Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla All-Time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

David Silva and Pedro

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

 
This is my selection of all-time 23 member team for the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.  

Both Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish enclaves sat on the northern shores of Morocco's Mediterranean coast. Together they form the European Union's only land borders with Africa.  The Canary Islands are closer to Africa than they are to Europe and so geographically they are part of the African continent.  I stopped short of calling this team "Spanish Northern Africa" or "Spanish Africa".  Plazas de soberanía is a term describing a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco or that are closer to Africa than Europe.  However, this is about football and none of these territories factored much in the football world.  

The two main football teams in the Canary Islands are CD Tenerife and UD Las Palmas.  They are two of the most geographically isolated European professional clubs.  Ceuta and Melilla do not have any significant football clubs.  They played mainly in the lower division.  

Team
GK: Antonio Betancort (Canary Islands)
Antonio Betancourt played as a goalkeeper for Las Palmas before moving to Real Madrid in 1961. With Real Madrid, he had two spells with a more lengthy spell between 1963 and 1971. In between, he played for Deportivo La Coruña. He was considered a member of the Ye-Ye team. He was also capped by the Spanish national team. He went to the 1966 World Cup Finals in England as a backup to José Ángel Iribar.  
Antonio Betancourt 
GK: Juan Antonio Pérez Sáez (Canary Islands)
Juan Antonio Perez was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.  He started with Tudelano, but he almost spent his entire career with local club UD Las Palmeas between 1974 and 1987.  He played mainly in the top division.  He spent two seasons with Club Deportivo Logroñés at the end of his career before retiring in 1989.  

GK Manuel López Santana "Manolo" (Canary Islands)
Simly known as "Manolo" or "Manolo Lopez", Manolo joined UD Las Palmeas when when he was only 16 years old.  He made his debut in 1981.  He spent a season with AgD Ceuta, where he set the record of 1,223 minutes without conceding a goal, previously held by Dino Zoff.  Then, he spent 5 seasons with Tenerife club, where he was at one point their captain.  He is currently the General Director of Sports for the Government of the Canary Islands .

RB: Manuel Pablo (Canary Islands)
Manuel Pablo came from the Canary Islands.  He started with his hometown club Las Palmas.  He moved to Deportivo La Coruna in 1998, where he almost spent his entire career and helped them to win their first ever la Liga title in 2000. He retired in 2016 at the age of 40 after over 450 games for them. He was capped 13 times for Spain between 2000 and 2004.

CB/RB: Foncho (Canary Islands)
Foncho began his career with Tenerife in the 1955-1956 season. After a brief stint at Real Murcia and Eldense, he joined FC Barcelona, ​​where he would play for seven years from 1960 to 1967.  His team reached the 1961 European Cup Final.  He did win the 1963 Generalissimo Cup and the 1965-66 Fairs Cup,  He joined Real Zaragoza in the 1967-1968 season.  With Spain, he earned 2 caps in 1961.

CB: Migueli (Ceuta)
Migueli was born in Ceuta.  He started his career with Cadiz in 1970. In 1973, he joined FC Barcelona, winning the 1979 and 1982 Cup Winners Cup.  He spent 20 seasons over there. Known for his physical power, he was nicknamed Tarzan.  He had 32 caps for Spain between 1974 and 1980.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 1978 as well as Euro 1980 held in Italy.  He was named Don Balón Award )Best Spanish Player) for two seasons: 1977–78, 1984–85.
Migueli 
CB: Paco Jémez (Canary Islands)
Jémez was born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands.  During his career, he played for Córdoba CF, Real Murcia, Rayo Vallecano, Deportivo de La Coruña and Real Zaragoza, Paco Jémez, which he helped to the 2001 conquest of the Copa del Rey.  Jémez played 21 times for Spain between 1998 and 2001.  He was a participant at UEFA Euro 2000, taking part in three matches in an eventual quarter-final exit. 

SW: Tonono  (Canary Islands)
Tonono made his professional debut with hometown's UD Las Palmas, in 1962.  He would only play for one club in his entire career, being part of the squads in the late 1960s and early 1970s that achieved three top-five finishes in the top flight – including the second place in 1969.  He was capped 22 times.  He did not appear, however, in any major international tournament, as the national team did not qualify for any during his international spell.

LB: Rafael Lesmes (Ceuta)
Over 12 La Liga seasons Rafael Lesmes played for Real Valladolid (two spells) and Real Madrid, appearing in 263 games in the competition. He began his career with local Atlético Tetuán, and retired in 1962 at the age of 35.  With Real Madrid, Lesmes was part of the team that won five consecutive European Cups. Lesmes was an unsused player at the 1950 World Cup.  In total, he played twice for Spain in 1955 and 1958 respectively.
Rafael Lesmes 
LWH/CM/DM: Juan Guedes (Canary Islands)
Juan Guedes was considered one of UD Palmas greatest players.  He was born in 1942.  He started with Porteño as a youth before he moved to UD Las Palmas Youth Team. At just 18 years old, he made his first team debut in 1961.  He played for eight years in the First Division and participated in the 1969-70 Fairs Cup. He became their captain and was considered a "symbol of Canarian football".  He died in 1971 at the age of 28.  He played twice for Spain.  

