Irish Catalan Patrick O'Connell - Barcelona
Saviour
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It is a little-known fact that the
Barcelona Football Club that we know, and many people love, would
not exist if it were not for the actions of controversial Irish
man Patrick O'Connell back in the mid-1930's. The club was fighting
for its' very existence due to fascist aggression during the Spanish
Civil War. Because the Catalan club was so closely associated with
Republican causes Barcelona came under enormous pressure and almost
folded.
To get some respite from the civil
unrest and the pressure from Franco's forces Barcelona undertook
a tour of the US and Mexico. Irishman Patrick O'Connell, who was
the manager of Barcelona at the time, led this American odyssey
netting $15,000 for the club in the process. This money was later
used to revive the fortunes of the great football club. Barcelona's
hall of fame at the Nou Camp contains a bust of Patrick O'Connell
in commemoration of his roll in helping the cub to make it through
the Spanish Civil War.
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Patrick O'Connell -
A Controversial Character
The Patrick O'Connell story begins
in Drumcondra, in Dublin, in March 1887. Born into a working class
family he used football as a release valve from the grinding poverty
of Dublin in those rare old times. He played as a centre-half for
Stranville Juniors on the North Strand. It is also known that he
worked for a while in Bolands Mills. O'Connell began to make his
mark in the world of soccer when he signed for Belfast Celtic from
the Falls Road.
He moved across the Irish Sea and
played for short periods with Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City
before signing for Manchester
United for £1,000 in May 1914.
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Match Fixing Scandal
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The United manager Jack Robson made
the tough defender the first Irish captain of Manchester United.
His time with United was not particularly positive for him as the
club struggled with the threat of relegation for most of the season
even though he scored two goals from defence in 35 appearances.
Although United avoided relegation
by a single point O'Connell couldn't avoid the shame of being involved
in an infamous match-fixing scandal. Players from Manchester United
and Liverpool FC, including
Patrick O'Connell, met in a pub the day before the two teams were
to meet in a League fixture. The players agreed to place bets at
8 to 1 that United would beat Liverpool by a scoreline of 2-0. With
the score during the match at 2-0 United were awarded a penalty.
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On the 2nd of April, Good Friday, in 1915
O'Connell took that penalty but shot well wide and the match ended 2-0.
Shamed, but avoiding criminal charges or a playing ban, Patrick O'Connell
remained a Manchester United player during World War I but there was very
little football played. It has been suggested that the idea of the match
fixing emerged because the players realised that their earning capacity
would be severely limited by the impending war.
Patrick O'Connell and Ireland Win Home
Nations Championship
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Patrick O'Connell was first capped
for Ireland (it was an all-Ireland team at the time) in 1912 in
a 1-6 defeat at Dalymount
Park. O'Connell only won six caps for Ireland however he was
a member of the Irish team that won the British Home Nations Championship
in 1914.
It was the only time that an all-Ireland
won that competition and it would be another 66 years before Northern
Ireland repeated the feat. On the way to the title Ireland beat
Wales 2-1, England 3-0, and drew with Scotland 1-1 at Windsor Park.
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Patrick O'Connell and Football Management
in Spain
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In 1922 Patrick O'Connell set sail
for Spain. It's not known why but it appears that he left all his
family behind him including a wife and four children.
In circumstances that are unclear
O'Connell succeed Englishman, Fred Pentland, as manager of Racing
Santander. O'Connell had had a brief stint as player-manager back
in England with Third Division Ashington AFC. It is likely that
Santander would have been where O'Connell first landed on the Spanish
mainland. O'Connell spent seven years in total with the club where
it is reported that his methods helped to revolutionise soccer in
the area. When the offside rule was introduced to the football rule
book O'Connell famously coached the Racing players in the offside
trap technique.
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Following his period with Racing Santander
Patrick O'Connell went on to manage Real Oviedo for two years and then managed
Real Betis for three years.
