Arsenio Iglesias dies

MADRID, 5 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Arsenio Iglesias, a coach who was the creator of Deportivo de La Coruña’s best period and who also had a brief stint on the Real Madrid bench, died this Friday at the age of 92, confirmed the Galician team, which considers the A Coruña native their ” character with the greatest direct influence on the pitch”.

“Arsenio Iglesias Pardo (Arteixo, A Coruña, December 24, 1930), the person with the greatest direct influence on the pitch in the 116-year history of RC Deportivo, has passed away today, Friday May 5, at the age of 92. Arsenio is one of the most notable characters in the hundred-year history of the sport, linked to the club as a player and coach, at different stages, for a quarter of a century,” the club underlined.

Known as ‘O Bruxo de Arteixo’, Iglesias was famous for directing Deportivo, nicknamed during his time as ‘Superdépor’, which he returned to the First Division and with which he won the Copa del Rey in 1995, defeating by 2-1, with a goal from Alfredo Santaelena in extra time, against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabéu, in a final that had to be suspended due to rain and which meant the first title in the club’s history.

Before, in the 93-94 and 94-95 campaigns, he fought for the league title against FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, losing the former in the last league match at the Riazor against Valencia, with the remembered missed penalty by Miroslav Djukic. In 92-93 he was already third in the domestic championship, four points behind the champion, the Catalan team.

Iglesias is the coach who has directed the most official matches for ‘Depor’, with 568, although his total involvement with the entity translates into 714 games with the first team, as a coach and as a player. In his football career, after going through several teams in Galicia, he landed in the sports affiliate, CD Juvenil, and made his debut in October 1951 with the first team. He spent five more seasons and later played for Sevilla, Granada, with whom he played in a Cup final, Real Oviedo and Albacete, where he put an end to this stage.

From there, he began his career on the bench and already had to lead Deportivo in 1971 after the dismissal of Roque Olsen and achieved promotion to the First Division, where he spent two seasons, to return in 1987 to save him from relegation to Second B. The following year he led Deportivo to the Cup final and achieved the long-awaited promotion in 1991 to begin to form the ‘Superdepor’ together with Augusto César Lendoiro.

Iglesias decided to leave football after the historic 94-95 campaign, but returned to the bench months later to lead Real Madrid, after the dismissal of Jorge Valdano. The man from Arteixo was unable to redirect the course of the Madrid team, which finished sixth in the league and out of European competition. He also had the opportunity to play a Champions League tie, against Juventus, with a 1-0 victory at the Bernabéu, but elimination in Turin by losing 2-0.