CM/DM:  Jose Pirri (Ceuta)
Jose Pirri is regarded as one of Spain's greatest player.  He had 41 caps in a career that lasted 12 years. He played in two World Cup Finals: 1966 and 1978. He played for Real Madrid for 15 years, between 1964 and 1979, winning ten Spanish league titles, four Spanish cups, and the 1966 European Cup. He was a member of the Real Madrid team that was known as the Yé-Yé team.  He also played for Granada between 1963 and 1964.
Pirri
MF: Hilario Marrero (Canary Islands)
Hilario played for Real Club Victoria before he joined Deportivo de La Coruña in 1928.  In 1931 he was transferred to Real Madrid, where he played for five seasons, and won two leagues and two cups.  Later, he played Valencia CF and FC Barcelona in between he returend briefly for Deportivo La Coruna.  He was capped twice by Spain.  He went to the 1930 World Cup Finals.

AM: Juan Carlos Valeron (Canary Islands)
Juan Carlos Valeron started his career with La Palmas.  He played for Mallocra and Atletico Madrid before he moving to Deportivo La Coruna, where he would play 13 seasons between 2000 and 2013.  He was widely considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, but injuries had limited his career. He only played 46 times for Spain between 1998 and 2005.  He went to the Euro 2000, the World Cup Finals in 2002 and Euro 2004.
Juan Carlos Valeron 
AM/CM: German Dévora (Canary Islands)
Germán Dévora scored 129 goals, spread over 453 matches in the First and Second Division, the Spanish Cup (Generalissimo and the King), the Copa de Fairs and UEFA Cup for UD Las Palmes. he is their all-time leading scorer.  He was a star of their golden team in the 1960's. He was capped 5 times between 1968 and 1972.  His debut was against Sweden where he played with Tonono , Juan Guedes and Paco Castellano.

AM/LM: David Silva (Canary Islands)
David Silva became a starter at Valencia in 2006 which forced Palbo Aimar to leave the club.  In 2010, he joined Manchester City helping the club to win their first Preimership in over 40 years. For Spain, he had over 120 caps from 2006 onward.  He was a key player throughout the period as Spain won the "triple crown": two European Championship and a World Cup.  He also represented Spain at every major tournament from 2008 onward.
David Silva
CF/RWF: Alfonso Silva 
(Canary Islands)
At the age of 17, he joined the Real Club Victoria before he played for Atlético de Madrid from 1946 to 1955, winning two league titles.  He moved back home to play for UD La Palmas in 1957.  For Spain, Alfonso Silva was capped 5 times.  Along with Luis Molowny and Rosendo Hernández, Silva went to the 1950 World Cup Finals in Brazil. Spain finished in fourth position, their best result until the 2010 World Cup.  

LW/MF: José Padrón (Canary Islands)
José Padrón played for RCD Español, Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona before going to France.  After leaving French team Cannes in 1937, he signed for Sochaux in Ligue 1, where he won the 1937–38 championship.  Padrón played 5 times for Spain, scoring two goals.  One of his cap was against England in 1929, where England lost their first ever away match outside the British Isles.

LW/FW: Vitolo (Canary Islands)
Vitolo began his career with Las Palmas before joining Sevilla in 2013, where he won three straight Europa League in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  He signed with Atlético Madrid in 2017, but joined the side in January, 2018.  He won the Europa League in his first season and adding the subsequent Super Cup.  At the international level, he made his debut for Spain in 2015.  He had 12 caps.
 
AM/SS/LW/CM: Luis Molowny  (Canary Islands)
In 1946, after winning the Canarian regional championships with Marino FC, Luis Molowny joined Real Madrid. During his 11-year stint in Madrid, Molowny appeared in 198 games all competitions comprised, netting 107 times.  He conquered five titles with his main club, including two national championships and the 1955–56 edition of the European Cup. He earned seven caps for Spain while playing in the 1950 World Cup Final.
Luis Molowny 
FW: Rosendo Hernández (Canary Islands)
Hernández started playing football with local Canary Islands clubs SD Tenisca and CD Mensajero. From 1950 to 1952, Hernández competed almost exclusively in La Liga (the exception being the 1950–51 season in Segunda División), representing RCD Español and Real Zaragoza.  he gained 4 caps for Spain. He was selected for the 1950 FIFA World Cup,

FW/SS: Paco Campos (Canary Islands)
Campos began his career in 1934 with Marino. After the Spanish Civil War, he moved to Atlético Aviación (now Atlético Madrid), where he played until 1948. In the late 1940s, he was part of the Delantera de la Seda frontline with José Juncosa, Alfonso Silva, Antonio Vidal Caturla and Adrián Escudero. He joined Sporting de Gijón between 1948 and 1952.  he scored 5 goals in 6 caps for Spain.

