The Man Who Saved FC Barcelona: The Remarkable Life of Patrick O'Connell Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Man Who Saved FC Barcelona: The Remarkable Life of Patrick O'Connell Book

Patrick O’Connell is not a name usually associated with the likes of Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola or Johan Cruyff, yet this is the man who saved FC Barcelona from financial ruin.Born in Dublin in 1887, Patrick O’Connell had a successful playing career with Belfast Celtic, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United, where he was involved in one of the most notorious match-fixing football scandals of his generation. On his retirement from playing, O’Connell became a successful manager with Ashington but then left his family in 1922 to work in Spain, first as manager of Racing de Santander, then Real Oviedo, Real Betis de Sevilla and finally FC Barcelona. In 1935 ‘Don Patricio’, as he was affectionately known, managed Betis to their only La Liga title success, as well as bigamously marrying his second wife.At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the President of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, was assassinated, leaving the club in crisis. O’Connell took the team on a tour of Mexico, Cuba and New York and the money they raised ensured the club’s survival. After the Civil War, he returned to work in Spain before heading to London where, unable to find work, he died destitute in 1959.This biography was written over many years by Sue O’Connell, wife of Patrick’s grandson, Mike. The author’s access to authentic documents, letters and family memories, along with her extensive research in England, Ireland, Spain and Mexico, has allowed her to reconstruct the life of this remarkable man.Read More

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  • TheBookPeople

    Born in Dublin in 1887, O'Connell had a successful career with Belfast Celtic before moving to Sheffield Wednesday and then Hull City. But it was his performances for Ireland that attracted the attention of Manchester United and in 1914 they paid GBP1000 to buy him from Hull. Three months later the First World War broke out and soon after he was implicated in, though exonerated from, what was arguably the most famous match-fixing football scandal of his generation involving the players of Manchester United and Liverpool. On his retirement from playing he became manager of League side Ashington before walking out on his wife and four children to later 'resurface' in Spain in 1922 as manager of Racing Santander. He then moved to Oviedo before taking over at unfashionable Real Betis, whom he guided to their one and only La Liga title success in 1935. His extraordinary success at Betis brought him to the attention of FC Barcelona and he moved there at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. As the fighting intensified and turmoil engulfed the Catalan club, they lurched to the brink of bankruptcy. At the invitation of a Catalan businessman who had emigrated to Mexico, O'Connell took the team on a tour of Mexico and New York. The funds that were raised from this tour saved Barcelona from going under and ensured O'Connell's lasting legacy.

  • 1445654687
  • 9781445654683
  • Sue O'Connell
  • 15 July 2016
  • Amberley Publishing
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 232
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