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Luis Molowny

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Molowny and the second or maternal family name is Arbelo.

Luis Molowny
Personal information
Full name Luis Molowny Arbelo
Date of birth (1925-05-12)12 May 1925
Place of birth Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Date of death 12 February 2010(2010-02-12) (aged 84)
Place of death Las Palmas, Spain
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
Vera
1942–1943 Santa Cruz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1943–1946 Marino
1946–1957 Real Madrid 172 (90)
1957–1958 Las Palmas 3 (1)
Total 175 (91)
International career
1950–1955 Spain 7 (2)
Managerial career
1958 Las Palmas
1960 Las Palmas
1967–1970 Las Palmas
1969 Spain
1974 Real Madrid
1977–1979 Real Madrid
1982 Real Madrid
1985–1986 Real Madrid
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Luis Molowny Arbelo (12 May 1925 – 12 February 2010) was a Spanish football player and coach.

A midfielder, he amassed La Liga totals of 175 matches and 91 goals over 12 seasons, with Real Madrid and Las Palmas. He went on to work as a manager with the two clubs, winning 14 major titles with the former both capacities combined.[1]

Molowny represented Spain at the 1950 World Cup. For a brief period in the late 1960s, he also coached the national team.

Club career

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Molowny was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands; his surname originated from County Clare in Ireland, being most often spelt Maloney in later years.[2] He trialled for CD Tenerife as a youngster, but was not allowed to play in the scouting match. He positioned himself behind one of the goals in order to act as a ball boy and retrieve lost balls and return them, and after a display of skills he was signed by Santa Cruz CF but, not being 18 at the time, he was limited to appear in friendly games.[3][4][5]

In 1946, after winning the Canarian regional championships with Marino FC,[5] Molowny caught the eye of both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The former club sent an emissary by boat to sign him, and the latter's president, Santiago Bernabéu, upon reading the developments in La Vanguardia whilst he was travelling to Reus, telephoned to director Jacinto Quincoces and ordered that the player be signed; after he performed poorly in a match where he was due to showcase his talent, Bernabéu was still adamant, and a deal was eventually closed for 250.000 pesetas and a 3.000 monthly salary.[6]

Molowny made his debut for his new team on 1 December 1946, scoring through a 79th-minute header in a 2–1 La Liga home win against Barcelona.[7] He finished his first season with a further ten goals in 15 appearances,[4] winning the Copa del Generalísimo.[8]

During his 11-year stint in Madrid, Molowny appeared in 208 games in all competitions, scoring 104 times.[9][10] He claimed five titles with his main club, including two national championships and the 1955–56 edition of the European Cup, even though he did not take part in the final of the latter tournament itself.[11][12]

International career

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Molowny earned seven caps for Spain in five years.[4] His first came on 2 April 1950, and he contributed with one of his two international goals to a 5–1 win over Portugal for the 1950 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, at the Nuevo Chamartín.[13]

Selected by manager Guillermo Eizaguirre for the finals in Brazil, Molowny appeared in the 2–2 second group stage draw against Uruguay,[14] helping to a final fourth place.[15]

Coaching career

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Molowny retired in January 1958 at the age of 32, and immediately started coaching UD Las Palmas where he had last played. Over the following seasons he often acted as interim manager, not being able to prevent top-flight relegation in 1960; in the 1968–69 campaign, already as a full-time coach, he led the team to a best-ever runner-up finish only behind champions Real Madrid.[16]

From March to June 1969, Molowny was in charge of the Spanish senior side whom he coached for four games. During his tenure, he won twice, drew once and lost to Finland.[17][18]

Late into 1973–74 Molowny, who was working with Real Madrid in directorial capacities (where he remained until 1990), replaced Miguel Muñoz at the helm of the first team. He won the domestic cup that year,[19] and successively took the place of Miljan Miljanić, Vujadin Boškov and Amancio Amaro after they were fired, being crowned champion in 1978 and 1979;[18][20] additionally, he was on the bench as the Merengues won consecutive UEFA Cups in 1984–85 and 1985–86.[21][22][23]

Death

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After quitting football altogether, Molowny settled in his native region. He died on 12 February 2010 at the age of 84, in Las Palmas.[24]