ST: Ángel Arocha (Canary Islands)
Ángel Arocha  was a striker highly appreciated by Barcelona fans for his great ability to score goals, scoring 236 goals in 240 games between 1926 and 1933. Arocha was capped twice by Spain where he scored 2 goals. After playing for Barça, he signed for Club Atlético de Madrid between 1933 and 1936. He died fighting on the Balaguer front in the Spanish Civil War in Franco's army. 

FW: Pedro (Canary Islands)
Pedro won 20 titles for Barcelona from 2008 to 2015.  In 2015, he joined Chelsea in the English Premier League.  In 2020, he moved to Italy where he played for AS Roma and Lazio.  He was a part of the Spanish national team that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship in 2012.  He also participated in the following World Cup and European Championship.  He had 65 caps.
Pedro
Honorable Mention
Gabriel Jorge (Canary Islands), Jose Perez Garcia (Canary Islands), Manolo Lopez (Canary Islands), Vicente Valcarce (Canary Islands), Diego Rodríguez (Canary Islands),  Paco Castellano (Canary Islands), Jose Bravo (Canary Islands), Felipe Martin (Canary Islands), Juanito (Canary Islands), Francisco Lesmes (Ceuta), Jose Bravo (Ceuta), Nayim (Ceuta), Vicente Valcarce (Canary Islands),  Antonio Guayre (Canary Islands), Rubén Castro (Canary Islands), Ramoní (Melilla), Pepillo II (Melilla), Ángel López (Canary Islands), Paco Campos (Canary Islands), Machín (Canary Island), Jonathan Viera (Canary Islands), Luis Valle (Canary Islands), Pedri (Canary Islands).

Special Recognitions
Arico Suárez (Canary Islands born Argentine international), Pier (Italian-born player who grew up in the Canary Islands).