Controversy Follows Don Patricio
to Real Betis
By this time O'Connell was commonly referred
to as Don Patricio within the Spanish football world. He had very
significant success with Real Betis first qualifying to enter the Primera
Liga and then went on to win the top Spanish league in April 1935. Betis
had to beat Racing in Santander to be sure of beating Real Madrid to the
title. It appears that Patrick O'Connell had a few drinks with some of
his former colleagues from Racing and the following exchange is reported
to have taken place," ‘You've got nothing to play for tomorrow.
You won’t kill yourselves to beat us will you?’ O'Connell asked.
The answer from one of the leading players was unequivocal: ‘I’m
sorry, mister, but Madrid wants us to win. Our president, José
María Cossio, is a Madrid fan himself and is offering us 1,000
pesetas per (Racing) player if we win.’ " Apparently Don
Patricio didn't pursue matter, nevertheless Real Betis thumped Racing
Santander 5-0 to clinch the Primera Liga for the one and only time .
Patrick O'Connell - Manager of Barcelona
Following a brief holiday in his native
Ireland Patrick O'Connell was appointed as the manager of Barcelona during
the summer of 1935. Catalonia was becoming a centre of resistance against
the right wing tendencies emerging in Spain at the time. This manifested
itself on the football pitch in matches between Barça and the Franco-sponsored
Real Madrid - a rivalry that persists to this day. When the Spanish Civil
war erupted in 1936 the board of Barcelona decided to confine play to
local Catalan competitions. As the pressures from the conflict mounted
it appeared that the very existence of Barça was under serious
threat.
Out of the blue the club received an invitation
from Manuel Mas Soriano, a former Mexican basketball player, to tour Mexico
and the USA for a guaranteed fee of $15,000 - a huge amount at the time.
This was a financial lifeline for Barça and a very real lifeline
for the players who were feeling increasingly unsafe. It also provided
refuge for the groundsman. Angel Mur. Somewhat bizarrely, Patrick O'Connell
insisted that Mur go on the trip as the team's masseur.
Patrick O'Connell and Barcelona Tour
North America
The tour which was originally due to have
taken two weeks in fact took two months. None of the touring party were
in any rush to get back to war-wracked Spain. Patrick O'Connell's conduct
and performance during the tour was a major success in PR terms and Barça
received favourable reviews throughout the tour for their positive conduct
on and off the pitch. Following a series of matches in September 1937
in New York the touring party had run out of road and it was time to return
to Spain.
Details of Matches Played by Barcelona in New York
| 6 Sep 1937 |
Barcelona |
4 |
Brooklyn Hispano |
3 |
Brooklyn |
| 12 Sep 1937 |
Barcelona |
4 |
Hispano-St. Mary's Celtic |
2 |
Brooklyn |
| 19 Sep 1937 |
Barcelona |
2 |
American League Stars |
0 |
Brooklyn |
| 21 Sep 1937 |
Barcelona |
3 |
Jewish All-Stars |
0 |
New York City |
During a team meeting twelve of the players
decided to quit Barça and remain in the USA. The club secretary
Calvet decided to wire the tour fee of $15,000 to a bank account in Paris
rather than take the chance that the cash might fall into the hands of
the fascists on their return to Spain. Of the original touring party just
O'Connell, Calvet, Mur, team doctor Amoros, and four players returned
to Spain. On their return to Spain Patrick O'Connell left Barcelona.
Patrick O'Connell - End of Days for
a Barça Legend
O'Connell went on to manage Seville between
1942 and 1945 taking the team to second place in La Liga in his first
season . He finished his soccer management career in Spain where it all
started - back with Racing Santander from 1947 to 1949.
What happened in his life after he left
Spain is unclear however Patrick O'Connell, the Irishman that helped to
save the great Barcelona Football Club, finished his days in obscurity
in run-down lodgings near St. Pancras station in London. Patrick O'Connell
died on the 27th February 1959 at the age of 71. There is a bust of Patrick
O'Connell in the Barça museum and he is remembered on the Barcelona
FC website.
Patrick O'Connell - Manchester
United & Ireland Statistics
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