Frederick Beaconsfield Pentland (born Wolverhampton, England, July 29th 1883, died Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, England, March 16th 1962 ) was an English footballer and manager during the early 1900s. As a player Pentland won five caps for England. However he is best remembered for his career as a manager in Spain where he coached several clubs including Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Madrid, Racing de Santander and Real Oviedo. Pentland also had brief spells as coach of Germany, France and Spain. He was also assistant manager at Brentford F.C. and then as manager of Barrow A.F.C. on his return to England resigning in 1940.

Pentland earned the nickname El Bombín, due to his bowler hat, while at Athletic Bilbao. He is still the clubs most successful manager to date. In 1959 Athletic invited Pentland back to Spain for a testimonial game in his honour against Chelsea and awarded him a Distinguished Members medal. When he died in 1962, Athletic held memorial service in his honour at San Mamés.

Career as Player

Between 1903 and 1913 Pentland played for several English clubs including Blackpool F.C. , Blackburn Rovers, Brentford F.C., Queens Park Rangers , Middlesbrough F.C. , Halifax Town and Stoke City. At Queens Park Rangers he helped the club win the Southern Football League in 1908 and subsequently played in the FA Charity Shield game against English League champions Manchester United. While at Middlesbrough F.C. he won 5 caps as a "fast attacking winger" for England.

Germany and France

After retiring as a player, Pentland went to Berlin in 1914 to take charge of the German Olympic football team. Unfortunately the First World War broke out with in a few months of his arrival and he was subsequently interned in Germany. He allegedly passed the time by coaching German officers. In 1920 he coached France at the Olympic Games in Belgium. They reached the semi-final but France and Pentland missed out on a potential silver medal. Assuming they were knocked out, they returned to France and missed out on a hastily arranged third-place play-off match with The Netherlands for the bronze medal.

Spain

In 1921 Pentland joined Racing de Santander but was quickly poached by Athletic Bilbao . In 1923 he led the club to victory in the Copa del Rey. Pentland revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game. In 1927 he left Athletic and coached Athletic Madrid, Real Oviedo and then Athletic Madrid again. He was manager at Athletic Madrid during the inaugural La Liga season and in 1929 Pentland was coach of Spain when they became the first non- British team to beat England when they won 4-3.

In 1929 Pentland rejoined Athletic Bilbao. He subsequently led them to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931. He also guided the club as they won the Copa del Rey four times in a row between 1930 and 1933 and finished as La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. Pentland’s Athletic were notable for their prolific goalscorers including Bata, Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes and Jose Irraragorri Ealo. In 1931 Pentland also masterminded Athletic’s 12-1 victory over FC Barcelona, the latter’s worst ever defeat. In 1933 he joined Athletic Madrid for a third time but returned to England at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

Honours

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Manager

Athletic Bilbao

• Spanish Champions:
  • 1929-30, 1930-31: 2
• Copa del Rey:
  • 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933: 5
• Campeonato de Vicaya:
  • 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1932-33: 6

Player

Queens Park Rangers

• Southern Football League:
  • 1907-08: 1

English football managers | Spain national football team managers | Blackpool F.C. players | Blackburn Rovers F.C. players | Brentford F.C. players | Queens Park Rangers F.C. players | Middlesbrough F.C. players | Stoke City F.C. players | England international footballers | English footballers | Racing de Santander managers | Athletic Bilbao managers | Atlético de Madrid managers | La Liga managers | Fred Pentland