Squad Explanation
-- The original idea was to create an all-time team for Canary Islanders only.  However, the lack of an adequate leftback forced me to reconsider my idea. So in the end, I combine this team with Ceuta and Melilla.  The Canary Islands is geographically closer to Africa than Europe.  Rafael Lesmes from Ceuta would solved my issue of the lack of a leftback from the Canary Islands.
-- I almost selected Arico Suárez who a defensive left-half player. He was born in Gran Canaria who represented Argentina in the 1930 World Cup Finals, making him the first Canary Islander to play in the World Cup.  However, I could not drop several local hero. So I stayed with an all-Spanish international team. I have different criteria for different teams to fill holes   Lorenzo Fernández and José Santamaría of Uruguay were on my Galicia All-Time team because the team needed players from their position.
-- I used overseas Basque and Catalan players for my respectively all-time teams.  I found many information on these players online. However, the ethnicity from those regions is different from the other ethnicity in Spain.  So I am using birth place as my criteria for this team.  All players must be born in the three regions.
-- I also considered changing this team into the Spanish Island All-Time team that also included the Balearic Island.  The Balearic Islands also did not have enough players to form their own all-time team.  Miguel Nadal would boost this team, and I could also select Albert Riera for my leftback position.  However, the name Spanish Islands are seldom mentioned anywhere.  The two island groups were far away from each other.  On the other hand, the Canary Islands is a part of the African continent.  So a Spanish African or Spanish North African all-time team seems more logical.  Besides,  Pirri, and Migueli would make a powerful team with David Silva and Juan Antonio Valeron. 
-- At the time of writing, Melilla only produced a single Spanish international.  Ramoní who starred for Sevilla in the 1950's played twice for Spain in 1952 against Argentina and Germany respectively. He played club football with Mellia-born Pepillo II in Sevilla.  Pepillo II spent a few seasons with Real Madrid.  He played for the national B team 9 times, but never played for the senior side. No footballer from Melilla was selected onto this team.  The two players mentioned were put on honorable mention.
-- A website listed Hilario Marrero, Ángel Arocha, José Padrón, David Silva, Pedro Rodríguez, Vitolo Rosendo Hernández, Luis Molowny, Juan Guedes, Tonono and Juan Carlos Valerón as Canary Islands' greatest footballers.  Jonathan Viera was also mentioned, but I bypassed him for older players. He only made on honorable mention.
--  David Silva was a part of Spain's triple crown team from 2008 and 2012. Pedro Rodríguez was not on the 2008, but played on both 2010 World Cup Finals and Euro 2012.
-- Spain finished 4th at the 1950 World Cup Finals.  It was Spain's best position for 60 years until they won the World Cup in 2010. The roster included Rafael Lesmes, Luis Molowny, Rosendo Hernández and Alfonso Silva.
1950 World Cup team
-- The golden age of Canarian football came at the end of the 1960s, with the emergence of UD Las Palmas. They went from the Second Division to fighting for the league title and qualified for European competitions. That team that finished runner-up in 1968-1969 La-Liga was led by Tonono, Juan Guedes, Germán Dévora and Francisco Castellano. They were selected for Spain while in Las Palmas. 
-- CD Tenerife did not feature as many native-born players.  Ángel Arocha and Foncho played for them.
-- Goalkeeper Antonio Betancort was famous due to being a part Real Madrid's Ye-Ye team.  He did not play in the 1966 European Cup Final, but was the hero of the semi-final.  Jose Perez Garcia was one of the most important goalkeepers in the history of Hercules, but I went with two goalkeepers who were heros of clubs in the Canary Islands. Juan Antonio Pérez Sáez played many games for Las Palmes.  Manuel López Santana "Manolo" is often considered to be CD Tenerife.  Manolo Lopez was basically the only other goalkeeper of note I found.
-- Leftback Robert Carlos was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  Of course, he is not the same Roberto Carlos of Brazil and Real Madrid.  He played in the lower division for Tenerife, Malaga B, etc.  At one point, he was one of two leftbacks I found from Canary Islands.  Vicente Valcarce who spent many seasons with Malaga was the most famous of the two.  In the end, I decided players to expand this team to include players from Ceuta. Rafael Lesmes was part of the Real Madrid team that won five consecutive European Cups. For rightback, I simply took Manuel Pablo who earned more caps than Ángel López.  He was also on my Deportivo La Coruna All-time team.  Foncho could also play on the right.  So I only took a single rightback.
-- For central defenders, Migueli stood out as probably the most famous from Canary Island.  Tonono with over 20 caps was for many years the most capped Canarian player.   Franz Beckenbauer described him as one of the best defenders of his time. Then, I took Foncho, simply because he was better known. He spent 7 seasons for Barcelona in the 1960's.  He played in the 1961 European Cup Final.
-- Paco Castellano was Tonono's clubmate with Las Palmas where they were considered the Golden period of Canarian football, but I decided to put him on honorable mention along with Felipe Martin Instead, I chose between two more modern players,  Juanito and Paco Jémez.  I selected Paco Jemez because he had 21 caps.
-- For midfielders, Pirri needed no introduction. Arico Suárez would have been the obvious choice, but I decided not to select Canary-born players who played for the other nations.   He was described as a defensive player.  
-- Juan Guedes was legend at La Palmas while Hilario Marrero was listed as one of the Canary Islands' greatest players.
-- People had high hopes for Jese Rodriguez. He was tipped to be the next big time with Real Madrid, but he played one good season. I am undecided if he should be put on honorable mention.
--  Pedro and Afonso Silva played on the right side.  Alfonso Silva was a star right wing-half for Atletico Madrid. AM/SS/CM: Luis Molowny was an inside-left.  He could be an attack midfielder or left wing.  He was known for his crosses. His surname originated from County Clare in Ireland. The spelling of the name was a variation for Maloney.
-- Juan Antonio Valerón broke Tonono's record of international caps for Canary Islanders. Valeron alongside Luis Molowny and David Silva almost kept out German Dévora of the team.  In the end, I dropped rightback Ángel López for Devora.  Devora was a local club legend. And I also decided to keep this team all Spanish international because of Devora.  Arico Suárez of Argentina would have gotten on this team, but i could not drop Devora.
-- AM: Pier Luigi Cherubino grew up in the Canary Islands, but he was born in Italy.  I ruled him ineligible.  And I also had Juan Antonio Valerón, David Silva and Luis Molowny ahead of him.
-- Nayim scored a last-minute goal for Real Zaragoza in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final against Arsenal.  He was from Ceuta. He made honorable mention.  I also did not have space for Eleuterio Santos.  He was on my Real Zaragoza all-time team. 
-- The left side attack was very strong.  Vitolo edged out Jonathan Viera and Machín.  Jonathan Viera probably should get into the team, but I went for older players.  With Gabilondo and Germán, Machín formed one of Atlético' Madrid's great midfield lines. They were nicknamed "The Three Musketeers".  Vitolo is a member of my Sevilla All-Time team.
Vitolo 
-- I selected José Padrón who was the first player capped from the Canary Islands. During World War Two, he served under Raymond Dronne as part of the Free France, being part of the North African campaign, the Normandy landings, and took part in the Liberation of Paris from the Nazis. He was the last survivor of La Nueve, the first company that entered Paris. While playing with Espanyol, his team included two other Canarian players Rafael Oramas Rafael González. 
-- Both Rosendo Hernández and Alfonso Silva were on Spain's 1950 World Cup team.  Silva was an all-timer with Atletico Madrid.
-- Ángel Arocha joined FC Barcelona as a heir apparent to legendary Paulino Alcántara.  He scored 203 goals in 210 matches for FC Barcelona.  He is considered one of the leading goal scorers in their history, Then, I took Paco Campos from 1930's was the other realistic option in the forward position.  In the late 1940s, he was part of the Delantera de la Seda frontline of Atletico Madrid which also featured Canarian Alfonso Silva. He is the highest scoring player from the Canary Islands in La Liga.  He also scored 5 goals in 6 caps for Spain. 
-- Paco Campos edged out Miguel González.  With Atlético Madrid, Miguel González scored 73 goals in 252 games, winning two league titles and one Cup. He scored 2 goals in 15 games for the Spain national team between 1953 and 1958.

