Eva Duarte: 1950