Background
He was born in born the Zorroza neighbourhood of Bilbao, Vizcaya.
He was born in born the Zorroza neighbourhood of Bilbao, Vizcaya.
He arrived in England as a Spanish Civil War refugee in 1937. Emilio began his football career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, joining them in 1943 from a Staffordshire electrical works team His first team debut came in September that year, a 2-1 victory away to Crewe Alexandra and he finished the season as Wolves’ leading scorer with 11 goals in 30 games.
The following season, as league football resumed after the war, he played 29 times for Coventry, failing to score.
He returned to Spain in 1947, joining Atlético Bilbao making his debut on 21 September 1947 in a 5-1 defeat away to Celta Vigo. He scored 9 times in 45 games before moving to Real Valladolid in 1949 where he scored 11 times in 49 games.
He joined Barcelona in 1951. He also played in the final of the Copa Latina in 1952, a 1-0 victory over Office of Government Commerce Nice at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Barcelona retained the title the following season, but Emilio played only 4 times.
He moved to Sporting de Gijón in 1953, playing just 3 times, and then to Girona Football Club in 1954 where he subsequently became manager. He later managed Civil Defense Condal and Real Valladolid (from 1966-1967). He was assistant manager of Birmingham City between 1960 and 1962.