17/07/2025
đȘđž âSpain remembers Paulino AlcĂĄntara. But they forgot where he came from.â
In Spain, Paulino AlcĂĄntara is a name you still hear in the halls of Camp Nou.
He was Barcelonaâs top scorer for nearly a century â 369 goals in 357 matches.
They still talk about his cannon shot that once tore through the net.
They still call him âEl Rompe Redesâ the net breaker.
But hereâs the strange part.
Ask most Spanish fans who he was, and youâll hear:
âA legend. A pioneer. A Barcelona icon.â
But ask them where he was born?
Who he played for before Spain?
And the silence says it all.
Because they forgot that AlcĂĄntara was born in Iloilo, Philippines.
They forgot that he played for the Philippine national team, scoring goals in the old Far Eastern Championship Games.
They forgot that the first Asian to play for a European club wasnât Japanese, Korean, or Middle Eastern but Filipino.
Today, Spain sees him as part of their football heritage and we can understand that but still..
We remember the part they left out.
That before he wore the Spanish jersey,
before he led Barça to Copa titles,
he was one of us.
He was a boy from Iloilo with a football and a future.
Itâs not about rewriting history.
Itâs about reclaiming our place in it.
Paulino AlcĂĄntara doesnât belong to Spain alone.
He belongs to all Filipinos to every kid playing on muddy fields in the provinces, to every young dreamer who thinks football has no place in this country.
We were there.
At the beginning.
And weâre still here.
Spain remembers his goals.
Letâs make sure they remember where they came from.
đ”đ From Iloilo to Barcelona.
From forgotten to unforgettable.
