The County Durham miner who managed FC Barcelona
English football managers struggle to find success abroad- but for a Crook-born miner this wasn’t an issue
The glitz and glamour of European and international football may seem a far cry from the Durham coalfield. However, during the first decades of the 20th century, one man tread this path to become a footballer and then manager for one of the biggest football clubs in the game.
Jack Greenwell is a somewhat forgotten figure in football. Born in Crook, County Durham, in 1884 his father was- like most of the men of his age- a coal miner. Jack spent time working at a colliery, but his real passion was playing football. In 1901, when he was 17, Jack joined his local club Crook Town FC.
Over 11 seasons, Jack helped Crook to three third-placed finishes in the Northern League. However, appearances for another North East club would give Jack the spotlight to take his career to an international level. West Auckland Town is famous for becoming the first English side to win an international tournament (The Thomas Lipton Trophy) in 1909, and they went and won it again in 1911. On both occasions, the tournament was held in Turin, Italy.
Greenwell was a guest player for West Auckland in the tournament. The County Durham side, consisting of players who mainly earned their living down coal mines, were up against a Turin XI, Stuttgarter, and FC Winterthur. Defeating Stuttgarter 2–0 in the semi-finals, West Auckland and Greenwell won the trophy by defeating Winterthur by the same scoreline.
It was a fantastic achievement for the club, and Greenwell was to benefit from the high-profile fixture. Chairman of FC Barcelona Joan Gamper was watching on, and he was impressed by what he saw in the man from Crook. In 1912, the invitation to join the Spanish club was sent to Greenwell.
Over the next three years, Greenwell was a regular feature on the Barcelona side. In his debut season of 1912–13, Greenwell played 25 matches and scored twice, this was then followed up with 31 games and three goals in the 1913–14 season. By 1916, Greenwell’s opportunities on the pitch had dried up, but he turned his hand to coaching instead.
His fellow Englishman John Barrow had during the first four months of 1917 become the first ever Head Coach of the famous old club. However, Gamper had become frustrated at Barrow’s issues with drinking and his overall lack of popularity within the club. The Barcelona President turned to Greenwell to take over and, despite a rocky start with club members being slow to take to him, the success soon came.
Barcelona went on to be serial winners of Campionat de Catalunya, Spain’s first football league and the precursor to La Liga. In one of these first campaigns. Greenwell oversaw a defence of the league title and a Copa Del Rey triumph. A big highlight for Greenwell was leading Barcelona to a 7–0 win over Real Madrid in the El Clasico- a result that is still the Catalonian side’s biggest over their rivals. The success of Barcelona under Greenwell’s tenure, so much so that their 6,000 capacity home Campo de le Industria had become too small- Gamper revealed plans to create a new stadium in the city.
The 1920–21 campaign, Barcelona’s first in their new Campo de Les Corts, would be Greenwell’s last in charge of the club. They finished joint top of the league and lost the deciding play-off 1–0. Taking his managerial skills around the country, Greenwell had spells at several clubs including UE Sants, a team formed within Barcelona. In 1926, Greenwell’s second campaign with the club, they defeated Barcelona 1–0 and secured second place- their best-ever league finish.
The following year Greenwell left Catalonia to take over at CD Castellón who played in the Valencia regional league. He set them up for a repeat of their second-place finish the previous campaign, but an approach from Espanyol with a lucrative wage was too good for Greenwell to turn down. In 1928, the club won their first Catalunya title since 1918.
Into the 1930s Greenwell returned to Barcelona but this time for only two years, he headed to Valencia in 1933 and led them to a cup final. Life for Greenwell would be changed forever with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
The former Crook miner had sympathies towards the Catalonia Republicans, and as a result, was forced to leave Spain with his family and return to England. He met his wife Doris who was working as a dancer in Paris in 1915, and they had a daughter named Carmen.
Greenwell had a lengthy CV from years of coaching in Spain, but despite this, he was unable to get work back in England. Records show that he took a job in Turkey for a short time, but the details on this are fairly limited.
Thankfully this experience was put to good use, and Greenwell was approached to manage the Peruvian national team. He led the country into the 1939 Copa America, which was held in Peru, and after several teams pulled out Greenwell’s side topped the group and won their first-ever title. A nervy victory against Uruguay for the job done.
The final chapter in Greenwell’s coaching career was written in Colombia. In charge of Club Independiente Sante Fe during a regional competition taking place during the Second World War. This was after he carried out some work with the Colombian national side.
Sadly, Greenwell’s life was cut short aged just 58. Upon arriving home after a coaching session, Greenwell had a significant heart attack and died. He is buried in the British cemetery in Bogota, the capital city of Colombia.
Greenwell’s story remains mostly unknown in his home country, but this is a man who won 17 titles across Europe and South America. His journey from Crook to Barcelona and then around the world is something from a fiction novel, but the man proved his ability by winning titles in almost every job he held.
A fantastic article written by Jeff Lawrence in These Football Times gives a very deep and insightful look into the life of Jack Greenwell, and I strongly recommend you read this.
