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Buñol - Ciudad Deportiva

July 10, 2012, 4:01 am
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Thanks to the bizarre mechanics of the Spanish Football Federation, Levante Unión Deportiva has been able to buy a place for its Reserve side in Segunda B for the 2012-13 season. This type of trade-off has become a regular feature of the post-season in recent years, as more and more clubs have been demoted for failing to pay their players wages by the end of season deadline. Levante UD B, as the reserves are nattily titled, do have some pedigree in Segunda B however, having played in the third tier for four seasons from 2003-04.
If you spend your money on buying promotion, there wont be much left!
Founded in 1962 as Atlético Levante, home was the Campo de Vallejo, which was shared with the first team. Promotion to the Tercera was secured in 1964 where they played for the next 5 seasons, before dropping in the regional leagues for three decades. By the time the reserves  re-emerged as Levante B in 1999, Levante as a club was beginning to wake from its slumber and the first team had began to establish itself in the second division. Work started in September 2002 on a new training facility 25 miles west of Valencia, near the town of Buñol. You will know of Buñol, not because of its footballing pedigree, but for La Tomatina, the festival where 40,000 people throw ripe tomatoes at each other. Anyhow, Levante's Ciudad Deportiva opened on 26 June 2003 and a year later, the B team had won promotion to Segunda B thanks to play-off victories over Santa Eulalia and Hospitalet. 
"Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you, ahem... the Main Stand"
The reserves didn't stop there, finishing third in 2004-05, but they were prevented from entering the Play-offs as the first team were in the Second Division. A year later, and runners-up spot in Group III of Segunda B was achieved, and as the first team had gained promotion to La Primera, the reserves were allowed to play-off for promotion. There would be no double celebration however, as Vecindario edge them out over two legs. Levante B dropped back to the Tercera in 2008 and it appeared that any chance of promotion back to the third tier in 2012 had passed them by after losing in this seasons play-offs to San Fernando CD. However, the demotion of CD Denia and the purchasing of the vacancy in Group III for 190.000€ will see Levante B back in Segunda B after a four year absence.
Short, simple & suffice for Segunda B
The Ciudad Deportiva is a fairly typical out-of-town sports city and training complex that many of Spain's top flight clubs now own. The main arena features a basic covered stand on the west side, no more than 15 metres long, and terracing. With hard standing around the remaining sides, it holds 1,000, more than adequate for the few hundred supporters their matches attract. Should any of their matches attract a large travelling support, then fixtures could be switched to the Estadio Cuidad de Valencia or the nearby Campo Beltran Baguena, the home of CD Buñol.
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España 82 - Madrid - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

July 11, 2012, 1:43 am
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It was no surprise when the RFEF selected the iconic Estadio Santiago Bernabéu to stage the final of the 1982 World Cup. For nearly 35 years, the home of Real Madrid had played host to some of the world's greatest players and most important matches, and now it was about to stage the ultimate game in world football. The building of the Bernabéu in 1947 heralded a new age in European stadium design, but 30 odd years later it was in need of a major overhaul. 

THE ESTADIO SANTIAGO BERNABÉU
The open tiers of this once graceful stadium were now in need of major surgery and this was to come at a cost of 700 million pesetas, with Real footing three quarters of the bill. The re-fit included the installation of more seats which reduced the capacity to 90,000, the addition of a 150 metre long footbridge to a temporary media centre and re-facing & strengthening the façade of the ground, in order to support a new cantilevered roof that would cover three sides of the stadium. The new roof snapped tightly on to the stadium’s bowl, like a Tupperware lid and its streamlined curves certainly added a pleasing modern symmetry to the stadium. It was nonetheless a major piece of construction, accounting for half of the overall cost. Using lightweight fibre-mix cement and acres of fibreglass panels, it swept around to meet the open, but still majestic east anfiteatro. High, behind each goal, the roof fascia appeared to morph, so that video screens, the first in any stadium, could be accommodated. The new remodelled Bernabéu saw its first official match when Real took on the USSR in February 1982. In total, the stadium hosted four matches at the finals. They were three second round ties featuring Spain, West Germany & England, and the final itself, where Italy took on the returning Germans. You can read more about Real Madrid and the Bernabéu here. 
The Bernabéu gets a lid
WEST GERMANY vs ENGLAND - GAME 1 GROUP B
The first match at the Bernabéu during España 82 was a drab, boring affair between two sides that had often produced spectacular matches. The Germans were ultra cautious and England lacked any creativity. West Germany nearly snatched a winner in the dying minutes when Rummenigge struck the bar with a shot from distance.

SPAIN vs WEST GERMANY - GAME 2 GROUP B
Spain's disappointing tournament came to an end with defeat at the hands of West Germany. Breitner played a superb game and Germany were frustrated by the keeping of Arconada. They eventually took the lead when Littbarski scored a simple chance after Arconada spilled a shot. Fischer doubled the Germans lead and whilst Zamora scored late on, it was West Germany who had one foot in the semi-final and Spain who had both feet in the grave.

ENGLAND vs SPAIN - GAME 3 GROUP B
England knew that they had to beat Spain by two clear goals, but lacked a cutting edge throughout. With half an hour to go, the barely fit Keegan & Brooking entered the fray, and both missed easy chances. That was it. England were out and West Germany headed to Sevilla for a semi-final with France.

ITALY vs GERMANY - WORLD CUP FINAL
And so to the final. Both teams had experienced a chequered tournament, but it was the Italians who were in the ascendancy and were favourites to lift a third World Cup. It is easy to forget the number of setbacks that the Italians suffered prior to and at the start of the match. Missing Antognoni through injury, they lost Graziani with a shoulder injury on 8 minutes. To make matters worse, Cabrini became the first man to miss a penalty in a World Cup Final on 25 minutes. However, Italy showed great resolve and took the lead when Rossi stooped to head home just before the hour. Tardelli doubled the lead on 68 minutes - cue his memorable and ecstatic celebration. Altobelli sealed the win 9 minutes from time, and whilst Breitner scored a consolation two minutes later, it was Italy's crown. Dino Zoff lifted the trophy and in doing so became the competition's oldest ever winner at the age of 40.
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Madrid - Ciudad Deportiva Valdebebas

