Real Madrid announced the death of Amancio Amaro on Tuesday. The one who was a white striker in the 1960s and 1970s died last morning at the age of 83. Born in A Coruña in 1939, Amancio was also honorary president of the white club.
"A benchmark for Real Madrid and current honorary president of our club, he was a Real Madrid player from 1962 to 1976. Throughout those 14 seasons he played 471 games, scored 155 goals and became one of the great legends of our team" recalls in a statement the entity chaired by Florentino Pérez.
Real Madrid, its president and the board of directors regretted the news and expressed "their condolences and affection" to Amancio's family. "He has always been an example for Real Madrid and for the entire world of sport."
Real Madrid will always remember his goal in the final of the club's sixth European Cup. Amancio started Madrid's comeback against Partizan Belgrade (2-1) at the Heysel stadium in Brussels. In addition to that title, he won nine league titles and three cups with the whites. He was the league's top scorer on two occasions.
Capped 42 times, he won his first European Championship with the Spanish team in 1964 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Amancio was also part of the FIFA world team that in 1968 faced Brazil at the Maracana stadium.
"Together with Paco Gento, Amancio led Real Madrid after five consecutive European Cups," recalls Madrid, "and represents the values that have forged the history of our club."
As a coach, Amancio achieved the feat of winning the Second Division championship with Castilla in 1984, the only subsidiary team of a Spanish football club to do so to date. With him on the bench, the Quinta del Buitre was forged, one of the most remembered generations of homegrown players in the entity.
