Agustín Sauto Arana

Bata
Personal information
Full name Agustín Sauto Arana
Date of birth (1908-05-11)11 May 1908
Place of birth Barakaldo, Spain
Date of death 21 August 1986(1986-08-21) (aged 78)
Place of death Valle de Trápaga, Spain
Playing position Striker
Youth career
San Vicente Barakaldo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1925–1929 Barakaldo
1929–1936 Athletic Bilbao 118 (105)
1938–1943 Barakaldo
National team
1931 Spain 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Agustín Sauto Arana (11 May 1908 – 21 August 1986), known as Bata, was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

He spent most of his career with Athletic Bilbao, scoring 208 goals in as many games across all competitions and winning four La Liga championships.[1][2]

Club career

Bata in the 1930s.

Born in Barakaldo, Biscay, Bata started his career at hometown club Barakaldo CF. His nickname derived from the fact he used to wear an overall (bata in Spanish) made by his mother in order to prevent him from staining his better clothes; he was also dubbed El Bertha bilbaino (Bilbao's Bertha), El terror de San Mamés (terror of San Mamés) and El león enfurecido (raging lion).[3]

Bata signed with Athletic Bilbao in 1929, and made his professional debut for them on 22 September in a 4–1 win against Deportivo Alavés for the Biscay Championship. In his first season, he won both the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles; his first goal in the former competition came on 23 March 1930, in a 4–3 success at Atlético Madrid.[4]

Bata achieved the same feat of league and cup double the following campaign, while also earning the Pichichi Trophy having scored 27 goals.[5] Seven of those came in Athletic's historic 12–1 defeat of FC Barcelona on 18 February 1931,[2] even though some sources only awarded him five and others as many as eight;[6][7] he continued to play regularly until 1935–36 when he won the championship for a fourth time, but his career was then effectively ended at the age of 28 by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

In the summer of 1938, Bata re-joined Barakaldo, but the competition would only be resumed the following year after the end of the war. He retired at the age of 35 after four seasons in Segunda División, and died on 21 August 1986 at 78 in Valle de Trápaga-Trapagaran.[7]

International career

In spite of his club achievements, Bata only gained one cap for the Spanish national team. It happened on 19 April 1931, in a friendly with Italy played in Bilbao.[8]

Career statistics

Club

[9]

Club Season League Cup Regional championship Totals
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Athletic Bilbao1929–30La Liga7154872012
1930–311727710112538
1931–321812668113229
1932–331815978153537
1933–341712677153034
1934–3521161012123428
1935–36202242863230
Totals 11810538365267208208

Honours

Club

Athletic Bilbao

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Zarra, el rey de la antigüedad" [Zarra, king of old]. El País (in Spanish). 22 November 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Leyendas del Athletic Club de Bilbao – 'Bata'" [Athletic Club de Bilbao legends – 'Bata']. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Breves y curiosos relatos (II)" [Short fun facts (II)] (PDF) (in Spanish). Bilbao.net. August 2004. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Athlétic de Madrid, 3 – Athlétic de Bilbao, 4". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 March 1930. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Spain – List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929–2015". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Bata y los cinco goles al Barça" [Bata and the five goals to Barça]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Agustín Souto Arana, futbolista" [Agustín Souto Arana, footballer]. El País (in Spanish). 23 August 1986. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Sobre un campo convertido en lodazal, Italia y España cerraron la lucha con empate a 0 goals" [On mire-like pitch, Italy and Spain ceased hostilities with 0 to 0 draw]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 April 1931. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Bata at Athletic Bilbao
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