July 11, 2012, 7:48 am
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Real Madrid will have a presence in the top three tiers of Spanish Football for the 2012-13 season. This however is not the first time that the Spanish giants have done this, as there was a four year period in the mid 1990's when the C team played in Segunda B, whilst its bigger and older siblings did its business in the top two divisions. 
Mini-mini-me -  Ciudad Deportiva Valdebebas
Real Madrid C can be traced back to Real Madrid CF Afficionados, an amateur team founded in 1952 by fans of Los Merengues, and It has to be said that they were quite some set of amateurs. Made up of Real Madrid's most promising youngsters and non-contract players, the club won the Campeonato de España de Aficionados on eight occasions, including six in a row during the 1960's. The last of those championships in 1969-70, earned the club a place in the following seasons Copa del Generalissimo, where they beat Asturians CD Ensidesa before losing out to CF Gandia. That 1970-71 season also saw the club join the Regional Preferente and over the next decade they recorded a series of steady, if unspectacular finishes. Games were played at the Cuidad Deportiva, Real Madrid’s training complex, a mile or so north of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, on the Castellana. The sports city had been opened by the erstwhile president in 1963 and also featured basketball, athletics, tennis and swimming facilities. Real Madrid CF Afficionados finally made the breakthrough in 1980-81, when a second placed finish earned them promotion to the Tercera.
The original Ciudad Deportiva pictured here in the mid 1970's
Over the next twelve years, the club won the Tercera title on three occasions, but failure in the play-offs or the B Team's presence in Segunda B put an end to any hopes of promotion. That did not stop the club entering the Copa del Rey and in 1987-88 they progressed to the last 16, beating Racing Santander & Las Palmas before succumbing to Atlético Madrid. In 1990 the Spanish Federation modified its regulations, dictating that all affiliated teams of a professional club, must be assimilated into the professional club. This led to the dissolving of Real Madrid CF Afficionados and in its place rose Real Madrid C. Under its new moniker, the club continued to impress in the Tercera, finally winning promotion to Segunda B in 1993, after pipping Zamora CF in the play-off group. Life in the third tier was quite comfortable, with a highest finish of 7th in 1993-94. Unfortunately for Real Madrid C, it was their older brothers that led to their demise. After finishing 13th in 1996-97, the club was demoted to the Tercera following Real Madrid B's relegation from La Segunda. Life back in the Tercera has been comfortable, with two further league titles, but the B Team's presence in Segunda B has put a stop to many thoughts of promotion. That was until July 2012, when following Castilla's promotion to the second division and a number of club's demotions from Segunda B, Real Madrid coughed up 190.000€ to see it's C team play in the third tier.
The C team's 1,500 seat arena
Real Madrid C is composed of second year professionals and youth players form the juvenile teams. Home for the club and many of it's players is Real Madrid's Ciudad Deportiva at Valdebebas, 6 miles north east of the city centre, close to Madrid's main airport. Benefiting from the 480m euros the club made form the sale of the old Ciudad Deportiva, no expense was to be spared in developing the world's largest and most lavish training complex. Real Madrid C moved in towards the end of the 2003-04 season and shared their pitch with Castilla until the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano was opened in May 2006. The pitch they use is the most south westerly of a group of six that are at the centre of the complex, just next to Castilla's new stadium. The main feature is a single raised stand on the west side, that has six rows of blue seats and a short 30m cover at the centre. The only other seating is a short bank of three rows of seats on the east side, that run from half-way to the south east corner. With a capacity of 1,500, the ground will prove more than adequate for their games in Segunda B, and if they need a bigger arena, the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano is but a short pass away. 
Looking south. Real Madrid's Ciudad Deportiva with the central C Team pitch 
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Santander - La Albericia

July 12, 2012, 6:41 am
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Given their financial woes and general air of uncertainty, it came as a bit of a surprise to learn that Racing Santander has stomped up 190.000€ for a place in Segunda B for its reserve side. When you consider the lack of action in assembling a first team squad, you can't help but feel that it's money down the drain should the first XI slip another division in May 2013. But that's enough of this doom-mongering, what of Racing Santander B and their home?
 La Albericia - It's a big building with players in it
... but that's not important right now.
The history of Racing Reserves is, like so many teams in Spain, intertwined with a smaller, affiliated club. The club in question here is Rayo Cantabria, who was founded in 1926 as Rayo Sport in the Alto de Miranda district of Santander. The club played most of its football in the Tercera, but in 1959 came within a match of La Segunda, but lost out to SD Eibar in the play-offs. Following the restructuring of the league in the late 1980's, Rayo won promotion to Segunda B after winning the Cantabrian Tercera title in 1986-87. Unfortunately, their one and only season at this level ended in relegation with a total of just seven wins and nine draws in the 38 game season. The club shared the first team's old El Sardinero stadium up until 1988, when it moved just to the west of the city to Racing's new training complex, La Albericia. Up until 1993, Rayo acted as a subsidiary of Racing Santander, but this was to change when the Spanish Federation ruled that all affiliated teams must become assimilated into the professional club. So Rayo was reformed as Sociedad Deportiva Rayo Cantabria and Racing Santander set up its own reserve team, Real Racing B. You can read more about Rayo Cantabria here. 
Old School - La Albericia before the upgrade
Real Racing B took up where Rayo had left off, doing well in the Tercera, but unable to navigate their way through the end of season play-offs. That changed in 1996-97 when promotion to Segunda B was earned thanks to their topping of a play-off group that featured CD Binéfar, Deportivo Alavés “B” and Club Haro Deportivo. Regrettably, their visit to the third tier was short and a 17th place finish saw the club relegated at the end of the season. Two years later and Racing B repeated the trick and spent another season in Segunda B, finishing 17th once again. In all, Racing B have been regular visitors to the third tier over the past decade, but have never managed a stay in excess of two seasons. Their best finish of 8th was achieved in 2005-06, but since 2010, life has been spent in the Tercera. The 2012-13 season will see the club return to Segunda B following the demotion of five teams and the payment of that 190.000€ bond to the RFEF.
La Albericia - Room for 600 up top
The club's training grounds at La Albericia underwent extensive rebuilding in 2009 and as a result, Racing B moved their home matches to La Maruca, a municipal athletics stadium to the south of the city, near the airport. Their sabbatical ended in August 2011 when La Albericia re-opened, and quite an impressive complex it is too, in a small and understated sort of way. Comprising of two natural pitches and two artificial surfaces, the main facilities are contained within a new three storey building that occupies the south west corner of the site. This hub houses club offices, gymnasium, treatment rooms, TV & Media centre, changing facilities and residential space for 18 of the club's young professionals. It also houses the complexes only spectator accommodation. The entire north side of the building is made up of a 600 seat tribuna that sits directly behind the southern goal of Racing B's main pitch. This sleek stand offers excellent views of the main arena and blends seamlessly into the profile of this modern facility.  Does 600 seats offer enough in the way of accommodation? Well for the majority of time it does, but on the rare occasions that Racing B require a more space, the main Estadio El Sardinero is but a short jaunt back into town.


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A Season in the Spotlight - La Liga 1949-50

July 16, 2012, 2:58 am
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Background – In the ten seasons since the end of the Civil War, the La Liga title had been won by five different clubs. Contrary to popular belief, Franco’s ascent to power did not coincide with an immediate glut of trophies for Real Madrid. In fact the 1940’s were a time of slim pickings for Los Merengues, with just a couple of Copa del Generalísimo’s to their name. In contrast, Athletic Club & FC Barcelona, clubs from regions that were experiencing great hardship under the fascist regime, would win four leagues & five copas between them during the forties. As the decade drew to a close, plans were afoot to expand the top division to 16 clubs. This would be the final season of a 14 team, 26 game format, but the participating clubs served up one of the most free-scoring and unpredictable championships in the history of the competition.


