Silvestre Igoa

2.1. Birth and Upbringing

Silvestre Igoa Garciandia was born on September 5, 1920, in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa Province, Basque Country, Spain. Specifically, he hailed from the Añorga district of San Sebastián. He stood 68 in ^{(173 cm)} tall and weighed 161 lb ^{(73 kg)}.

2.2. Early Football Career

Igoa began his football journey in youth clubs. He played for Beti Arrai and Catarroja CF, where he developed his skills before transitioning into professional football.

3.1. Valencia CF

Igoa played for Valencia CF from 1941 to 1950, a period often referred to as the club's "golden age" in the 1940s. He made his senior team debut in the 1941-42 La Liga season, contributing to Valencia's league title victory, although he only made three appearances that season. He also won the league title in the 1943-44 La Liga season, appearing in eight matches. During these early championship seasons, key players like Edmundo Suárez and Guillermo Gorostiza were the team's top scorers.

Igoa's role became more central over time. In the 1946-47 La Liga season, he played in all 26 matches, scoring eight goals, as Valencia secured their third La Liga title during his tenure. He further contributed to the club's success by winning the 1948-49 Copa del Rey and the 1949 Copa Eva Duarte, a super cup. In the 1949-50 La Liga season, Igoa had a remarkable individual performance, scoring 22 goals, placing him second in the league's top scorer list, only behind Telmo Zarra who scored 25.

3.2. Real Sociedad

In 1950, Igoa moved to his hometown club, Real Sociedad, where he played until 1956. During his time there, he continued to be a prolific goal scorer. In the 1952-53 La Liga season, he scored 20 goals, ranking fifth in the league's scoring charts, behind players such as Zarra, Tomás Moreno, Julián Arcas Sánchez, and Adrián Escudero. Despite Igoa's individual scoring prowess, Real Sociedad generally finished in the middle or lower half of the league table during his tenure and did not contend for the championship. His combined total of 141 goals in the Primera División for Valencia CF and Real Sociedad stood as the record for the most goals by a player born in Gipuzkoa Province until it was surpassed by Aritz Aduriz in 2017.

3.3. Granada CF

In 1956, Igoa transferred to Granada CF, which was then in the Segunda División (second division). In the 1956-57 Segunda División season, he made 23 appearances and scored 12 goals, playing a crucial role in helping Granada CF achieve promotion to the Primera División. Following this successful season, Silvestre Igoa retired from professional football in 1957.

4.1. 1950 FIFA World Cup

Igoa was part of the Spanish squad that competed in the 1950 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil. He scored two goals during the tournament. In Spain's opening group stage match against the United States, Spain conceded an early goal. Igoa scored in the 81st minute to equalize the score at 1-1. Spain went on to win the match 3-1 with additional goals from Estanislau Basora in the 83rd minute and Telmo Zarra in the 89th minute. The United States team notably achieved one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history by defeating England 1-0 in their next match.

In the final round of the tournament, which was a round-robin format involving Uruguay, host nation Brazil, Sweden, and Spain, Igoa scored his second World Cup goal. This occurred in the match against Brazil, where he scored in the 71st minute, making the score 6-1 after Brazil had already established a dominant lead. Spain ultimately lost the match 6-1. Igoa's two goals in the tournament ranked him as Spain's third-highest scorer, behind Basora and Zarra, who both scored four goals.

5.1. Club Statistics

5.2. International Goals