José Bañón

José Bañón
Personal information
Full name	José Bañón Gonzálvez
Date of birth	19 April 1922
Place of birth	Alicante, Spain
Date of death	21 April 1987 (aged 65)
Place of death	Alicante, Spain
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Machet Carolinas
	Trafalgar
	Gimnástico Carolinas
	Benalúa
Senior career*
Years	Team
1941	Hércules
1941–1943	Elche
1943–1950	Real Madrid
1950–1951	Alicante
National team
1947	Spain
Teams managed
1951–1953	Alicante
	Orihuela
	Elche
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

José Bañón Gonzálvez (19 April 1922 – 21 April 1987) was a Spanish football goalkeeper and coach.

Club career[]

Bañón was born in Alicante. After playing for three local amateur clubs he joined another team in the Valencian Community, Hércules CF, being part of their La Liga roster in 1941–42 but failing to make his debut in the competition.

Bañón signed for Real Madrid in the summer of 1943, being the most used player in his position during his six-season spell (maximum of 26 matches in 1944–45 and a minimum of 17 in 1947–48) and winning three major titles, including two Copa del Generalísimo trophies. He was forced to retire from football at only 27, due to a lung problem.^[1]

After retiring, Bañón returned to his native region and coached Alicante CF from 1951 to 1953, the first year being spent in Segunda División and the second as a player-coach. He was also in charge of Orihuela Deportiva CF and Elche CF, leaving the sport for good in 1956.

International career[]

Bañón was called up several times to the Spain national side as Ignacio Eizaguirre's backup, but only earned one cap: on 27 January 1947, he played 48 minutes in a friendly with Portugal before retiring injured in the eventual 1–4 loss in Lisbon.^[2]

Personal life / Death[]

Bañón's older brother, Francisco (1920–2009), was an international football referee.^[3] José died in his hometown of Alicante on 21 April 1987, just two days after his 65th birthday.^[4]