The Story of the Campaign – Barcelona had won the two previous championships, holding off strong challenges from Valencia, and both were expected to feature again. However, it was Athletic Club who made the early running, winning six of its opening seven fixtures. A 4-1 defeat in Week 8 at Espanyol saw Athletic drop from the summit and an unfamiliar name rise to the top of the table, that of Real Madrid. Powered by the goals of Galician striker Pahiño and marshalled by a tight defence, Real Madrid lost just two of its opening 17 fixtures, before successive away defeats at the hands of struggling Real Oviedo and an improving Atlético Madrid saw them fall from the top. Atlético was coached by Argentine Helenio Herrera, and their 5-1 victory in the Madrid derby saw them head the table, level on points with another surprise package, Celta Vigo. With two matches to play, any one of five clubs could conceivably win the league, with Atlético, Celta, Deportivo La Coruña, Valencia and Athletic Club separated by just two points. However, before the nation could get too excited, the league took a month off to allow the national team to prepare for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.
Goal-Fest - The Metropolitano witnessed 79 goals in 13 mtaches
Matches of the Season– Upon resumption of the league, Celta Vigo and Athletic Club bowed out of the running following away defeats to Barcelona & Sevilla respectively. Entering the final week, Atlético held a one point advantage over Deportivo and two over Valencia, who would be their opponents in the final match. Valencia took an early lead thanks to a Igoa’s penalty, but two goals from Barek gave Atléti a 2-1 lead at half-time. Up in Bilbao, Deportivo were not going to lie-down and they also had a half-time lead thanks to two goals from Rafael Franco. Atlético appeared to have sealed the title with further goals from Carlson and Mújica in the first few minutes of the second half. Things were also looking good at San Mamés as Athletic had drawn level. Then the match in Madrid was turned on their head when Atlético lost their keeper Domingo and Mújica to injuries. Valencia stormed back with goals from Igoa and Pasieguito. Then, with seven minutes to play, Igoa completed his hat-trick. Another goal for Valencia would see Los Ches crowned as champions, whilst a winner for Deportivo in Bilbao would see the title head to Galicia. Despite huge pressure, Atlético held on to claim their third La Liga title.

Campeones - The free-scoring Atlético Madrid side of 1949-50
Extras– Due to the expansion of the league for the 1950-51 season, there was no automatic relegation for the bottom two clubs. Instead Gimnástico Tarragona & Real Oviedo faced a play-off against the teams that had finished third & fourth in La Segunda’s promotion play-offs. On 2 July 1950, CD Alcoyano beat Gimnástico 6-3 at Espanyol’s Estadi de Sarria, whilst Real Murcia beat Real Oviedo 2-0 in neutral Burgos. Athletic Club won the Copa del Generalisimo thanks to a 4-1 victory over Real Valladolid at Madrid’s new Estadio Chamartin.
Up for the Cup - Athletic Club & Real Valladolid do battle
For the Record– The 1949-50 season was a campaign for the forwards, with a total of 773 goals scored at an average of 4.25 per game. Sixth placed Athletic Club topped the charts with 72 goals scored, which was only 6 more than they conceded. However, Gimnástico’s incredibly porous defence allowed a total of 99 goals to enter their net, including ten at Barcelona & Celta Vigo. The calendar was littered with remarkable results, but perhaps the most extraordinary was Atlético’s 6-6 draw with Athletic Club at the Estadio Metropolitano, La Liga’s highest ever scoring draw.


Pichichi– Telmo Zarra won his fourth of a record six Pichichi’s thanks to his total of 25 goals in 26 games. Zarra spent 16 seasons at Athletic Club, scoring a total of 333 goals in all competitive matches. His tally of 252 goals in 278 first division matches is an all-time record. Zarra was capped only 20 times for Spain, but still managed to score 20 goals, including the winner against England in the 1950 World Cup. Zarra passed away in 2006, but is honoured by the Zarra Trophy, which is awarded to the highest-scoring Spaniard in La Primera.

Telmo Zarra - La Liga's all-time top scorer
Zamora – Marca did not set up the Zamora Trophy until 1958, but this season’s top goalkeeper was Deportivo’s Juan Acuña, who conceded 29 goals in the 22 matches he played. This was the third of four occasions that Acuña was recognised as the league’s top keeper in a career that spanned 19 seasons. Despite his pedigree, Acuña only played for the national side on two occasions.

Acuña on one of his rare outings with La Selección

The Clubs today– Eleven of the fourteen clubs will feature in the 2012-13 campaign, thanks in part to the recent promotion of Deportivo La Coruña, Celta Vigo & Real Valladolid. Real Oviedo and the renamed Gimnástic de Tarragona play in Segunda B, whilst CD Málaga was wound up in July 1992 with debts of over 200m pesetas.   


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Barbastro - Municipal de Deportes

July 19, 2012, 11:57 pm
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Arrecife - Ciudad Deportiva

July 20, 2012, 12:30 am
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It’s 1900 and the new-fangled craze of foot-ball is starting to take a grip on mainland Spain, but not in far-off Lanzarote. 25 years later and the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma have established football clubs, but not Lanzarote. By the middle of the 20th century, clubs from the Canary Islands are competing in the national leagues, but Lanzarote is still struggling to field a decent representative team in the Campionate de Canarias. Quite why mainstream football passed the island by is a bit of a mystery, but by the late 1960’s, despite numerous youth teams and occasional forays in senior football, the island was still a footballing backwater. The island needed a focal point and that was provided in 1968 with the building of the Estadio Avendaño Porrúa.
Estadio Avendaño Porrúa soon after opening in 1968
There had been rudimentary stadiums in and around Arrecife from the mid 1920’s, such as the Campo Salinas, Campo La Vega and the rather optimistically named Estadio Olimpico. The latter was damaged by severe flooding in 1959 and five years later, the Civil Govenor of Las Palmas visited the island and announced that a new stadium would be built to the north of the old town. The Estadio Avendaño Porrúa featured a long open terrace on the east side of the stadium, and another open terrace behind the north goal.The west side featured changing facilities, radio booths and not a lot else. Given the islands arid climate, the stadium could not support a natural grass pitch, so the island’s volcanic soil was compacted to produce a playing surface. The shape of the enclosure was oval and a six-lane athletics track ran around the pitch. Even then, this new facility did not inspire Lanzarote’s senior teams, so in 1970 the local football authorities raised the idea of forming a team that would represent the island. In July 1970, Unión Deportiva Lanzorote was founded by pooling the best players from the island’s senior  clubs.
The Ciudad Depotiva in 2002 with a miniscule cover for club officials
The new club started out in the second division of the regional provincial league, reaching the regional Tercera in 1980. Here it remained for the next nine seasons, rarely troubling either end of the table, before dropping to the Regional Preferente in 1989. UD Lanzarote struggled to establish itself during much of the 1990’s but towards the end of the decade, they reached the Tercera play-offs. Here, at their second attempt, they won promotion to Segunda B, outplaying  UD Telde, UD Orotava& UD Las Palmas B, despite finishing below them in the regular season. Their first visit to the third tier was short lived, finishing 17th, but with the nucleus of a good team UD Lanzarote won its first Tercera title and stormed the play-offs on its way back to Segunda B. There followed nine uninterrupted seasons at this level, the highlights being a third place finish in 02-03 and the Segunda B Grp IV title a year later. However, UD Lanzarote fell foul of the play-off system, finishing bottom of their group on both occasions. The club’s stay in Segunda B ended in rather ignominious fashion when they finished the 2009-10 season in last place, some ten points from safety. Two reasonable attempts at a return were made, with a second Tercera title earned in 2010-11, but with budgets slashed, the club’s focus has turned to the opposite end of Tercera Group XII.
The new roof offers shade but no aesthetic comfort 
The Estadio Avendaño Porrúa became the Estadio Ciudad Deportiva in 1986, but little changed to the structures, although an artificial pitch and synthetic running track was added in the late 1980's. The ground was still open to the elements when UD Lanzarote made its first appearance in Segunda B, but that was usually a problem with sun due to the proliferation of midday kick-offs. Thanks to the club's excellent runs in the Copa del Rey in the early part of this century, several La Liga clubs have paid the stadium a visit, with Tenerife, Athletic Bilbao & Mallorca sent packing with defeats. Perhaps the most memorable night at the stadium however, was when Real Madrid paid a visit on 28 November 2001. Los Rojillos held a team featuring Figo & Zidane well into the second half, before Los Blancos ran out 1-3 winners. A propped cover was eventually added over the east side in 2005. This rather baulky roof runs the length of the playing surface and hangs low over a few hundred red & blue bucket seats and the painted green steps-come-benches. The stadium staged Segunda B football on every weekend of the 2006-07 season when Club Deportivo Orientación Marítima, also from Arrecife, gained promotion and switched home matches to the venue. 
Back in the Tercera - Photo - Paul Callaghan
Now confined to the lower reaches of the Tercera, UD Lanzarote seem miles away from the heady days of a decade ago. History would suggest that the club has returned to its natural level and judging by the facilities on show, so has the Ciudad Deportiva.