Formation
I lined up the best players. The fullbacks were old-fashioned.  Pedro had played on the right wing for Spain while Luis Molowny was a left-sided player.  Pirri was a box-to-box midfielder.  So i was not sure if I have enough defensive presence on the midfield.







Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Asturias All-Time 23 member Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

 
This is my selection of all-time 23 member team for Asturias. 

Asturias is situated in a mountainous setting with vast greenery and lush vegetation, making it part of Green Spain. The region has a maritime climate. It receives plenty of annual rainfall and little sunshine by Spanish standards and has very moderated seasons, most often averaging in the lower 20s celsius. Heatwaves are rare due to mountains blocking southerly winds. Winters are very mild for the latitude, especially near sea level.

The most important cities are the communal capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón, and the industrial town of Avilés. Asturias has two main football teams: Sporting de Gijón and Real Oviedo, which have played over 35 seasons in La Liga.

On 23 December 2000, the Royal Asturian Football Federation rescued the Regional team to play a friendly game at Estadio Carlos Tartiere against Macedonia. Juanele scored the only goal of the match, with 30,000 people filling the stadium in Oviedo. Asturias played two more games, against Lithuania in Gijón and Honduras in Avilés, ending its revival unbeaten

Team
During his career he played solely for Sporting de Gijón after being a product of the club's famed youth system, Mareo, and received his first-team debut on 2 January 1983.  He earned 4 caps for Spain, the first coming on 24 September 1986 in a 3–1 friendly victory over Greece in Gijón. He was a backup in both the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.  He won four Ricardo Zamora Trophy 3 times.

Castro spent his entire professional career with neighbouring club Sporting de Gijón, signing on 11 March 1968 from local amateurs CD Ensidesa. From 1971 until 1985, Castro all but competed in the top tier.  He was the younger brother of Quini. He died on the Cantabrian beach of Amió after saving the lives of two English children and their father who were drowning. 

Oscar Alvarez played his entire club career in Oviedo.  In 1928, he was one of the main promoters of the merger between Stadium Ovetense and Real Club Deportivo Oviedo to become Real Oviedo. He would defend the Real Oviedo shirt, acting as captain, from the first day of its existence until the Civil War interrupted soccer competitions in Spain.  For the national team, he was a backup to Ricardo Zamora.

Jose Carrete started with Real Oviedo and gained promotion from the Segunda División with them in 1974–75, although following their subsequent relegation he was transferred to Valencia in 1976. He was then a member of the successful Valencia side that won the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final against Arsenal.  He capped twice in 1978.

Born in Asturias, he moved to Catalonia at just two months old. He started with Espanyol at the age of 18 years. Due to the Spanish Civil War , his career was interrupted.  Except brief stops at RCD Mallorca, Racing de Santander and UE Sant Andreu , he played his career at RCD Espanyol for 13 seasons. He was capped 4 times for Spain between 1941 and 1942.

CB: Marcelo Campanal 
Marcelo Campanal was known as "Campanal II" because his uncle Guillermo Campanal was better known as "Campanal I", who was the manager of Sevilla. He played for sixteen seasons at Sevilla FC between 1950 and 1966.  He later played two seasons with Deportivo La Coruna , CD Iliturgi and his final season as a professional in the Real Aviles CF.  He earned 11 caps with the national team between 1952 and 1957.
Marcelo Campanal 
Over the course of 13 seasons César Martín appeared in 200 La Liga games, mostly in representation of Real Oviedo and Deportivo, after which he had a six-month spell in England with Bolton Wanderers.  He spent 7 seasons with Deportivo La Coruna mainly as a backup when they won one league, one Copa del Rey and two Supercopa de España trophies.  Between 1999 and 2004, he played 12 times for Spain. César was included in the Euro 2004 squad, but did not play.

