Ask any FC Barcelona fan to name the great players to wear the garnet and blue jerseys, and the names rattled off are the who's who of greats in modern football: Pepe Samitier, Cesar Rodriguez, Evaristo, Luis Suarez, Carles Rexach, et al. Among those great players, there is an inner circle, the greatest of the great, if you will. Samitier, Kubala and Cruyff (Messi will join that hallowed circle if he continues at this rate). I feel that somebody is missing from that inner cicrle and that is Paulino Alcantara, a star before his time.

Paulino Alcantara was born in Iloilo, Philippines, with a Spanish officer as a father and an Illonga as a mother. Young Paulino wanted to be a doctor, and being that his dad is Spanish, was sent to Catalunya to further his studies. It was there that he was discovered by one Joan Gamper, founder of FC Barcelona. He was immediately signed by the Blaugrana and became the youngest player to feature in an FC Barcelona jersey- as a 15 year old. And he scored a hat-trick in his first game. No, that's not a misprint: a hat-trick, in his first game, as a 15 year old. In his first four years at the club, he helped the club win the Copa Catalunya twice and the Copa Del Rey once (there was no La Liga at the time, the Copa Del Rey was basically the Spanish championship).

Alcantara returned to the Philippines in 1916 and played for two years. Barcelona missed him, as a lack of silverware during the years Alcantara missed attest. Alcantara played for the Philippine national team during this time, but soon he began to miss Barcelona as well. Unfortunately, (or fortunately for FC Barcelona) he contacted malaria in the Philippines and in desperation, he refused to take medicine until his parents finally relented and let him return to Catalunya.

Jack Greenwell, Barcelona's first professional manager, inserted him back to the team as a defender, which is like making Mozart dance. Not really a useful utilization of his talents there. Soon, with the fans backing, he was back up front and scoring goals in bunches. He helped Barcelona win the Copa Catalunya 8 times and the Copa Del Ray 5 times in his second spell at the club. All in all, he scored an incredible 357 goals in 357 games. I don't care if he's playing kids, that's an unholy number. He retired from the club in 1927, a year before La Liga started. As for his international career, he played for both the Philippines and Spain. He was originally picked to represent Spain in the 1920 Olympics, but refused as it would interfere with his medical studies. Good man. He made his Spain debut a year later and scored both goals in a win against Belgium 2-0.

He would eventually become a doctor after his retirement from football, although he did return to become club director of FC Barcelona from 1931-34, and he would manage Spain in 1951.

If Alcantara had been playing in the World Cup era, or even the La Liga era, his feats would be celebrated and he would be a famous name alongside the greats of the game. As it is, a fortunate few were able to watch him and it is sort of unfortunate that he is a footnote. As a true Cule fan knows though, he will never be forgotten.