Avelino Álvarez
Spanish pharmacist and footballer
Avelino Álvarez Villanueva (4 November 1911 – 16 August 1991) was a Spanish pharmacist and footballer who played as a midfielder for Madrid FC and Real Valladolid.
Early life and family
Avelino Álvarez was born on 4 November 1911 in Mieres, Asturias, as the son of Florentina Villanueva Viejo Álvarez and teacher José Álvarez Losa, who also owned a mine and other businesses in Turón, which allowed the couple to enjoy a comfortable economic position and give their seven children higher education in Madrid to keep them away from the world of the coal business.
Three of his brothers (Ramón, Carlos, and Luis) were doctors; another, José, was an engineer, but Avelino became a pharmacist. As for the two sisters, Carmen, born in 1907, studied Educational Sciences, although she did not go on to practice, because her marriage in 1934 introduced her into Madrid's high society where it was frowned upon for women to work. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, she was caught in Republican Madrid with her newborn daughter, while her husband had stayed in Salamanca, and was then accused of collaborating with the fifth column and sentenced to death, a sentence that was commuted to 20 years of hard labor in the women's prison, where she remained until the entry of the national troops. Her other sister María de la Luz, however, was not so lucky, as she was shot in one of the checas in Madrid.
Playing career
Unlike his brothers, Álvarez was more drawn to sport and soon revealed himself to be a good football player, so he started playing for the San Pedro CF in 1930, and in the following year, in 1931, he moved to Imperio CF, which was a team made up of students and civil guards, but it also served as a subsidiary and youth team of Real Madrid. In his first season at the club, he played a crucial role in helping Imperio win the Spanish Amateur Championship, so he was signed Real Madrid, where he had few chances.
In his first season at the club, he did not play a single official match, being loaned to Elche to gain experience, while the few friendlies that he played for Madrid were of such little importance that not even the starters were called up. He thus appears as a reserve for the squad between 1932 and 1934, and finally got his breakthrough during his second season, when he was called up to replace the injured Luis Valle in the fifth round of the regional championship.
“Avelino Álvarez” enters the record as spanish pharmacist and footballer. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Avelino, Álvarez and Spanish can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q125769937. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1911, 1991, 1907 and 1934.
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