Ricardo Zamora

Espanyol

Born in Barcelona, Spain, Zamora began his career as a junior with Universitari SC before signing for Espanyol in 1916, at the age of fifteen, after playing a series of friendly matches with the club. He made his debut for the club on 23 April 1916 against Madrid FC (now Real Madrid CF), keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw. He then helped Espanyol win the Campionat de Catalunya in 1918. Zamora never had the support of his parents to play football because they wanted him to focus on studying medicine like his father, but his teammates such as Pakán encouraged him to keep playing. But even so, in 1919, he decided to resume his studies, at the will of his family, so he abandoned the ranks of Espanyol. However, he resumed the activity shortly after due to a large offer from local rivals FC Barcelona, which he accepted despite his family's opposition and an argument with Espanyol's board.

After three successful seasons at Barça he returned to Espanyol in 1922. On 2 February 1929, he made his La Liga debut with Espanyol during the competition's inaugural season. In the same year, under the management of Jack Greenwell and together with Ricardo Saprissa, he helped the club win both the Campionat de Catalunya and their first ever Copa del Rey in 1929, after beating the likes of Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals, the soon-to-be La Liga champions Barcelona in the semi-finals and Real Madrid 2–1 in the final. After playing 26 La Liga games for Espanyol, he…

Spain

In 1920 together with Josep Samitier, Félix Sesúmaga, Pichichi and José María Belauste, Zamora was a member of the first ever Spain national team. The squad, coached by Francisco Bru, won the silver medal at the 1920 Olympic Games. Zamora subsequently made 46 official appearances for Spain, including in the infamous game against England on 15 May 1929, in which England took a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes following mistakes from him, who had injured his sternum early on, but despite that he carried on playing and Spain won the game 4–3, becoming the first team from outside the British Isles to defeat England. Zamora also represented Spain at the 1934 World Cup. Zamora was also Spain's most capped player for 45 years until being surpassed by José Ángel Iribar.

Catalan XI

Zamora also played at least 13 games for the Catalan XI. However, records from the era do not always include accurate statistics and he may have played more. Together with Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarba and Josep Samitier, he helped the Catalan XI win two tournaments of the Prince of Asturias Cup, an official inter-regional competition organized by the RFEF, winning in 1923-24 and 1926.

In 1939 Zamora was appointed coach of Atlético Madrid, then known as Athletic Aviación and later to become Atlético Aviación, following a merger with Aviación Nacional, a Spanish Air Force team. With Zamora as manager, the club won their first La Liga in 1940 and then retained the title in 1941. In 1946 he moved to Celta de Vigo and during the 1947–48, he led a Celta team that included Pahiño and Miguel Muñoz to fourth in La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo final. In June 1952 he coached Spain for two games. In 1953 was hired as coach by La Salle F.C. of Caracas (Venezuela). He later returned to Celta de Vigo and then had two spells as coach at Espanyol.

Zamora died on 8 September 1978 in Barcelona. His son, Ricardo Zamora de Grassa, was also a footballer.