Antonio Ortega Gutiérrez (17 January 1888 – 15 July 1939) was a Spanish Republican military officer. He was directly involved in the defence of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. He was also acting president of Madrid Football Club between 1937 and 1938.
Spanish Civil War A professional officer of the Spanish Army, he supported the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War. Before the war he was a lieutenant of Carabineros of the Second Spanish Republic stationed in Irún. On 6 August 1936, following the Coup, he was appointed civil governor of Gipuzkoa.Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. pp.651-652 He took command of the Republican forces during the later part of the Campaign of Guipúzcoa after the capture of Augusto Pérez Garmendia at Oiartzun. In 1937 he was appointed secretary of security and joined the Communist Party of Spain.Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.682 He was also, among other things, responsible for the arrest of Andreu NinThomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.883 and because of this, was dismissed by the minister of the interior, Julián Zugazagoitia;Preston, Paul. (2006). The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolution & revenge. Harper Perennial. London. p.262 he was eventually transferred to field command. In March 1939, he was the commander in charge of the III Army Corps of the Army of the Centre and supported Luis Barceló against the National Defence Council (Consejo Nacional de Defensa) during what later became the final offensive of the Spanish Civil War.Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.882 At the end of the war, he was captured by the Nationalists, sentenced to death by a military tribunal and subsequently executed by firing squad in Alicante on 15 July 1939.Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.899
President of Real Madrid
As President of Madrid Football Club, as Real Madrid were called during the Second Spanish Republic, he acted on behalf of Rafael Sánchez Guerra, a prominent Republican, who was unable to take an active role in managing the club due to the war. Ortega took over as acting president from another Republican, Juan José Vallejo. Together with Gonzalo Aguirre and Valero Rivera, Madrid Vice President and Treasurer, respectively, he was among several Real Madrid board members, captured and executed by Franco's Nationalists, following the city of Madrid's fall.Burns, Jimmy. (2012). La Roja: How Soccer Conquered Spain and How Spanish Soccer Conquered the World. Nation Books.Kassimeris, Christos. (2007). European Football in Black and White: Tackling Racism in Football. Lexington Books. p.22
References
Sources Romero, Eladi, Itinerarios de la Guerra Civil española : guía del viajero curioso, Barcelona : Laertes, 2001, 600 p. Barruso, Pedro, Verano y revolución. La guerra civil en Gipuzkoa (julio-septiembre de 1936), Edita: Haramburu Editor. San Sebastián, 1996.
Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football (2003), Phil Ball. List of missing persons
External links