Salvador ARTIGAS

Salvador Artigas was a Spanish-born defensive midfielder, who started his professional career with Barcelona in 1932. He would spend two seasons at the club before signing for Levante, for whom he would play until 1936. That year, he would be forced to put his footballing career on hold because of the Spanish Civil War, where he signed up as a fighter pilot in the Republican Air Force under General Franco. In 1938, he would eventually flee his country to move to France, and kick-start his footballing career. He signed for Girondins de Bordeaux thanks to the manager of the day, who happened to be a compatriot of his, Benito Diaz. Alas, he would suffer a serious knee-injury during his first training session at the club, and he would see precious little game-time in Bordeaux. He would eventually be loaned out to Le Mans in 1942. A technically-gifted, elegant and attack-minded player, he would then join the federal team of Rennes-Bretagne in 1943, before signing for Stade Rennais the following year. He was considered to be a model professional, and a charismatic player, and his career with Rennes would prove to be a decent one overall, being a lynchpin in the Rennes side, thanks to his technical ability and his aptitude as a team-player. His versatility was made good use of, as he would mostly be used as a playmaker, but also occasionally in attack, or even defence. In 1949, he would return to Spain to sign for Real Sociedad, where he would spend three seasons, before returning to Rennes to take on the role of Player/Manager for the first time, in 1952. He would manage the club until 1955, making the odd appearance as cover on the pitch. He would play on until he was 42, and then embarked on a long career as First Team Manager, which saw him have a spell with Bordeaux, as well as several clubs in Spain until retiring from the game altogether in 1973