Pachuco Prats

Real Murcia

Born on 1 January 1902 in Portugalete, Biscay, Prats began his football career at Barakaldo, with whom he was crowned interregional champion in 1919, aged 17, and with whom he played for seven years. In 1926, he was signed by Real Murcia, who had been monitoring Catalan and Basque players from second-tier teams, as they were very competitive footballers and their salaries were affordable for the club. He made his debut for Murcia in a friendly match against Levante on 30 June 1926, in which he delivered a performance that convinced Murcia to begin the formalization process of his signing. Prats quickly established himself as the club's best player, with the chroniclers highlighting his performance in every Murcia game. On 27 March 1927, in a Copa del Rey group stage match against FC Barcelona, he accomplished his task of marking the great Josep Samitier, who was so impressed by his tenacity and relentless pursuit of the ball that he told the national coaches about him, and thus, two weeks later, he was called up for the Spanish national team for the first time. In doing so, he became the first-ever footballer belonging to a club from the Region of Murcia to play for the Spanish national team, with his selection surprisinging many because, at the time, the national coaches would not take into account the players from teams in the south-east of the peninsula, with Spain being usually made up of players from Catalan and Basque clubs, and to a lower degree,…

On 17 April 1927, at the end of his first season with Murcia, the 25-year-old Prats made his international debut for Spain, a friendly against Switzerland in Santander, starting alongside four other debutants, including his former Barakaldo teammate Lafuente; Spain won 1–0. The following day, the Catalan press stated that "Prats was undoubtedly the best player in the midfield", with several other notable personality agreeing with this statement, such as the national coaches Manuel de Castro, Ricardo Cabot, and even the secretary of the National Committee of Referees Luis Colina. In the following month, in May, Prats made his second and third appearance for Spain, both friendlies, against France and Italy, and on both matches he once again praised by the press, with Mundo Deportivo stating that he was "the best player on the team, the most consistent, with great determination and effectiveness". During his time in Madrid, Prats played a further six matches for Spain, including in the famous match against England on 15 May 1929 at the Estadio Metropolitano, where he was one of the five Madrid players who helped Spain achieve a 4–3 victory, thus becoming the first team from Continental Europe to defeat the English. He earned his last international caps for Spain on 30 November 1930, in a friendly Iberian derby against Portugal, helping his side to a 1–0 win.

When the Civil War ended in 1939, Prats was appointed as coach of the second division side Stadium Club Avilesino, a position he held for two years, until 1941. In his second season at the club, Avilés faced Racing de Santander for the first time, winning 1–0, but Prats was replaced midway through the season by Hilario Fernández. During the 1940s, he took charge over several Catalan clubs, such as Indauchu (1943–44), Constància (1944–45), and Barakaldo (1945–47). He was hired by Indauchu at the behalf of its president Luis María Uribe, who had coincided with him at Madrid in the 1928–29 season. He also coached Lucense in 1948–49, and San Fernando.

Whilst in the capital, Prats opened a bar in Barakaldo in 1931, which he began to run four years later. On 16 May 1969, his former clubs Barakaldo and Madrid faced each other for the so-called "Pachuco Prats Trophy", and after the match, he received a cup from the then Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu.