Valencia’s legendary Antonio Puchades dies

Former Valencia and Spain international midfielder Antonio Puchades has passed away at the after of 87, Football Espana reported.

Puchades spent his entire professional career with Valencia, making over 300 appearances and scoring six goals from 1946 through to 1958.

He had some great anecdotes: "I was part of that elevn, among Basora, Gonzalvo, Biosca, Segarra, Ramallets. Above all, we were a team, a great team. At the time the Spanish squad played fewer matches than now. We travelled abroad a lot and because we were young and good friends, we had a great time. Good proof of the good vibe within the team was, that after the World Cup, some of us spent several weeks on holiday in Brazil."

There are books that talk about him and his anecdote: "Antonio Puchades. The man and the legend" and "How someone from Sueca becomes a legend. The life of a Valencia and universal footballer", by Ángel Navarro.

It was precisely Navarro, who in 2001 commented on the "El País" that "Puchades is gifted. A legend and a myth. He's moved on to be in the Gods Olympus among the immortals," says the author. "He has so much carisma and so much talent that he would have been successful in whatever he thought. As a football player, he could play as anything except goalie.Football was inside him."

He was selected by Valencia CF very young by his local Sueca team. After a year in Mestalla made his debut with the first team at 21 during the 1946-1947 period. At the time he only played four matches, to make him grow up and win a league."

"Tonico", as he was known, played over 300 matches with Valencia, won a 'Liga', two 'Copa del Rey' (1949 and 1954) and a Spanish Supercup.

He was idolised in his hometown, Sueca, or that "his sister would through his kit out the house window so that his parents would not find out that he was going to play football. They wanted him to continue his studies and told him off when he would get home with brokemn shoes after playing football... His mum prepared paella for him for when he travelled with Spain. A delicacy that the whole team ended up eating."