CB: Tensi 
Born in the village of Sama, Asturias, Tensi started playing football in the Trojan teams and the Alcazar Football Club until he was signed by Real Oviedo on 30 December 1964.  He made his first time debut in 1966. He spent 14 seasons with the club and was considered one of their greatest footballers.  He is their third in appearance record for the club.

During his career Abelardo Fernández was almost exclusively associated with Sporting de Gijón and Barcelona, having amassed La Liga totals of 385 matches and 24 goals between 1989 and 2003. He also played for Alves. Having won more than 50 caps for Spain between 1991 and 2001, he went to two World Cups (1994 and 1998) and as many European Championships (1996 and 2000).  He also won a Gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Abelardo Fernández 
Julio Alberto came through the ranks of Atlético Madrid, and also serving a Segunda División loan stint with Recreativo de Huelva in 1979–80.  In 1982, he joined Barcelona.  He did well in the early art of his career, but from 1988 to 1991, however, he was mainly a backup as the "Dream Team" was coming to fruition. He earned 34 caps for Spain. He appeared in all games for Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup

LB/LW: Francisco Uría 
Uría started with Real Oviedo in the 1972–73 season. After the team's relegation the following year he signed with Real Madrid, being relatively used in two of his three seasons and winning his entire silverware. In 1977, he moved to Sporting de Gijón, where they achieved three top-five finishes and played in the UEFA Cup. He earned 14 caps for Spain during seven years, and participated in the 1978 World Cup and Euro 1980. 
Francisco Uría
CM: Paquito García 
Paquito was born in Asturias. Over the course of 14 seasons, he played 327 La Liga games in representation of Real Oviedo and Valencia CF. In the 1970–71 campaign, he appeared in 27 matches (all starts) and netted three times as the latter team won their fourth national championship, the first in 24 years. He earned nine caps for Spain during nearly five years.

Santi Cazorla began his professional career at Villarreal in 2003, where he was Spain's Player of the Year: 2006–07. After spending a season with Malaga, he moved to Arsenal in 2012, where he stayed until 2018, winning a FA Cup in 2014.  Between 2008 and 2019, he played 81 times for Spain.  He was a semi-regular participant in the nation's triumphs at UEFA Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He attended the 2014 World Cup Finals.

Manuel Meane was the first Asturian to play for Spain. He made his debut with Spain in 1921. In total, he played seven games and became the captain of the national team. He attended the 1924  Summer Olympics. He spent his entire career with Real Sporting de Gijón.  He was a member of the Asturian regional team that won the Copa Príncipe de Asturias de fútbol in 1923 , after beating Galicia in the final held in Vigo. 

CM/RM/UT: Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique started his career with Sporting Gijon in 1989.  From 1991 to 1996, he played for Real Madrid.  In 1996, he moved to Barcelona, where he played for 8 seasons. At the international level, Luis Enrique played for Spain in three World Cups: 1994, 1998 and 2002 as well as UEFA Euro 1996), and scored 12 goals while gaining 62 caps. He was also a member of the gold-winning squad at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Luis Enrique
CM: Juan Mata 
Juan Mata was a youth academy player for Real Madrid, but he started with Valencia in 2007.  From 2011 to 2014, he played for Chelsea, where he was a major star for the team.  After a fallout with Jose Mourinho, he moved to Manchester United.  Ironically, they would reunite again at Old Trafford. For Spain, he was a part of the team that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later.

During his 16-year professional career, he played solely for Sporting de Gijón even though he was born in the city of neighbouring Real Oviedo. After 17 appearances and one goal in his debut season in La Liga he became an undisputed starter, going on to take part in a further 462 top-division games until June 1992 (644 overall).Joaquín earned 18 caps and scored once for Spain, and was selected to the 1982 World Cup squad.
 
Angulo began his football career with local Sporting de Gijón, joining Valencia CF in 1995 at the age of 18. He spent most of his career at Valencia where he won a total of 7 major titles, including two La Liga championships and the 2004 UEFA Cup. he also played briefly for Villarreal and Sporting SP. He had a total of 11 caps for Spain, scoring 4 goals between 2004 and 2007.
 
FW: Javier Manjarín 
In a 14-year professional career, Javier Manjarín  played mainly for Sporting de Gijón (four seasons) and Deportivo de La Coruña (six seasons). He was considered one of Deportivo's greatest attackers. He also played for Racing de Santander.  He moved to play in Mexico in his later years. He had 13 caps for Spain.  He went to the European Championship in 1996. He also won a Gold medal at the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona.
Javier Manjarín 
ST: Eloy 
During his career, Eloy played for Sporting de Gijón (being part of a strong 80's team) where he made his debut as a 15 years old. He played for Valencia CF between 1988 and 1995. and CD Badajoz (retiring after an unassuming Segunda División spell). Eloy earned 15 caps and scored four goals for Spain.  He played in the 1986 World Cup Finals, where he scored against Algeria.

