When Cádiz CF paid tribute to Adolfo Bolea with an official visit to the former player and coach in February, club historian Juan Antonio Lebrero wrote the following profile of Bolea, who has died at the age of 87.
Adolfo Bolea Sanz was born in Barcelona on 24 March 1933. As a player, he was a forward with a good first touch and plenty of skill on the ball, allied with a powerful shot and an unusual knack for harnessing the Levante easterly wind’s impact on the play.
Bolea began his career in his home region, playing for CF Premiá in 1950/51 before joining CD San Andrés in 51/52. The following season, he signed for RCD Espanyol, who loaned him straight back to CD San Andrés, then sent him out to CD Tenerife in 53/54 and CD Sabadell in 54/55.
In the 54/55 season, he was also handed his Primera División debut for RCD Espanyol, playing a total of six games and scoring three goals. The following year, he departed for UD España in Tangier, one of many Morocco-based teams who competed in Spain’s league pyramid during the Spanish protectorate in the North-African country.
His transfer to Cádiz CF came about in the 56/57 season, at the request of the new head coach Santiago Núñez. Alongside Bolea, Cádiz also signed goalkeeper García Ojeda, Granados, Domínguez and Del Pozo (a player who did not end up appearing for the club). He quickly established himself as an idol for a generation of fans at the newly-built Estadio Ramón Carranza.
Bolea wore the yellow shirt for eight seasons, making 179 appearances and scoring 48 goals in the league, in addition to netting five times in 16 games in the Copa de España and hitting one goal in nine Copa Andalucía matches. He also had a Cádiz CF supporters’ club named after him; it was based at the El Serrallo bar in the Plaza del Mentidero and chaired by José Luís Lucero Bancalero.
Before his retirement, Bolea played for Balón de Cádiz CF in 64/65, a team he went on to coach for a total of eight seasons. In the 71/72 campaign, he was appointed as Cádiz CF assistant coach, later taking charge of the first team on an interim basis.
Following the creation of Cádiz B CF, he coached the club’s second team in 74/75, piloting the side towards promotion but departing before the end of the season to join RC Portuense, with Luis Escarti replacing him.
A Cádiz stalwart, he was assistant coach to first-team bosses such as Fernando Daucik, José Antonio Naya, Domingo Balmanya and Juanito Arza. In the 75/76 season, he again took the reins of Los Cadistas’ senior side when they were in a difficult situation, and steered them away from the drop. Due to illness, he was unable to manage the team during the relegation play-offs, with Escarti stepping into his shoes once more.
Bolea coached Cádiz B CF again in the 80/81 and 81/82 seasons, and also had stints as boss of CD San Fernando and Puerto Real CF.
