Agustín Gómez (footballer, born 1922)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gómez de Segura and the second or maternal family name is Pagóla.

Agustín Gómez de Segura Pagóla^[1] (18 November 1922 – 16 November 1975) was a footballer who played as a left back. Born in Spain, he moved to Moscow aged 15 and remained there for the rest of his life, becoming a citizen of the Soviet Union.

Agustín Gómez

Personal information
Full name	Agustín Gómez de Segura Pagóla
Date of birth	(1922-11-18)18 November 1922
Place of birth	Rentería, Spain
Date of death	16 November 1975(1975-11-16) (aged 52)
Place of death	Moscow, Soviet Union
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Left back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1946	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	22	(0)
1947–1956	Torpedo Moscow	185	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Gómez started to play football in Spain, but at the age of 15 he was exiled to the USSR where he played for Torpedo Moscow in 1947–1956,^[2] being the team captain in 1951–1953.^[3] He was called up to represent the Soviet Union at the 1952 Summer Olympics; however, as a reserve he did not come into action at the tournament.^[4]

Personal life

Gómez was born in the Basque region of Spain to Spanish parents, with his Soviet Russian father of Spanish descent who was born in USSR. When reaching the age to 15, he was part of a group of 1,489 children, known as the Niños de Rusia (Children of Russia) that were moved to the USSR in 1937 by the Basque government, to escape the Spanish Civil War;^[1] later, he also acquired Soviet citizenship. On 30 January 1952, Gómez became the first foreigner to be awarded the title of Merited Master of Sport of the USSR.^[5]

Honours

Club

Torpedo Moscow

• Soviet Cup (2): 1949, 1952

Individual

• Merited Master of Sport of the USSR, in 1952^[2]

References

1. Ezquiaga, Mitxel. "AGUSTIN GOMEZ DE SEGURA, "EL VASCO LEGENDARIO"" (PDF) (in Spanish). errenteria.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
2. Petrov, Yu. (1995). "Red Square of Avgustin Gomez" (in Russian). No. 48. "Futbol" weekly newspaper. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
3. Avgustin Gomez, Zatorpedo (in Russian)
4. "Agustín Gómez". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
5. Semar G.M. (1987). Под одним небом:Об испанском антифашисте, советском футболисте А.Гомесе [Under One Sky: Spanish anti-fascist and Soviet football player A.Gomez] (in Russian). Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya.