Raimundo Pérez Lezama: one of the “Children of War”

June 20 is World Refugee Day. Raimundo Pérez Lezama, Athletic goalkeeper from 1941 to 1957, was one of the “Children of War” forced to flee to England due to the Spanish Civil War.

The shotstopper is recognised as being one of the best goalkeepers in Athletic’s history. He stood between the sticks at San Mamés for sixteen years (although he technically belonged to Athletic a year longer than that) and only in the last two seasons did he begin to make way for promising youngster Carmelo Cedrún, who later became a legendary Athletic keeper too.

In fact, Lezama was the first in a line of goalkeepers who rose to legendary status at Athletic Club after the end of the Civil War, as it was José Ángel Iribar who subsequently took over from the great Carmelo.

During his childhood, Lezama excelled in various sports, such as football and Basque pelota. But life in his native Barakaldo was not exactly peaceful. The Spanish Civil War, and specifically the bombing of towns such as Durango and Gernika, had struck fear into the hearts of the entire country. As a result, many families were compelled to protect their children far from the war.

For this reason, Lezama, at the age of 14, and his younger brother Luis, along with 4,000 other children, left Biscay for England on board a steamship called the SS Habana.

The ship docked in the port of Southampton and the two brothers were placed in St. Nazareth’s Home, a Catholic orphanage in the city. There, Raimundo stood out for his skill as footballer.

He was noticed by Toby Keller, a commander in the RAF (Royal Air Force), who later hired Lezama as his personal chauffeur. Keller, a board member at Southampton Football Club, recommended that team manager Tom Parker take a look at the lanky, athletically gifted youngster.

It didn’t take long until Lezama joined the Hampshire-based club’s youth set-up as the centre forward. He became regional champion several times, but one day the goalkeeper got injured and Lezama decided to try out life between the sticks. He was a revelation, and went on to play in that position for 25 more years until his retirement.

Lezama was soon promoted to the Southampton first team, who at that time played their home games at The Dell Stadium (since 2001 they’ve been based at St. Mary’s Stadium), and made his debut against Arsenal, aged 17, in the “London Combination”, an unofficial league made up of players with no permanent military assignment. World War II was on the way.

Fulham, Chelsea, Portsmouth and Arsenal were some of the sides he faced. What’s more, Raimundo was not the only Basque around. Sabino Barinaga from Durango, centre-forward, natural born goalscorer, and for a while record goalscorer at Real Madrid, was also an integral part of that Saints team.

Lezama returned to Barakaldo and almost immediately signed for Segunda División side Arenas Club de Getxo. Their line-up back then could be recited off the top of one’s head: Pérez (Lezama); Basaguren, Larrazabal, Zalbidea, Tellados, Gochi, Landabaso, Campa, Larrondo, Bilbao and Juanito Ochoa. Lezama was the only one who trained with his shiny boots brought over from England, the rest of his teammates wore espadrilles.

Four months later, with Athletic in the midst of rebuilding their squad, they signed the young goalkeeper from Barakaldo for the 1940/41 season. With goalkeeper Josetxu Echebarria out due to a serious lung condition, Lezama, still a 19-year-old, finally made his debut on September 27, 1942. He kept a clean sheet as Athletic registered a massive 5-0 win over Real Betis.

He stayed at Athletic until 1956-57, winning two league titles, the first one in 1943 under Juan Urquizu. The standard starting XI that season was: Lezama; Mieza, Oceja; Ortúzar, Ortiz; Iriondo, Panizo, Zarra, Gárate and Gainza. He had to wait 13 years for the second title, which came in 1956, with Ferdinand Daucik as manager.

Lezama also won six Copas (1943, 1944, 1945, 1945, 1950, 1955 and 1956), means he was part of two double winning sides during his career. As he moved into his thirties, he started to find it more difficult to break into the starting XI as Carmelo pushed for a place.

Throughout his career, Lezama stood out for his composure and the confidence he conveyed to his defenders, but above all he impressed fans by using his feet almost as much as his hands.

When he left England, he brought some innovations with him, such as his advanced position, leaving the box with the ball at his feet and a powerful big boot up the middle pitch. He also stopped the ball with his feet when he received a passback, distributing it almost immediately in order to speed up play.

With Lezama, Spanish football witnessed the arrival of a different kind of goalkeeper, his methods were totally ahead of his time, which is why many call him the proto ‘sweeper-keeper’.

His style of play often left referees bemused, even angry at times. But when they reprimanded him, he would reply that he learnt the art of goalkeeping in the cradle of football.

He hung up his boots for a few months, but at the request of his friend Jaime de Olaso he returned to football to lend a hand at Sociedad Deportiva Indautxu. After this, Lezama signed for Sestao, where he stayed for two years, and from there he returned to Arenas, before retiring at the age of 39 after one season.