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Ibiza - Can Misses

July 20, 2012, 1:25 am
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Ibiza is famed for its tourism, night-life, music & Phoenician heritage. However, its footballing pedigree is at best questionable. Over the years, the island has played second fiddle to the larger Balearic Islands of Mallorca & Menorca when talk has turned to God’s own game.
Can Misses - Work in progress... 15 years apart
The most successful team to hail from the island is Sociedad Deportiva Ibiza, who were formed in 1957 and reached the Tercera in 1961. Here they remained for the next 17 seasons, finishing runners-up in their debut season and again in 1966-67. That second runners-up position earned a place in the promotion play-offs, where SD Ibiza beat Madrid based Colonia Moscardó 4-3 on aggregate. However the Galicians CD Lugo had their number in the next round winning 4-1 over two legs. The club’s first Tercera title was secured in 1977-78 and with it came automatic promotion to Segunda B. Here they remained for the next six seasons, never finishing higher than 13th, before finally succumbing to the drop in 1983-84, thanks to a measly total of five wins and 22 points.
New club, but same old problems. A spartan crowd watch CE Eivissa
Over the next decade, the club resided in the Tercera except for two season long returns to Segunda B. The first in 1989-90 ended in relegation, whilst a second Tercera title earned another visit in 1992-93. This time SD Ibiza achieved their highest ever finish of 11th, but true to the 1990’s tradition, they started to “Large-it in Ibiza” and ran up substantial debts. With the wages unpaid at the season’s end, the club was relegated to the Tercera. It was a sign of things to come as the following season saw the club struggle on & off the pitch and drop to the regional leagues. In 1997 SD Ibiza merged with UD Ibiza to form Club Esportiu Eivissa, taking its name from the Catalan for Ibiza. What followed was a microcosm of the former SD Ibiza; Reasonable results to start with in the Tercera and then a title and promotion to Segunda B in 2007. That first season in the third tier saw the club record a very respectable 7th place finish, but with mounting debts and a drastically cut budget, Eivissa was relegated to the Regional Preferente in May 2009 after failing to pay the players wages. The club struggled on for another season before eventually folding with debts of €1m.
The "Handkerchief" stand at Can Misses
The first stadium that SD Ibiza used was the Campo de Municipal Deportes, which was in the district of Sa Bodega. It consisted of two open terraces on the east and west sides, with changing facilities at the southern end. In 1991, the municipality opened the Estadi Can Misses to the west of the town, which was three parts impressive, one part barren wasteland. On opening, Can Misses was horseshoe-shaped enclosure that held 9,000 across three open terraces. The third side was left open. During the summer of 2007, the municipality refurbished Can Misses, by upgrading the artificial pitch and building a single tier stand on the west side that included changing & media facilities. The bank of blue & yellow seats tapered away to the north and south sides, whilst the central section was covered by a sail-like cover, which was more handkerchief than roof.
Can Misses - Ready and waiting for for the next club
Since the demise of SD Eivissa, Can Misses has not stage senior football, saving itself for junior football and awaiting the next club to "Large-it" in Ibiza

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Welcome to Estadios de Fútbol en España

August 6, 2012, 8:43 am
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If this is your first visit to Estadios de Fútbol en España or you are simply returning, can I offer you a very warm welcome to the only English language site dedicated to the history of Spanish stadiums. I appreciate that it is a slightly obscure subject, but no doubt your interest in La Liga and/or football stadiums drew you here. That, or you're lost! 
Yep... You'll find every stadium in La Primera here
Any way, what can you expect to find on this site? Well you will find thousands of photographs of the great, the medium and the small stadiums of Spain. Yes, all the big ones are included, along with a detailed history of the stadium and to some extent, the club. All the stadiums in the top three divisions are here, but also included are nearly 100 football grounds from the lower leagues. There is also a section that looks at the stadiums used for Spain's hosting of the 1982 World Cup and an affectionate look at some stadiums that have disappeared. I also provide the occasional updates on the play-offs, historic seasons, new stadium developments and photo-montages from the 16,000 images I have in my collection.
Did I mention that every stadium in La Segunda is included? Oh... right! 
The site is still growing and thanks to redevelopments, refurbishments and new builds, it will continue to grow. You can also follow the site on Twitter and I would love to receive any photos you may have from your visits to Spanish stadiums. You can follow my Twitter account here... @estadios_Spain
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Tetouan - Estadio de Varela

August 10, 2012, 3:47 am
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A casual glance at the La Primera's all-time classification will throw up few surprises. Sitting proudly at the summit is Real Madrid, followed closely by Barcelona, with all the usual suspects occupying the next dozen or so positions. Look a little deeper and you will find the names of smaller clubs from the regions that lived the dream for a year or two, then dropped back down the leagues into relative obscurity. Then, one place off the bottom of the Clasificación Histórica, you will find the name of a team that few will have heard of and even fewer will have seen, Club Atlético Tetuán. The only club from mainland Africa to have played in Spain's top division.
Atletico Tetuan

