Edmundo Suárez is yet another legendary player of the game that is probably not known to most football fans. The reason for that is also simple, as the former Spanish striker's peak years were during the 1940's. Popularly known as Mundo at the time, the Spaniard is known for his magnificent stint at Valencia. He played as a centre-forward at the Spanish club for almost his entire career, except his final season which was at Alcoyano. We will be looking back at this legendary player's career in this article.
Club career
Edmundo Suárez initially started his football career by playing with several amateur clubs in his native Basque Country, but the Spanish Civil War changed his career completely. The player had a contract agreement with Athletic Bilbao, but this acquisition was made in republican territory, thus it was not considered valid by the pro-Franco state which remained in power after the War.
The pro-Franco army went on to create a team named "Recovery of Levante" , which included diverse players who had fought in the military region of Levante. This team was chosen by Spanish club Valencia as its first opponent after the war. The impressive performance of players from the Pro-Franco club led to Valencia acquiring all their players, with Mundo being one of them.
This was the beginning of a legendary career at Valencia for the Spaniard, as he spent eleven seasons at the club between 1939–40 and 1949–50. The player's immense physical strength was one of his key attributes that allowed him to dominate Spanish football during the 1940s. Alongside teammates with Epifanio Fernández, Amadeo Ibáñez,Vicente Asensi and Guillermo Gorostiza, Mundo formed a devastating front line that made Valencia a terrifying team for opponents.
The talented Valencia side ended up winning 3 La Liga titles (1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47) during that decade, were runners-up on two occasions. Mundo also reached 5 Copa del Rey finals with the Spanish side, and claimed the title on 2 occasions.
Legacy
For hardcore fans of the club who are familiar with him, Mundo is nothing less than an idol. Valencia's old Spanish sensation holds the record for highest number of goals scored for the club with 238 in the two major domestic competitions, with an impressive average of 0.92 goals per game.
Mundo also won the coveted Pichichi Trophy (top scoring player) for 2 consecutive seasons (1941–42 and 1942–43) with 27 and 28 goals respectively. He is currently the tenth highest goal scorer in the history of the Spanish league (with the fifth-highest goals-per-game ratio), and the sixth highest goalscorer in the history of the Copa del Rey.
His final season at Valencia saw him participate in only 6 games, and he eventually decided to leave Valencia. Mundo went on to join Alcoyano, which was a nearby smaller club that also took part in the first division. The Spaniard spent a single season at the club scoring 9 goals in 21 appearances. Valencia's former attacking sensation came to the realization that he was no longer able to play at the top level, and ultimately decided to bid farewell to the beautiful game.
Aftermath
After his years as a football player were over, Edmundo Suárez began the next chapter of his professional life as a football manager. He went on to manage his beloved Valencia side during the 1960's, and went on to lead them to a Copa del Rey. The Spaniard will forever be remembered by the club and its fans as one of the very best to play for them.
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