Raimundo Pérez Lezama

Football player infobox
playername = Lezama


full name = Raimundo Pérez Lezama
dateofbirth = birth date|1922|11|29|mf=y
cityofbirth = Barakaldo, Vizcaya
countryofbirth = Spain
position = Goalkeeper
dateofdeath = death date and age|2007|7|24|1922|11|29
cityofdeath = Bilbao
countryofdeath = Spain
years = 1939-1940
1940-1941
1941-1957
1957-1958
1958-1960
1960-1961
clubs = Southampton F.C.
Arenas Club de Getxo
Atlético Bilbao
SD Indautxu
Sestao
Arenas Club de Getxo
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 1947
nationalteam = Spain
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
pcupdate = July 05 2006
ntupdate = July 05 2006

Raimundo Pérez Lezama (born in Barakaldo, Vizcaya, November 29, 1922 - died in Bilbao, July 24, 2007) was a Spanish/Basque footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Southampton, Arenas Club de Getxo, Atlético Bilbao, SD Indautxu, Sestao, and Spain.

Refugee in England

Lezama arrived in England, as a refugee, at the age of 14. He entered at the port of Southampton on board the "Habana" on May 23 1937. Lezama and his brother, Luis, were among 3,889 Basque children fleeing the Spanish Civil War. While in Southampton he played for his school, Nazareth House, (less than half a mile from The Dell) where he was spotted by Southampton F.C. He made his debut for the club on June 1 1940 in a game against Arsenal. Southampton lost 5-0 and Lezama only played 2 more games at the end of an extended wartime season. Despite being underage, he briefly worked as a driver for the RAF.

Atlético Bilbao

On returning to Spain in 1940, Lezama joined Arenas Club de Getxo, then playing in the Segunda División. In 1941 he signed for Atlético Bilbao and made his La Liga debut on September 27 1942, in a 5-0 win against Real Betis. The 1942-43 season saw Atlético, with a team that also included Zarra, Panizo and Agustín Gaínza, win a La Liga/Copa del Generalisimo double. Lezama helped Atlético retain the Copa del Generalisimo in both 1944 and 1945 and won the Copa with Atlético for a fourth time in 1950. While at Atlético, Lezama also won the Zamora Trophy as best goalkeeper during the 1946-47 season and his only cap for Spain in a 4-1 win over Portugal on January 26 1947.

Throughout the rest of his career at Atlético, Lezama was only a squad player, making only 12 La Liga appearances between 1952 and 1957. After playing 197 La Liga games for Atlético, he left the club in 1957.

Later career

The following season he joined SD Indautxu in the Segunda División where his team mates included emerging youngsters Jesus María Pereda and Miguel Jones. He played two further seasons in the Segunda División with Sestao before rejoining Arenas Club de Getxo in 1960.

Honours

* Spanish League Championship 2:
**1942-43, 1955-56
* Copa del Generalisimo 6:
**1943, 1944, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1956
* Zamora Trophy 1:
**1946-47

External links

* [http://futbol.sportec.es/seleccion/ficha_jugador.asp?j=365&n=lezama/raimundo/perez/lezama Spain stats]