To understand how a team that played in modern day Morocco ended up in La Primera, you need to know a little about Spain's colonial past. Spain has had a presence in North West Africa since the 15th century when the enclaves of Ceuta & Melilla were established. The Reconquest saw large numbers of Muslims expelled from the south of Spain, and many found their way to the strip of land between the Mediterranean coast and the Atlas Mountains. Over the next four centuries, this land was ruled over by a succession of sultans and generally all was well until 1912, when internal unrest and some gunboat diplomacy from Germany led to France & Spain setting up protectorates in Morocco. The Treaty of Fez effectively divided the country in two, with Spain overseeing the northern sector, making Tetuán the administrative capital of Spanish Morocco. Football had been played in the ports and larger cities of Morocco since the start of the 20th century, but the arrival of the Spanish brought added impetuous. In 1917 Sporting Tetuán & Futbol Club Hispano Marroqui were founded, and a year later these clubs merged to form Athletic Club. This nod in the direction of the Bilbao's all conquering team was made all the more obvious by the adoption of Athletic's club colours and a re-working of their badge.
An early photo of Athletic Club de Tetuán in 1932
Athletic Club was officially established in 1922 and they spent the next decade or so playing in regional leagues and regular matches against clubs from Tangier, which at the time was a free international zone. In 1931, the Campeonato Hispano-Marroquí was established, initially featuring clubs from Ceuta and Tetuán. The league was expanded a year later to include clubs from Tangier, Larache, Melilla & Rif and this was the first championship that saw the winners qualify for the preliminary rounds of the Spanish Cup. The first four titles went to clubs from Ceuta but in the competition's fifth season, Athletic Club came into its own. The 1935-36 season saw Athletic crowned champions ahead of Español Futbol Club, a title that saw the club qualify for the Spanish Cup for the first time. On 15 March 1936, Athletic Club entertained  CD Tenerife at the Estadio de Varela, winning by 2 goals to one. A week later in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Athletic Cub beat their hosts by a goal to nil to progress to the next round, where they were paired with Club Deportivo Malacitano. This was to prove a step up in class and whilst Athletic held the Malaga-based club 2-2 in Tetuán, their cup odyssey ended a week later with a 0-3 defeat at the Campo de los Baños del Carmen. This was the club's last competitive action for over three years as the dark clouds of the Civil War rolled in.
Athletic Tetuán - Champions in 1935-36
1939 saw the resumption of the Campeonato Hispano-Marroquí, and a year later Athletic Club became Club Atlético Tetuán, primarily due to the new nationalist government directive outlawing Anglicised names, but the choice may have been influenced by club director Fernando Fuertes de Villavicencio, a former player with Atletico Madrid. Atlético won a for-shortened Campeonato Hispano-Marroquí in 1942, but the restructuring of the Spanish Leagues in 1943 gave the club a chance  to compete in the newly formed Tercera. On 26 September 1943, Atlético travelled to the north east of Andalucia to take on Linares Deportivo in its first ever game in the Spanish League. They lost 0-2, but over the course of the season held their own, finishing fifth out of ten with eighteen points. The following 1944-45 season proved much more difficult, with Atlético gaining just three victories on the way to a bottom-placed finish. Demotion was a short-lived affair and after just a season back in the regional leagues, Atlético returned to the Tercera thanks to a 4-1 aggregate play-off victory over Algeciras. 
The Atlético Tetuán side from 7 November 1943
Atlético finished fourth in their first season back in the Tercera and whilst there was a blip in season 47-48 when the club finished eighth, Los Matadores as they had become known, won their first Tercera title a year later, pipping Cordoba on a better head-to-head record. The play-offs for promotion to La Segunda was a tortuous affair, ultimately coming down to the tenth and final match, when Atlético drew 1-1 in Galicia at UD Orensena to clinch promotion to the second tier. There would have been many who would have dismissed Atlético's chances in La Segunda, but buoyed by two recent promotions and to a lesser extent, conscripted footballers doing national service in Spanish Morocco, Los Matadores shone. Form was particularly impressive at the Estadio de Varela, where the home crowd witnessed just one defeat in 15 matches. At the end of the 1949-50 season, the club had accumulated 33 points, good enough for fifth place, but it was the following 50-51 season that saw Atlético truly excel. The season got off to a good start with a 3-0 derby win over SD Cueta. There followed a steady first half of the season, including a 9-2 victory over Valencia Mestalla. However, it was the second half of the season that proved decisive as Atlético lost only 3 matches. Promotion to La Primera was secured on 25 March 1951 with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Albacete, all with two games to spare. Atlético got a taste of the action in advance of their debut in the top flight, when Barcelona rolled into town on 6 May 1951 for the quarter-finals of the Copa Generalisimo. The Blaugranas eased to a 3-1 victory and clocked-up another four goals in the return leg at Les Corts four days later. 
Jackboots & Gymnasts  - The Estadio de Varela in 1951
Life in La Primera was never going to be easy for Atlético, but the officials at the RFEF gave them what appeared to be a favourable start to life in the top division, when they were paired at home with another promoted side, Real Zaragoza. The Estadio de Varela was full to its 15,000 capacity when, on the 9 September 1951, the first top-flight game on African soil kicked-off. The match was a scrappy affair, played in intense heat in front of the Jalifa of Spanish Morocco. The game's only moment of quality arrived seven minutes into the second half, when Zaragoza's Hernandez scored with a thunderous left-foot drive from outside the area. In fairness, Atlético had a decent home record for the rest of the season, winning six and drawing five. This included a 4-1 victory over their namesakes and reigning league champions Atlético Madrid, whilst there were creditable draws with Real Madrid & Valencia. Not surprisingly however, it was on the road that Los Matadores struggled. Heavy defeats were incurred at Celta Vigo and Valencia, whilst Atlético Madrid gained revenge for their defeat on African soil, slamming eight past a beleaguered Tetuán defence at the Estadio Metropolitano. All but one of their away fixtures ended in defeat. The one exception occurred in Week 7 when Atlético embarked on one of its longest away journey's to Deportivo's Estadio Riazor. The home side were two goals to the good within 20 minutes, but a blast of three goals in six minutes from Patricio, Moreno and Chicha gave Atlético the lead before half time, which for once they did not surrender. Atlético Tetuán's top-flight odyssey finally came to an end on 13 April 1952, when newly crowned champions Barcelona won by five goals to two at the Estadio de Varela. Bottom, but not disgraced, Los Matadores returned to La Segunda.
Los Matadores - Atlético Tetuán 1951-52
Over the next four seasons Atlético Tetuán made valiant attempts at a return to the top division. This included a third place finish in 1952-53 which led to an appearance in the end of season promotion play-offs. Here they came within a point of an immediate return to La Primera, but was denied promotion with a final day draw away to España Industrial, the reserve side of Barcelona. Atlético returned to the play-offs two years later after finishing runners-up to Real Murcia, but once again the final step-up proved to be elusive, as they trailed behind promoted RCD Espanyol & Real Sociedad. The 1955-56 season was played against a back-drop of Moroccan independence, and by March of 1956, Atlético club president Julio Parrés knew that the club would have to merge or disappear. Keen to preserve its heritage and ensure continuity of work for the professional staff, Parrés entered negotiations with a number of clubs including Algeciras CF & Real Balompédica Linense. However, it was the close proximity and the recent good form of SD Cueta that proved decisive. On 22 April 1956, Atlético Tetuán played its last ever game, a 4-1 away win at Real Betis. On 2 July 1956, both Atlético Tetuán & SD Ceuta were formally wound-up and a new team, Club Atlético de Ceuta was formed, taking up the place vacated in La Segunda by Los Matadores. With the majority of the professional staff transferring to Atlético Ceuta, this left a void in Tetuán which was eventually filled in 1961, when Moghreb Athlétic de Tétouan took on the colours and the stadium of Los Matadores.
Winds of change. The Estadio de Varela in the mid 1950's
Whilst it is almost certain that football was played on the site of the Estadio de Varela from the turn of the 20th Century, the land was not formally enclosed until 1913. Situated on the north bank of the River Martil, the stadium played host to a variety of sports thanks to the inclusion of a cinder athletics track. Rudimentary bleachers were added once Atlético started to play in Campeonato Hispano-Marroquí, whilst officials could watch from a rather ornate raised, open terrace. This wedge shaped construction was double sided, so that one could view races at the hippodrome that stood to the west of the stadium. Atlético's ascent to La Primera led to the stadium undergoing major redevelopment. An open stand with bench terracing was erected on the east side which was linked to semi circular end terraces. Club office and changing rooms were built in the south west corner and the pitch was access via an underground tunnel behind the southern goal. The stadium's main tribuna was built on the west side, and this featured a vaulted concrete cantilevered roof. However, it was only 75 metres in length and ran from the southern touchline, before seemingly losing interest and petering out just after the halfway line. With a capacity of 15,000, Varela suited Atlético just fine, and it also seemed to suit Moghreb Tétouan just fine, as little was done to the stadium for the next 50 years. 
Renamed, but unchanged. The Stade Saniat Rmel in 2006
In the intervening years, the stadium was renamed the Stade Saniat Rmel and in 2007, the parched turf was replaced with an artificial surface. Work on the original terraces saw the capacity reduced to 10,000, but then in 2011, to mark the 60th anniversary of the original club's promotion to La Primera, the main Tribuna underwent a major refurbishment. A new framework was erected at the rear of the stand to support the original, ageing concrete roof. Everything, and I mean everything, was given a liberal coat of red, white & blue paint and new bucket seats were bolted to the concrete steps. To be honest, it's all a bit gaudy and garish, but lo and behold, it seemed to do the trick. After 50 years of achieving very little, Moghreb Tétouan won its first Moroccan championship in May 2012. As the city celebrated the club's first major honour, the Ultras paraded banners celebrating the club's Spanish heritage. What did the banners display? Siempre Los Matadores.
Pimp my stand - The west tribuna's new look
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Valladolid - Anexo el José Zorrilla

