On A Day Like Today: Ansola debuts for Valencia CF

In 1966, Valencia CF brought several players into the first team who would prove to be stalwarts for the club. Juan Cruz Sol and Pep Claramunt were promoted from the Juvenil side, and from April the squad also boasted attacker Fernando Ansola, who arrived from Real Betis. The striker played his first game for the club 54 years ago, on April 10th.

Ansola’s debut came in the first leg of the Copa Round of 32, when Valencia CF played UP Langreo. He did not take long to open his scoring account, getting off the mark in the return leg at Mestalla.

Club president Julio de Miguel had seen him as an ideal foil for Waldo, and the two attackers clicked from the get-go. In their first season alongside one another, they racked up 52 goals, with Waldo establishing himself as one of Valencia CF’s greatest marksmen.

Ansola enjoyed perhaps the best stage of his career at Mestalla. In his maiden campaign he won the Copa (although he would miss the final through injury), and he would reach two further finals in 1970 and 1971, before leaving at the end of the latter season.

Nine years after his retirement, at the age of just 46, Ansola passed away, but his legacy still endures amongst those who saw him play.