Julián Cuenca

Born in Madrid, Cuenca began playing football at his hometown club first in Mediodía and later in Imperio CF in 1943, which at the time served as a subsidiary of Atlético Madrid, who signed him in 1944, and he turned out to be one of the revelations of the colchonero team in that season. He spent the rest of his entire career in the Spanish First Division, playing with Atlético for six years until 1950 and then with Deportivo de La Coruña for seven years until 1957. At Atlético, he won the league title in 1949–50, and also the 1941–47 FEF President Cup, the longest tournament in the history of Spanish football, playing in the decisive match against Valencia CF in 1947, which had been on standby since 1941, featuring in defense alongside Aparicio and keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win. For the colchonero side, he played 108 competitive matches, including 95 in the league, and scored 7 goals for the club, all of which were in the league; at Deportivo, he scored 11 goals in 135 competitive matches, which were all in the league, so in total, Cuenca scored 18 goals in 230 league matches. On 29 May 1955, Cuenca received a tribute at the Estadio Riazor with a friendly match between Brazilian club Vasco da Gama and Deportivo, which was reinforced by the likes of Alfredo Di Stéfano, as well as the Celtics Pablo Olmedo and Carlos Torres, although Deportivo still lost 1–6.

Cuenca was seen as a good ball handler, with measured passes into space, being very difficult to intercept. He was also noted to be very respectful on and off the field.

Atlético Madrid

FEF President Cup: 1941–47 La Liga: 1949–50