In film

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Molowny played himself in three Spanish films: Eleven Pairs of Boots (1954), Radio Stories (1955) and Blond Arrow (1956, a biopic about Alfredo Di Stéfano).[25][26][27]

Honours

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Player

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Real Madrid

Manager

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Real Madrid

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "'El Mangas', una vida entera dando títulos al Real Madrid" ['Sleeves', a lifetime giving titles to Real Madrid]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 February 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  2. ^ McGann, Colin (14 January 2018). "Real Madrid star with Clare name". The Clare Champion. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. ^ López, Eduardo (27 March 2018). "La leyenda de 'el Mangas'" [The legend of 'the Sleeves']. La Provincia (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Luis Molowny: el mangas (1950–1955)" [Luis Molowny: the sleeves (1950–1955)]. El Diario (in Spanish). 6 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Luis Molowny" (in Spanish). Real Madrid Fans. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Si no me bajo en Reus... (el fichaje de Molowny)" [If I don't step off in Reus... (Molowny's signing)] (in Spanish). Con Perdón... 8 November 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  7. ^ Lasplazas, José Luis (2 December 1946). "Madrid, 2 – Barcelona, 1". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. ^ a b Lasplazas, José Luis (23 June 1947). "Madrid, 2 – Español, 0". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  9. ^ Zárate, Óscar (12 February 2021). "Once años de la muerte de Molowny, el mito del Madrid al que quiso el Barça" [Eleventh anniversary of the death of Molowny, the Madrid myth that Barça wanted]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  10. ^ "The Canary Island genius". Real Madrid CF. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Real Madrid 4–3 Reims". UEFA. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  12. ^ Pla Díaz, Emilio. "Real Madrid CF – All the players in European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  13. ^ Pardo, Carlos (3 April 1950). "España, 5 – Portugal, 1" [Spain, 5 – Portugal, 1]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  14. ^ Pardo, Carlos (10 July 1950). "España y Uruguay empataron a dos tantos" [Spain and Uruguay drew two goals to two]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Mundial de 1950" [1950 World Cup] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  16. ^ Talavera, Diego (14 February 2010). "Luis Molowny, un canario en la leyenda madridista" [Luis Molowny, a canarian in madridista legend]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  17. ^ López Jimeno, Emilio (26 June 1969). "2–0: Nuestra selección (errante y sin alma) encajó la más triste derrota de su historia" [2–0: Our national team (wandering and soulless) suffered saddest defeat in their history]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Luis Molowny, adiós al apagafuegos del Madrid" [Luis Molowny, farewell to Madrid's fireman]. ABC (in Spanish). 14 February 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  19. ^ Lozano Ferrer, Carles. "Spain – Cup 1974". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  20. ^ Colomo, Ricardo (16 February 2007). "Molowny... y el contrato social" [Molowny... and the social contract] (in Spanish). Media Punta. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  21. ^ Fernández, Juan José (9 May 1985). "Molowny: "Salió mejor de lo previsto"" [Molowny: "That went better than anticipated"]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  22. ^ González, José Damian (6 May 1986). "Littbarski: "El Colonia vencerá al Madrid por 4–0"" [Littbarski: "Köln will beat Madrid 4–0"]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  23. ^ Pascual, José Antonio (21 May 2020). "Las remontadas y el consuelo europeo de la Quinta del Buitre" [The comebacks and the European consolation of the Vulture's Cohort]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  24. ^ "Fallece Luis Molowny a los 84 años de edad" [Luis Molowny dies at the age of 84]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 February 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  25. ^ Domínguez, Guillermo (22 April 2015). "'Once pares de botas' y los dorados años 50: el fútbol en estado puro" ['Eleven pairs of boots' and the golden 1950s: football in the flesh]. Libertad Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  26. ^ "Reparto de Historias de la radio" [Radio stories cast]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  27. ^ "Reparto de Saeta rubia" [Blond arrow cast]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g "Molowny, uno de los grandes valores del madridismo" [Molowny, one of the great assests of madridismo]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 13 February 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  29. ^ Pla Díaz, Emilio. "Spain – Footballer of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
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