Telmo Zarra

1939/40 SD Erandio Club (SPA) 20 games, 12 goals

1940/55 Athletic Bilbao (SPA) 353 games, 335 goals

(Spanish Championship: 277 games, 251 goals)

(Spanish Cup: 74 games, 81 goals)

(Copa Eva Duarte: 2 games, 3 goals)

1955/56 SD Indautxu (SPA) 27 games, 17 goals

1956/57 Barakaldo CF (SPA) 12 games, 2 goals

With the National Team :

20 caps, 20 goals

(Friendly matches: 12 caps, 13 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 2 caps, 3 goals)

(World Cup: 6 caps, 4 goals)

1st cap: March 11, 1945 against Portugal (2-2)

Last cap: June 17, 1951 against Sweden (0-0)

Telmo Zarraonaindia Montoya

Born on January 20, 1921 in Erandio (ESP)

Died on February 23, 2006 in Bilbao (ESP)

Spanish, Striker, 1m80

Nickname: Zarra, "Telmito the fearful"

Telmo Zarra was born on January 20, 1921 in Erandio, Spain, he signed his first professional contract in 1939 with the club located in the Spanish second division, Erandio SD. With his great performances in the club, he joined a provincial team to play a match, during this match he scored 7 goals and was spotted by Athletic Bilbao.

Becoming one of the world's top scorers of his period, the player also became the top scorer in the history of La Liga, a record he would hold for almost 60 years before being surpassed by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, no less. In total, he scored 251 goals in La Liga in 277 matches.

Winning the title of top scorer in the Spanish league 6 times, in 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951 and 1953, he established himself as one of the best Spanish players in history.

In the 1950/51 season, he scored 38 goals in La Liga, another record that would stand for almost 40 years before Hugo Sánchez equaled it and Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed it in 2011 with his 40 goals.

Telmo Zarra is also one of the greatest players in the history of the Spanish Cup, in 76 games in the competition, he scored 81 goals, he scored in 5 finals and he won the competition 5 times.

The one who considered himself a big coward, even on the field, was nevertheless a formidable finisher, endowed with physical power and an extraordinary sense of goal. With Athletic Bilbao, he will have offered one of the most beautiful pages in the history of his club.

His career with Spain is also legendary, the player will play a total of 20 matches for his country, scoring 20 goals between 1945 and 1951. He participated in the 1950 World Cup and reached a historic 4th place for his country, during the competition, he scored 4 goals in 6 games played.

After the World Cup, he will achieve one of his best performances with Spain, a quadruple against Switzerland in a friendly match, in 1951. In 1955, he left Bilbao to continue playing for two seasons in the second division for free. He finally retired in 1957, at the age of 36.

- Top scorer in the Spanish Championship in 1945 (20 goals), 1946 (24 goals), 1947 (33 goals), 1950 (24 goals), 1951 (38 goals) and 1953 (24 goals) (Athletic Bilbao)

- Received the Golden Pichichi in 2003

- Top scorer in the history of the Spanish Cup (81 goals)

- Top scorer in the history of Athletic Bilbao (333 goals)

- Received the Gold Medal for Sporting Merit by the Royal Spanish Order

- Received the Golden Badge of the Malaga Club

- Received the Silver Censer of the Deportivo La Coruña Club

- Received the Lan Onari distinction, awarded by the Basque Government, in recognition of his playing career

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