Fred Pentland

Who was Fred Pentland?

Frederick Beaconsfield "Fred" Pentland was an English footballer and manager. He played as a forward for, among others, Blackburn Rovers, Queens Park Rangers, Middlesbrough and England. However he is best remembered for his career as a manager in Spain where he coached several clubs including Athletic Bilbao and Athletic Madrid. He also had brief spells as coach of Germany, France and Spain. During the First World War he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp on the outskirts of Berlin in Germany.

Pentland earned the nickname El Bombín, due to his bowler hat, while at Athletic Bilbao. He is still the club's most successful manager to date, winning two La Liga titles and the Copa del Rey on five occasions. He returned to England before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and briefly worked as an assistant manager at Brentford and then as manager of Barrow A.F.C.. In 1959 Athletic invited Pentland back to Spain for a testimonial game against Chelsea and awarded him a Distinguished Members medal. When he died in 1962, Athletic held a memorial service in his honour at San Mamés. He was buried at Lytchett Matravers in Dorset.