Blast from the Past: Film about Former Bantam’s Winger Premieres
The Coventry Telegraph reported earlier this week that a documentary about former Coventry City Basque winger Emilio Aldecoa premieres in the UK at Amnesty International’s summer football film festival. The Sidelines festival runs from June 6th-8th at London’s Hackney Picturehouse.
In May last year CCFPA Chairman (and official Coventry City club historian) Jim Brown was approached by the Spanish TV company who wanted to find out more about Emilio’s time in Coventry and were interested in locating any City supporters who might remember seeing Emilio play at Highfield Road.
The documentary film ‘The Children of the Habana’ tells Emilio’s story of courage and achievement against early adversity. He was one of the many child refugees brought to Britain to escape the horrors of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Along with up to 4000 young companions, in May 1937 he sailed from Bilbao to Southampton on the recommissioned liner Habana. He had played for Basque Boys and ended up employed at English Electric in Staffs where he played for the works team. Only a few years later he became the first Spaniard to play professional football in England when he played for Wolves in 1943. He came to Highfield Road in 1945 (and later became assistant Manager at Birmingham). Others who made the same journey from the Habana into English football included Sabin Barinaga, Raimundo Perez Lezama and brothers Jose and Tony Gallego as well as another young man from the Basque country Jose Bilbao who also played for the Highfield Road team alongside Aldecoa. Emilio and Jose are pictured below in a 1945-46 team picture.
Emilio played over 60 times for the Bantams between 1945-47 and scored six goals before returning to Spain to play for a succession of top Spanish clubs (Atletico Bilbao 1947, Real Valladolid 1949, FC Barcelona 1951, Sporting Gijon 1953 & FC Girona 1954) and after returning to the UK as assistant manager at Birmingham City 1961-62 returned to manage in his home country at CD Condal and Real Valladolid. He was also capped for his country against Northern Ireland in 1948. Emilio passed away in his late seventies in 1999 in Lloret de Mar, Spain.
The documentary, made by ‘Informe Robinson’, a Spanish monthly sports TV programme, is presented by former Liverpool and QPR striker Michael Robinson. The full Coventry Telegraph report can be found at http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/new-documentary-tells-child-refugee-7175387