David Villa is the all-time leading scorer for Spain.  He was known for a part of the Golden Generation for Spain, where Spain won three straight international titles: Euro 2008, the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. He was the Golden Boot winner at Euro 2008 and the Silver boot in the 2010 World Cup Finals.  He was best remembered for his club career with Valencia. He also played for Barcelona, Seville and New York City FC.
David Villa
FW: Hererita 
Herrerita started with local Sporting de Gijón. In 1933 he moved to  neighbouring Real Oviedo for a then-record 30.000 pesetas. 
During the better part of the following 15 years, Herrerita would be part of an attacking line that would be dubbed Delanteras Eléctricas (Electric Forwards). He was Real Oviedo's all-time top scorer in La Liga, with 117 goals in 213 games.  He played six games with Spain, during three years between 1934 and 1947.

ST: Quini
In a career totally connected with Sporting de Gijón and FC Barcelona, Quini was widely regarded as one of the country's best strikers, having won a total of seven Pichichi Trophy awards, five of those in La Liga.  He won the Don Balón Award – Best Spanish Player for the 1978–79 season. With a total of 35 caps and eight goals, Quini participated in two  World Cups, 1978 and 1982, as well as UEFA Euro 1980.  He was also remembered for being kidnapped in 1981.
Quini
Honorable Mention
Esteban, Juanjo González, Óscar Rodríguez López, Chus Herrera, Guillermo Campanal, Jose Maria, Enrique Morán, Ricardo Bango, Adrián López, Juanjo González, Luis Manuel, Vili, Marcelino Elena, Cundi, José Ángel Valdés Díaz, Javier Paredes, Chus Herrera, Emilín, Galé, Toni Cuervo, Eloy, Chus Alonso, Emilin, Michu, Oli, Adrián López, Berto, Cote, Sergio Boris, Juanele, Luis Garcia Fernández, Ricardo Bango
Paquito Garcia, Marcial.

Special Recognition
Robert Pires (France), Diego Johannesson (Iceland).