August 21, 2012, 12:50 pm
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Following the problems surrounding CD Guijuelo in the week leading up to the start of the 2012-13 season, rumours suggested that the RFEF had turned to a club who at least had some pedigree at this level, Real Valladolid B. Since first reaching Segunda B in 1990, the reserve side of La Pucela's has clocked up 13 seasons in the third tier. However, the RFEF are not known for their speed of thought & action, so with a day to go to the start of the 2012-13 season, nobody knew if Guijuelo's place was up for grabs or whether reports of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.

Formed in 1942 following the union of Club Deportivo Delicias and  Recreativo Europa, the newly monikered Recreativo Europa Delicias remained an affiliated club until 1973, when they became Real Valladolid's official reserve side and were renamed Real Valladolid Promesas. CD Guijuelo eventually scraped together enough money to start the season, so Real Valladolid B continued in the Tercera. Plenty more detail to follow, but here are some more pictures of the Anexo el José Zorilla and its Toblerone shaped stand. (Advertising opportunity missed there, methinks! )

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Palamós - Nou Estadi

September 3, 2012, 2:58 am
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Founded in 1898, a full year before their more illustrious cousins FC  Barcelona, Palamós Club de Futbol is the oldest football club in Catalunya. Formed by Gasper Matas, a student who learnt the game whilst in England, it is somewhat appropriate that the club's first match was against the crew of an English boat that had docked in Palamós harbour.
The Nou Municipal Estadi

Plenty more to follow on this great little club including a look at its golden years in La Segunda during the 1980's and an appearance from one of the pantomime villains of Spanish football, Dmitry Pietrman. Meanwhile, here are some more pictures of their smart little stadium.
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Building for the Future?

September 4, 2012, 2:35 am
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Spanish football sits at the top of the international and club game, but all is not well. The perilous financial state of La Liga’s top clubs has been well documented, and whilst Spain’s best continue to shine on the pitch, many of the structures that surround them are not fit for purpose. The modern facilities that have become a feature of so many northern European and Stateside arenas have passed the vast majority of Spanish football clubs by. In Spain’s top flight only Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and Espanyol’s new stadium at Cornellà-El Prat can be classed as truly modern arenas. Other clubs such as Real Mallorca, Malaga & Granada have moved or rebuilt stadiums in the past decade, but are not happy with their lot and would like to move on.
A diamond in the rough – Espanyol’s Estadi  Cornellà-El Prat 
So why have so many Spanish stadiums slipped behind the times and what are the clubs looking to do about it? Unfortunately, the answer is not straightforward, as many of Spain’s top club’s do not own their own stadium. Looking at this season’s Primera, ten clubs play in a stadium owned by the local municipality and with Spain’s national economy on a life-support machine, no local council in its right mind is going to splash the cash on a new football arena. That doesn’t explain a chronic lack of investment in infrastructure when Spain’s economy was booming. With parallels to Aesop’s fable, too many Spanish grasshoppers played football in the sun, whilst their more prudent neighbours invested money in their homes. Big money signings and high wages have powered Spain to the top of the club and international rankings, but with the club's coffers empty, debts high and the banks knocking at the door, there is little appetite for developing a stadium.
Zaragoza’s La Romareda is typical of La Liga’s antiquated arenas 
And then there is the Television contract. Modern top flight football and its finances is driven by TV money, but whilst leagues such as the Bundesliga and the English Premier League distribute the earnings pretty evenly, Spain’s television deal smacks of a duopoly, depriving the smaller clubs of any hope of developing some financial muscle. Spain last experienced a boom in stadium development prior to the 1982 World Cup when the country’s foremost arenas underwent major refurbishment. Alarmingly, the stadiums used by Barcelona, Real Zaragoza, Celta Vigo, Atlético Madrid & Sevilla appear to be stuck in a time warp, unchanged since the tournament, but for the addition of a few more seats. Other teams such as Levante, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid play in stadiums that are over 25 years old and have not altered since opening. Osasuna, Real Betis and Valencia have at least cobbled together some new structures, but none can be called cutting edge.
Great from a distance, but many of Spain's stadia don't do close-ups
There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Many of Spain’s teams have formulated plans for new stadia, but for three clubs, these plans amount to something more than a pipe-dream. Step forward Athletic Club de Bilbao, Atlético Madrid and Valencia, who have all started work on their own modern arenas. Valencia’s development on the Avenida Cortes Valencianas is the most widely publicised and the structure that has advanced furthest. However, the club’s near financial meltdown has seen work halted on the site since the summer of 2009. In January 2012, the club came to an agreement with their bank to reduce the debt by a further €100m and then in June, agreed revised plans with the local city council for the development of the Mestalla site. Work is due to restart on the new stadium in September, but whether it will feature all the whistles and bells of the original plan is still open to debate. Even with a fair wind behind it, any move away from the historic Mestalla still appears to be a couple of years off.
No money, big problems - Valencia’s half-built stadium
Much to the anger of many of Atético Madrid’s supporters, their club has started work on converting the Estadio de la Comunidad or La Peineta to a 67,000 seat stadium. The move is not popular with Atléti’s fan base as its location is way across to the north east of Madrid, well away from their heartland. The 200 million euro construction will make use of the existing structure at the old athletics stadium, and will be paid for by the sale of the land on which the current Estadio Vicente Calderon stands. There are problems however. The size of Atléti's debt, currently estimated at upward of €500m makes any development of this nature seem foolhardy.  The disgruntled fans have also successfully challenged the plans to develop the site of the Calderón, pointing out that any development in that part of Madrid cannot be over four stories in height. Therefore, one expects that the club's estimate of opening the stadium in 2015, to be well wide of the mark, particularly as little has happened since the over-hyped clearance of the site.
Atlético Madrid’s proposed new build is due to open in 2015 
Athletic Club de Bilbao is expected to move to its new stadium in the spring of 2014. Built on wasteland next to their existing home, the San Mamés Barria will be a 200 million euro, 54,000 seat stadium. Such is its close proximity, the final phase will not be completed until the old San Mamés has been demolished. This will result in Athletic initially playing in a horse-shoe shaped arena that has a capacity of 36,000. Once the iconic old stadium is finally levelled, the southern end of the new stadium will be enclosed. Regrettably, the new stadium will not incorporate that iconic symbol of the club, the San Mamés arch. Athletic did however place a piece of San Mamés' turf and a tile of the old facade in an urn to preserve memories and elements of La Catedral forever. A classy touch from a classy club.
Athletic’s new & old will stand side by side for a few short months 
If all goes to plan, these arenas will be operational within the next few seasons, and whilst Spain would have lost three of its most recognisable stadiums, it would also have gained three world class facilities, and who knows, maybe this will trigger the start of a new era of stadium development?
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A Season in the Spotlight - La Liga 1985-86

