By JONAS TERRADO
La Liga, Spain’s top flight football league, expressed elation over the induction of football great Paulino Alcantara into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame.
The FC Barcelona legend was posthumously included as one of 10 people joining the latest batch of the Hall of Fame which was established to honor some of the country’s greatest athletes and coaches.
“We are thrilled to hear the news that FC Barcelona Filipino legend Paulino Alcantara has made it into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame!” La Liga said on its Facebook account.
Alcantara, born in Concepcion, Iloilo, is best remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of the Catalan club. He made his first stint with Barcelona from 1912-1916 before returning home to play for the Manila-based Bohemian Sporting Club from 1916 to 1918.
During his time in Manila, Alcantara represented the Philippines in the 1917 Far Eastern Games, highlighted by a 15-2 drubbing of Japan, a record for the most lopsided victory ever recorded by a national football squad.
Alcantara returned to Spain for good, playing nine more seasons for Barcelona before retiring in 1927 to become a doctor. He passed away at the age of 67 in 1964.
He amassed 369 goals during his two stints at Barcelona, a club record which has since been surpassed by the iconic Lionel Messi.
Messi broke that mark in 2014 when he recorded a hat trick against Osasuna.
