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Filipinos and football? What an odd concept!

Although basketball has become a national obsession in the Philippines, some Filipinos have found "football" to be much more to their liking. The world's most popular sport has a loyal following in the Visayas, particularly Iloilo.

Panay's most populated province serves as a hotbed of talent. At Central Philippine University in Jaro, footballers from the school and around the area often gather to play matches. Santa Barbara, Barotac and La Paz are several of the communities where the sport thrives in popularity.

Since football is overshadowed by America's most popular export, the stars of the game live in relative obscurity. But earlier in the century, Iloilo-born Paulino Alcantara made his mark. To this day, he is still the all-time leading goalscorer for Futbol Club Barcelona of Barcelona, Spain, with 374 goals in 375 games.

FC Barcelona, or "Barça," as it is known in football circles, is considered the world's wealthiest professional football club. It boasts the largest stadium in Europe with a seating capacity of 115,000 and also has a club membership of over 100,000 people worldwide.

Paulino Alcantara is considered one of Barça's legendary players because of his goalscoring exploits. He lacked the build of a stereotypical athlete, but he possessed the killer instincts of a matador. This offensive machine knew where the goal was and often made sure that the ball was in it.

Alcantara was born in Iloilo in 1896 to a Spanish father, who was in the Spanish Army that was stationed in the province. He began playing football at a very young age and took a liking to it. In 1910, he traveled to Barcelona to continue his education.

While in school, he played for a club formed by his classmates, called "Galeno". But his heart belonged to Barça, and he ended up joining their youth squad, where his talent made an immediate impression. On the evening of August 14, 1912, at 15 years of age, Alcantara made his debut with Barça's first team, the professional team. He scored three goals in an 8-2 win.

In football, most professional clubs field reserve and youth squads to supplement the first team - the professional team-. The reserve and youth squads play separate schedules. Players often work their way up the ladder for promotion to the professional team by playing on the youth squads as youngsters, then moving up to the reserve squads as they grow older.

The concept of drafting players out of high school and college does not exist in professional football. It is the responsibility of the team to develop players and not the schools.

From 1916 to 1918, Alcantara went back to the Philippines. During this time, he played with a team called the Bohemians of Manila.

After coming back to Barça, he played defense, an unusual position because he was accustomed to scoring goals instead of preventing them. The British coach, Jack Greenwell, made the decision to play Alcantara outside of his normal role. His decision was short-lived. Barca's club membership, "Los Socios," demanded that Alcantara be switched back to his normal position. The paying members received their wish. Alcantara went back to scoring goals on a usual basis.

In 1920, Spain selected him for the Olympic team, but he turned down the offer because of his medical studies. Since school was his priority, he only represented Spain in international football competition five times. He scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Belgium in his first international match at the age of 25. He also played for the Philippine National Team. Alcantara is on record as being the first player from Barcelona born outside of Europe to represent Spain in international football competition.

He officially retired on July 5, 1927. The Spanish National Team and Barcelona played a "testimonial" that day, a game in honor of Alcantara. At age 31, he felt it was time to dedicate his life to his profession. But it was not a definite goodbye to football as a whole. He briefly served on the coaching staff of Spain's National Team in the 50s - three matches against Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden. He won one game and tied the other two.

Paulino Alcantara died in Barcelona on February 13, 1964. With his goalscoring titles, he also won five Spanish Cup championships and 10 Catalonia championships (Barcelona being the capital of the province of Catalonia).

Alcantara is not only one of Spanish football's most revered legends, but a revered legend in the sport of football as a whole. He represents not only Spain, but the Philippines also. He represents success not only in Catalonia, but also in Iloilo.

Barça will celebrate its 100-year anniversary as a football club on November 28. It is more than likely Alcantara will be honored along with the other great players who have passed through this region of Spain.

Filipinos and football. What a wonderful concept!