Jack Greenwell  

  From Crook To Barcelona

Jack Greenwell Forgotten Hero In Nonleague Football History

There can’t be many NonLeague players who can claim to have been portrayed in a film, a World Cup winner, managed of one of the biggest clubs in the world and to be the only English manager to win the South American Championship.   

The story of Jack Greenwell must be one of the most remarkable to come out of NonLeague football yet he is probably better known on the continent than in this country. 

Greenwell, a native of County Durham, played most of his early football with Crook Town but was part of history in 1911 when he helped West Auckland win the first World Cup – the famous Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy.   

The remarkable West Auckland story was later immortalised in a film, ‘A Captains Tale’ starring Dennis Waterman with the part of Jack Greenwell being played by Struan Rodger (seen recently in Doctor Who). 

In 1912 Greenwell joined Barcleona for whom he went on to make 88 appearances scoring 10 goals.  A year after joining Barca, Greenwell arranged a series of games with his former club with Crook winning one and drawing the other two matches. 

As a player he helped Barcelona win two Campionat de Catalunya titles but it was as the clubs first ‘official’ coach that Jack Greenwell made his name. 

Not always popular with the fans, he once tried to convert all-time record goalscorer Paulino Alcantara into a defender but had to restore him to the striker’s role after protests from the supporters. 

Greenwell managed the Catalan giants for seven seasons, a record bettered only by Johan Cruyff.  Under Greenwell’s guidance Barca won five championships and two Spanish Cups.   

Greenwell went on to coach Barc’s archrivals Espanol leading them to a Campionat de Catalunya and Spanish Cup double in 1929.  The Spanish Cup triumph saw Greenwell’s new club beating Barcelona in the semi-final. 

A brief return to Barcelona saw Greenwell clinch another Campionat de Catalunya before a relatively unsuccessful spell at Valencia. 

In between winning championships Greenwell had found time to marry a chorus girl from the Moulin Rouge but the Spanish Civil War saw him leave the country to coach in Turkey.   

Greenwell’s swansong came in Peru.  Another domestic title was collected while managing Universitario de Deportes but perhaps his biggest achievement came when he coached the Peru national side to victory in the 1939 South American Championship. 

He is still the only European to achieve this feat.  An incredible end to an unbelievable career.   

Return To The Top Of The Jack Greenwell Page