13 FACTS ABOUT RAFAEL MORENO ARANZADI (PICHICHI)
- He was given birth to on 23rd May, 1892, in Bilbao, Biscay.
-Pichichi played in his first Copa del Rey final in March 1913 as Athletic Bilbao, his sole club, lost 0–1 against Racing Club de Irún.
-Later the same year, on 21 August, the same opponents, now renamed Real Unión, were invited to play the inaugural game at San Mamés Stadium, and he scored the very first goal at the ground
-He also scored the first goal at Real Sociedad's new Atotxa Stadium in the opening fixture for that venue.
-He always tied to his head a white cloth on the pitch for easy identification
-He was called received his nickname because of his frail build.
- Pichici won 4 Copa del Rey titles (1914, 1915, 1916 and1921) and the Northern/Vizcayan Regional Championship in 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1919–20, 1920–21.
-He scored a total of 83 goals in 89 games for Athletic.
-In 1920, Pichichi was a member of the very first Spain national team that played at the Summer Olympic Games in Belgium. He earned five senior caps during one month, his debut coming on 28 August in a 1–0 win against Denmark.
-He died on 2 March 1922 at the age of only 29 from a sudden attack of typhus
-In 1953, Spanish sports newspaper Diario Marca introduced the Pichichi Trophy in his honour. It was awarded each year to the top scorers in La Liga and Segunda División.
-In 1926, a bust was erected in Pichichi's honour at the San Mamés Stadium. Teams visiting the ground for the first time pay homage by leaving a bouquet of flowers at its
(Pichichi's statue) base.
-Though, there were concerns that Pichichi's bust might not be accommodated at Athletic Bilbao's new ground, but a suitable spot was later identified at the entrance to the players' tunnel, allowing the tradition to continue at the new location from 2013 onwards.
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