Mariano de Mur

Mariano de Mur Cirera was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Espanyol in the 1930s. His brother Ignacio also played football, but for CE Europa.

Club career

Born on 9 October 1909 in Sabadell, de Mur began his football career at his hometown club UE Sants in 1928, aged 19, where he was known as Ben-Hur. In 1929, he was signed by Espanyol, with whom he played for two seasons, scoring 1 goal in 23 official matches, including 3 in the Catalan championship, 7 in the Copa del Rey, and 13 in La Liga. He featured in Espanyol's historic 4–0 and 8–1 victories over Barcelona and Real Madrid in early 1930s.
After leaving Espanyol, de Mur played one season at Vilafranca, where he showed "excellent form", but despite receiving several offers, he decided to return to Sants, where he also played for one season, before retiring at Huesca in 1933, aged only 24.

International career

de Mur was eligible to play for the Catalan national team, making his debut on 8 June 1930, starting in a friendly match against the Basque Country national team at Montjuïc, which ended in a 1–0 loss. Two weeks later, on 22 June, he played a tribute match to Rini in Zaragoza, which ended in a 3–1 loss. On 16 May 1932, he earned his third and last cap for Catalonia in a tribute match to Carles Oliveras against his former club Sants, helping his side to a 2–0 win.

Death

Outside football, he was a commercial expert. On 21 August 1936, just a month after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, De Mur was imprisoned, tried, and shot by the republican repression in Graus.