September 10, 2012, 6:28 am
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Background. Spain in 1985 was unrecognisable from the neurotic, militarised State of a decade earlier. Democratic and social reform had transformed the country and its people, which in turn led to a surge in creativity and free thinking. Gone was the overburdening, centralised control of the State and in its place stood autonomous regional communities. For the first time in decades, all of Spain’s regions had a voice. As one would expect, this transformation had an impact on the football field. Real Madrid, who had won four of the first five post-Franco league titles, was for much of the early 1980’s, reduced to a supporting role. They were an ironic and poignant symbol of a once powerful force. Los Merengues needed to change with the times and as is so often the case, the answer lay right beneath their nose. The development of an exceptional youth squad had propelled the club’s reserve side, Castilla CF, to the second division title, and whilst the club itself was ineligible to join the big time, some of its most illustrious apprentices were about to break through - Make way for the Vulture Squad.
The Vulture Squad - Pardeza moved to Zaragoza during the 1985-86 season
The Story of the Campaign. The Quinta del Buitre was made up of Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza. They had all made their first time debuts prior to the start of the 1985-86 season, but had yet to truly establish themselves. It required the appointment of Ramon Mendoza as president in May 1985 to sweep through the changes and just as importantly, make the key signing of Hugo Sánchez from city rivals Atlético Madrid. The mix of the new with seasoned professionals like Camacho and Juanito, made Real Madrid genuine contenders. Add to that the drive of Argentine Jorge Valdano & the goals of Sánchez, and Real Madrid were back and firing on all cylinders. And so it proved to be the case, as Los Merengues took a stranglehold on the league from the early weeks and never looked like relinquishing their lead. Important victories were gained away from home, such as the 1-2 win at San Mamés against Athletic, the 0-1 victory at Atlético and a 0-2 success at a then testing Sporting Gijón. However, it was at the Santiago Bernabéu where Real Madrid proved totally dominant. All 17 home matches were won, the last time a clean sweep has occurred, and the back of the opponents net was found on 47 occasions. The league title was won with four matches to spare thanks to a 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid at the Bernabéu and Barcelona dropping a point away at Sporting Gijón. Despite losing two of their final four fixtures, Real Madrid won the league by 11 points, a record for a 34 game season.

Fortress Bernabéu - 17 came and 17 were sent packing
Matches of the Season. Whilst the league title was won officially two weeks later, Real Madrid broke Barcelona’s resolve with a 3-1 victory at the Bernabéu in week 28. Barça had taken the lead shortly after half-time with a strike from Amarilla, but two quick goals on the hour from Maceda & Valdano and a late strike from Butragueño, all but sealed the title. With the top sewn up, focus turned to the drama and intrigue found at the foot of the table. The tightest battle was between newly promoted Cádiz and Valencia, who found themselves in unfamiliar territory after a horrendous post-Christmas slump that saw Los Ches go 13 games without a win. With four matches to play, all seemed lost as Valencia trailed Cádiz by four points. However, two back-to-back victories for Valencia reduced the gap to one point, and with Cádiz due to visit the Mestalla on the final day of the season, Los Ches prayed for an unlikely escape. It was not to be. In the penultimate week of the season, Barcelona put three past Valencia without reply, and Cádiz’s unlikely point at Sevilla, saw Valencia relegated for the first time in its history.


Extras. Valencia were joined in La Segunda by newly promoted Celta Vigo, who were soon found wanting and hit the bottom of the pile in week 10. Hercules, in its second season back in the top tier put up more of a fight, but they also dropped due in part to a run that saw just one win in their final 12 matches. Real Zaragoza capped a fine season with a 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey. Ruben Sosa’s deflected free-kick secured the club’s first Copa in 20 years. Barça’s misery was compounded eleven days later when they lost a forgettable European Cup Final to Steaua Bucharest, completing a trio of second-place finishes.

Sosa's strike sent the cup back to Zaragoza
For the Record. Real Madrid’s total of 56 points and 26 victories is a record for a 34 game season. They also topped the scoring charts with 83 goals. Sporting Gijón had the division’s most parsimonious defence, conceding just 27 goals. Unsurprisingly, Celta Vigo conceded a high of 72 goals, whilst Osasuna’s total of just 24 goals scored and 33 conceded made them the team to avoid if you wanted entertainment. A total of 798 goals were scored at an average of 2.60 per game.


Pichichi. Before the arrival of Messi and Ronaldo, the modern goal scoring phenomenon of Spanish football was Hugo Sánchez. After a successful career with UNAM Pumas, Sánchez left his native Mexico to join Atlético Madrid in 1981. He soon began to flourish and earned his first Pichchi title in 1984-85. After joining Real Madrid in the summer of 1985, Sánchez went on to score 164 league goals for Los Merengues, adding another four Pichichi’s to his haul. He stands in second place in La Liga’s all-time goalscorers list with 234 strikes.

Goal-Machine - Sanchez's goals powered Real Madrid to the first title in 5 years
Zamora. Sporting Gijón’s Juan Carlos Ablanedo earned his second successive Trofeo Zamora thanks to conceding just 27 goals in 34 games. Agile and brave, Ablanedo earned a third Zamora in 1990. His impressive club form earned him four international caps for La Roja and call-ups to the 1986 & 1990 World Cup squads. He retired in 1999, having played nearly 450 times for Sporting, his only club. Ablanedo now works as an estate agent.
Would you buy a house from this man?
The Clubs Today. The class of 85-86 still figure prominently in this season’s La Primera, with 13 of the 18 sides on the roll call. Sporting Gijón, Racing Santander, UD Las Palmas and Hércules ply their trade in La Segunda, Whilst Cádiz has dropped furthest, playing in Group IV of Segunda B.



The Final Table 1985-86
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Grounds for concern?

September 14, 2012, 1:08 am
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Earlier this year, Forza Futbol invited me to write an article on the state of stadiums in La Liga. With a few notable exceptions, it did not make happy reading. I reported that the majority of clubs in Europe’s top league played in antiquated arenas, and given the state of the clubs and local government finances, there was little scope for change. There was a glimmer of light however. Three clubs, namely Valencia, Atlético Madrid & Athletic Club had plans, concrete plans, if you’ll excuse the pun, to build state of the art stadiums.

