# Octavio Milego

Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz (17 April 1893 – 24 December 1982) was a Spanish referee and sports leader who served as the 1st president of Valencia CF between 1919 and 1922.

## Sporting career
### Early career

Born in Toledo on 17 April 1893, Octavio Augusto Milego lived in Valencia since he was 5. He was introduced to the sport of football during the Regional Exhibition that took place in Valencia between 22 May and 31 July 1909, which included the first major football tournament in the city, contested by the likes of [[FC Barcelona, Sociedad Gimnástica, and Club Valencia. After the exhibition, the 16-year-old began playing this sport, which was embraced by some local clubs, such as Gimnástico and Levante, and a few years later, he founded the Club Deportivo Español, where he played as a forward. This club was dissolved in 1919 following the death of one of its players, the 21-year-old player Luis Bonora, who suffered a severe leg fracture during a collision with an opponent in a friendly match in Elche, which became complicated on his return journey to Valencia, dying shortly after reaching home.
The death of his teammate deeply affected Milego, who gave up on football and then went to Madrid to take the exams for the Literature professorship at the School of Commerce, but there, his passion for football was reignited when he attended a match between Real Madrid and Sociedad Gimnástica. Upon returning to Valencia with his newly earned position, he gathered six former teammates from his old club Español, as well as other short-lived Valencia clubs, Sagunto, and Rat Penat, and began a series of meetings at the now-iconic Bar Torino, located on what is today Calle Barcelonina, near Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where he founded a new football club that would proudly carry the city's name: Valencia Football Club, whose founding act took place on 5 March 1919.

### Presidency of Valencia CF

Two weeks later, on 18 March, the club's board was elected, with Milego being named as the club's first-ever president after winning a coin toss against Gonzalo Medina. In its first years, Valencia lacked a playing field, so its early matches took place on a vacant plot of land in the Algirós neighborhood, positioned between the Aragón station and the Guardia Civil barracks. Eventually, the club secured a lease for this area, renting it for one hundred pesetas, with the contract being signed by Milego and Medina, both of whom poured immense effort into making the project a reality, sacrificing not only financial resources from their own pocket, but also their free time, work obligations, and even family commitments, with Medina contributing as far as 25,000 pesetas, which he had originally saved for his future wedding. The official inauguration of the stadium took place on 7 December 1919, with a match against Castalia from Castellón, which ended in a scoreless draw, so a rematch was held two days later, in which Valencia claimed a 1–0 victory thanks to a goal from Eduardo Cubells, who was making his debut, and who went on to become one of the club's greats.
Throughout its first season, Milego concentrated on increasing the club's membership and expanding its fan base, succeeding in doing so partly thanks to Cubells and Montes, who further cemented the team's growing reputation and popularity at the regional level. Initially, the club operated at Bar Torino, where the board of directors was restructured on 16 October 1919, but in the following year, its headquarters were relocated to 7 Calle Barcelonina, not too far from Bar Torino.

### Refereeing career

Meanwhile, Milego's love for football expanded beyond the managerial aspect, which led him to become a referee, officiating several matches in the Valencia Regional Championship, including from his own club. In March 1922, he decided to step down from the presidency of Valencia in order to, together with Medina and Ramón Leonarte, establish the Valencian College of Football Referees, serving as its first president. Under his leadership, Valencia played a total of 89 matches, winning 52, drawing 12, and losing 25. He was a referee in the 1928 Copa del Rey.
Despite leaving the club, his devotion to Valencia FC never wavered, witnessing its move to the Mestalla Stadium as well as its rise to prominence on both national and European stages. After retiring from refereeing, he remained involved with the club, serving as vice president under Francisco Ros Casares from 1973 to 1975.

## Death and legacy

Milego died in Valencia on 24 December 1982 at the age of 89, in his home on Joaquín Costa Street.
In March 2019, Valencia held a tribute to the founders of the club, which involved the son and great-granddaughter of Milego.