Squad Explanation
-- David Villa is the all-time leading scorer for Spain.  Luis Enrique, Quini, Juan Mata and Marcelino Campanal were the other disputed selections for this team.  I considered them to be their greatest ever players. 
-- Approximately, 40 Asturian players have played for Spain at the time of writing.  In 1921, Manuel Meana was the first Spanish international from Gijón.  
Manuel Meana
-- Asturias autonomous football team played a few games in the early 2000's. Manjarín, Juanele, Luis Enrique, etc were some of the players used.  .  
-- I used overseas Basque and Catalonian players for my respectively all-time teams.  I found many information on these players online. However, I could not really find much information on Asturias diaspora. Robert Pires was the only player of note I found.  I was certain that there must be some great Asturian footballers from Uruguay or Argentina around. 
-- Asturias featured three players during the glorious period of the Spanish national team between 2008 and 2012.  However, the three of them did not win the same tournament together.  Juan Mata had not played for the senior national team in 2008.  Santi Cazorla missed the 2010 World Cup while David Villa did not attend Euro 2012 because of injuries.  The three went to the 2014 World Cup Finals.
-- Abelardo, Javier Manjarín and Luis Enrique went to Euro 1996 together.  The three of them also won the Olympic Gold medal in the 1992 Olympics. Luis Enrique appeared in three World Cups and one European Championship.  He played with Abelardo since they were 6 years old.  The pair also went to the 1994 World Cup Finals with Juanele.
-- The 1986 World Cup also saw Eloy, Julio Alberto and Juan Carlos Ablanedo in the squad. Joaquín and Quini also went to the 1982 World Cup Finals. Quini played in two World Cup Finals. César was included in the Euro 2004 squad
-- The goalkeeper selections were limited. Juan Carlos Ablanedo
and Jesús Castro were considered to be Sporting  Gijon's greatest goalkeepers.  Ablanedo was capped by Spain.  Several websites listed him among the greatest in Spain's history.  As mentioned above, he was a backup goalkeeper in two major tournaments, but he won three Zamora trophies. Jesús Castro died while rescuing two young boys from drowning.  The city of Oviedo dedicated a street to him in the La Corredoria neighborhood.  Along with his football career, he was a folk hero in Asturia. His brother Quini was probably one of the region's greatest footballers.  Óscar Álvarez was a forgotten player.  He helped  the merger of Stadium Ovetense and Real Club Deportivo Oviedo to create Real Oviedo.  He acted as the club's captain.  He also represented Spain in the Olympics, but was a sub for Ricardo Zamora throughout his international career. Estaban who played over 200 La Liga matche and Juanjo González made honorable mention.
-- Marcelino Campanal was considered the greatest ever defender for Sevilla.  Abelardo Fernández played 54 times for Spain.  They were undisputed selections for central defenders.
-- Tensi never played for Spain, but he spent 14 years with Real Oviedo.  He was third in appearance record for the club. I rewarded him a spot for being a star in a local club.  By comparison, Luis Manuel had 4 caps for Spain and also played for Real Oviedo. In Real Oviedo, however, Tensi was a much more legendary player than Luis Manuel.  The last spot was between César Martín and Marcelino Elena. Both of them was plagued with injuries during their careers.  They failed to make a grade in the bigger clubs.  César Martín was capped 12 times, but was mainly as a backup during Deportivo La Coruna's La Liga winning season.  Marcelino Elena did find some successes with Mallorca, but only earned 5 caps. In end, I took César Martín for his caps.
-- Sergio Boris then joined Real Sociedad in 2002, being an historic signing as he was the first Spanish native player from outside the Basque Country to be signed by the club for 35 years.  I did not know how good he was.  
-- I only had two realistic rightbacks to choose from: Jose Carrete and Ricard Garcia Teruel.  I do not know anything about the ethnic background of Armando Álvarez who was born in France.  His name was on my initial list of potential selections. Diego Johannesson who played for Iceland was also born here.  
-- Julio Alberto was the obvious choice for leftback.  He had 34 caps for Spain. The Sporting de Gijón fans might considered Cundi over Francisco Uría, but Francisco Uría went to two major tournaments for Spain.  He also did relatively well with Real Madrid.  He also played as a winger.
Julio Alberto
-- The midfield was the strongest section on this team. Luis Enrique and Manuel Meana who was first Asturian to cap for Spain were my first two selections.  Both Santi Cazorla and Juan Mata belonged to Spain's glorious period between 2008 and 2012.  They also established themselves in the Premiership.  The four players were easy choices for midfielders.
-- Juan Mata was born in Burgos, where his father was playing football. He grew up in Oviedo.  He is often listed as an Asturian footballer.  I had no doubt about his eligibility.
-- Then, I took Miguel Ángel Angulo for his versatility.  I also needed someone who could operate as a right winger.  Joaquín Alonso González played sixteen seasons with Sporting, where he set the record for games in the First Division (479).  He was a local hero.  His name was frequently mentioned as an all-timer from here.
-- Marcial Pina had a remarkable career with Barcelona FC, but I did not have a spot for him.  Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla and Miguel Ángel Angulo were ahead of him.
-- Luis Garcia who played for Espanyol made honorable mention.  He was born in Oviedo.  I was not honoring the Luis Javier García Sanz who played for Barcelona, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.  He was born in Catalonia. Both played roughly around the same time.
-- It would have been nice if I could select Robert Pires whose mother was a native of Asturias, but I stayed with Spanish internationals.  I have selected Jose Santamaria for my Galicia all-time team because he was also capped by Spain.  
-- Chus Alonso was born in Cuba of Asturian parents.  He played for Spain. I put him on honorable mention. 
-- Chus Herrera was mainly used as a backup to the likes of Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Raymond Kopa, Ferenc Puskás and Héctor Rial.  He had a few memorial games for Real Madrid in that period, which made him well-known during his era.  He went to Real Sociedad in 1962, but sadly he died at the age of 24 shortly after his arrival.  Perhaps, he would have became a greater player if he had a longer career.
-- David Villa and Quini were undisputed selection for forwards.  Then, I selected Javier Manjarín who was listed as one of Deportivo La Coruna's greatest players.  The trio was very well-known in the modern era.  
-- Quini was also remembered for being kidnapped for 25 days in 1981.  He won Pichichi Trophy 5 times and two more times in Segunda División.
-- The attacking quartet of Emilín, Galé, Herrerita and Isidro Lángara of Real Oveido all represented Spain in this period.  Isidro Lángara was actually a Basque, and he also played for Basque.  He was ineligible for this team.  For this quartet, I only had a space for Herrerita.  Herrerita was listed among the greatest footballers in the region.  He was Real Oviedo's all-time top scorer in La Liga, with 117 goals in 213 games.
-- Guillermo Campanal was the uncle of Marcelo Campanal.  Liked his nephew, he was a Sevilla's legends.  He might be the biggest name missing on this team. Toni Cuervo was a star with Real Oviedo. Michu, Oli and Adrián López were also considered.
-- I did not have a space for Juanele who went to the 1994 World Cup Finals.  Instead, I took Eloy from the 1986 World Cup Finals.  He had 15 caps against Juanele's 5.  Furthermore, he played for Sporting de Gijón during its greatest period of time.

Formation
Most information suggested that Juan Carlos Ablanedo was Asturias' greatest goalkeeper, but I started with Óscar Álvarez who was associated with Ricardo Zamero.  Luis Enrique and Santi Cazorla could drop deeper than Juan Mata.