Gregorio Ameztoy Querejeta (15 May 1916 - 24 October 1972) was a Filipino professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

in Spain.

Early life

Ameztoy was born in 1916 in La Carlota, Philippines, to Basque Spanish parents from

Zestoa Zestoa () is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in Nor ...

, Spain. Ameztoy attended the Colegio Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo en Lecároz.

Career

Ameztoy debuted for Spanish side

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

at the age of seventeen. He became the first Filipino footballer to play in the Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

. Altogether, he made over 90 appearances in the Spanish

Style of play

Ameztoy mainly operated as a midfielder and was known for his in-game intelligence, ability to use his right foot, and technical ability.

Personal life

Ameztoy had two sisters and two brothers.

References

1916 births 1972 deaths Atlético Madrid footballers Filipino men's footballers Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers La Liga players Men's association football midfielders Real Zaragoza players {{Philippines-footy-bio-stub