In Bilbao, work is progressing with the building of the €211m replacement of the iconic San Mamés stadium. By the beginning of September, three-tiered concrete supports were in place on three sides of the stadium and pre-cast concrete surfaces were being added to the lower level. So close is the proximity of the new build to the existing stadium, that only three sides will be initially developed. The fourth will be added once Athletic has moved in and the old San Mamés demolished. Athletic want to be in for the start of the 2013-14 season, but a move mid-way through next season seems more likely. This will allow the club to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of its grand old stadium on 21 August 2013.
Let's Get it On - The three-sided stadium set to debut in 2013-14
Whilst building-work has made good progress, Athletic has encountered a few obstacles over financing. The project is a joint venture with funding coming from five partners. Athletic Club, BBK (Bilbao Biscay Savings Bank), The Council of Bizkaya and The Basque Regional Government have a €50m stake in the project, whilst Bilbao City Council has committed €11m. With local elections looming, some politicians have called upon Athletic to make a greater contribution to the project, pointing to the recent €40m transfer of Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich as a sign of its relative wealth. Athletic remain resolute, reminding everybody of the community facilities that the stadium will incorporate and the €500,000 they will pay each year in rent. In reality, these financial issues will not halt or delay the building of the stadium, a situation which Valencia CF can only look upon with envy.
Uptight (Everything 's Alright) - San Mamés Barria  
The problems with Valencia’s new development on the Avenida Cortes Valencianas have been widely publicised. Work began on 1 August 2007, but Valencia was just about to have their worst domestic season for nearly 20 years and as a result, would not qualify for the Champions League. No Champions League means no lorry-loads of euros and with the world financial crisis looming, the banks started to get anxious. Things were not going well at the new stadium either. On 26 May 2008 four construction workers died when scaffolding collapsed on one of the ten main towers. A further failure to qualify for the Champions League in 2008-09 saw the club’s debt rise to over €500m and when in the summer of 2009, they defaulted on several payments to the construction company, worked stopped on the new stadium. 
You Keep Me Hanging On - Nou Mestalla after 3 years of inactivity 
The club sold its best players and yet, against the odds, made a return to the Champions League. In January 2012, Valencia came to an agreement with their bank to reduce the debt by a further €100m and then in June, agreed revised plans with the local city council for the development of the existing Mestalla site. The funds raised by the sale of the old site are central to the completion of the Nou Mestalla. Work was due to restart on the new stadium in September, but fifteen days into the month and the construction teams are conspicuous by their absence. Even with a fair wind behind it, any move into the Nou Mestalla still appears to be a couple of years off, but it seems too far advanced not to be completed at some stage in the next few years.
A Change is Gonna Come - Eventually 
And so to the mad, mad world of Atlético Madrid and their proposed development of the Estadio La Peineta. Anybody who has studied the history of Atléti will know that their past is littered with stadium moves and protracted refurbishments. More widely publicised is the dire financial situation that presently afflicts the club. Their 2011 accounts put the size of the debt at €510m, of which €215m is owed to the tax authorities. A further €55m is owed to other clubs in transfer fees and €52m to staff. Thanks to relatively low income, not helped by a feeble slice of the TV revenue money, Atléti’s debt coverage is a worrying 20%. So why, and more importantly how can they build a new stadium?
It's the Same Old Song - Atléti are singing a familiar tune
Atleti’s plans focus on the sale of the Vicente Calderon to Madrid City Council. It was envisaged that the council would redevelop the site of the stadium and the adjoining Mahon Beer factory into a commercial and residential metropolis. In return, Atléti would receive La Peineta and any additional money from the sale of the old stadium would be used to clear the club’s debts. In the spring of 2011, the club announced they had received planning permission for the redevelopment of La Peineta and work would soon commence. Soon in Atléti parlance meant December, when the club organised a big media gathering to watch, in essence, the breaking up of a few pieces of old terracing. 
I'm Still Waiting - Move along. Nothing to see here!
To complicate matters further, a group of Atléti supporters sued the city council to prevent the move from the Vicente Calderon. It appears that it is now illegal to build higher than four storeys in the city centre of Madrid, which means Madrid City Council would not receive anything close to the revenues it was expecting. The case has gone to appeal, but being Spain, don’t expect an answer anytime soon. Predictably, the build at La Peineta has all but ground to a halt. Work has got as far as removing the lower tier of the main stand, taking down the floodlights and some excavation. The official line from the club is that the development is progressing to plan, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. As we now know, truth and reality is rarely the same thing when dealing with Atlético Madrid.
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Arrested Development

October 14, 2012, 5:26 am
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Despite the effects of Spain’s crippling financial crisis and the lack of a coherent plan when it comes to scheduling fixtures, the Spanish football fan is a hardy breed. Reports of a mass exodus of spectators from the country’s stadia have been greatly exaggerated, with attendances generally holding-up. 

These scare stories were prompted by some dreadful attendance figures in the first couple of weeks of this season, which led some doom-mongers to prophesise the financial meltdown of some clubs. In truth, the figures were distorted by the early start to the season and the RFEF’s tinkering with kick-off times, and in recent weeks the league has witnessed a return to normal service. 
A full house at the Camp Nou, but it's not always thus
However all is not rosy in La Liga’s garden. Given the unparalleled levels of success witnessed at club and national level, you would think that there would be something of a boom in paying spectators. Instead, attendances have remained pretty static and you have to look long and hard to find evidence of any initiatives to entice fans into the stadiums to enjoy this quality product. 

So what are the official attendance figures for La Liga? That’s a very good question. You see the study of Spanish attendance figures has always been a bit of a hit & miss affair, with the rounding up of figures and estimations of the size of the crowd being the norm for many years. Even now, reported statistics vary from source to source.  In January 2012, our very own Forza Futbol informed us that in the five year period from 2006-11, La Liga averaged 28,400 spectators per game. Depending on whom you wish to cite, the 2011-12 season saw an average attendance of between 24,300 and 29,600. Yet another example of how Spanish football administration seems to be stuck in the dark ages.
Lies, Damned Lies & La Liga Attendance Figures
The usual suspects dominate the attendance table as they do the Clasificación, with Barcelona edging out Real Madrid on average by a few thousand fans per home game. There is then a sizeable drop to the levels witnessed by Atlético Madrid & Valencia, before a smaller drop brings in the likes of Sevilla, Real Betis & Athletic. The occupancy rate of a stadium has long been considered as a yardstick for measuring the loyalty of a clubs fans, but even here the statistics are skewed. Few would question the loyalty of Atléti’s & Betis’ fans, but they regularly cheer on their heroes in stadia that are just two-thirds full. 

This begs the question, are some of Spain’s stadiums just too big? With the exception of the seemingly endless Clasico’s and some select Champions League matches, Barcelona usually plays in front of 20,000 empty seats at the Camp Nou. Oversized stadiums are not the soul preserve of 1970’s & 80’s architects. Just a few miles to the south west of the Camp Nou is Espanyol’s beautiful new Estadi Cornellá-El Prat, which regularly fails to fill nearly half of its 40,000 seats. A sobering thought for the likes of Athletic Club and Valencia as they develop their own, larger super-stadiums.
San Mamés Barria - Too much, too soon?
So are there any signs of Spanish clubs rising to the challenge and showing initiative in attempts to generate additional revenue? It’s well documented that the money from TV coverage is weighted hugely in favour of Real Madrid & Barcelona and that the remaining 18 clubs have to fight over the remaining half of the pot. Regrettably, the majority of clubs have responded by simply hiking up the price of tickets. The average cost of a ticket in La Liga is now €54.00, making it the most expensive league to watch football in Europe. The typical price for the cheapest tickets is around the €30.00 mark, but these tend to be for the less attractive fixtures and so far away from the action that breathing apparatus is a necessity.

If you want to watch the big two in the provinces then best take out a bank loan. When Barcelona came to Pamplona earlier this year, Osasuna decided that €90.00 would be the going rate for the cheapest tickets. Whilst this might seem like sharp practise, it is not a patch on the clubs that apply the “Dia del Club” scheme. This nice little earner allows home supporters to buy a season ticket which excludes the visit of Real Madrid & Barça and sometimes a local derby. In short, if you want to watch the best you have to pay like the rest. Deportivo and Rayo Vallecano have such schemes, whilst Granada ran one last year before dropping it at the start of this season.
Whatever next? Common sense prevails at the Vicente Calderón
Some clubs have recently seen the light and decided that it is better to fill the stadium with a high percentage of discounted tickets, than play in front of open seats. Thanks to a piece of the senseless scheduling by the RFEF, Atlético Madrid faced with the possibility of a greatly reduced crowd for their home match with Malaga. Atléti bit the bullet and offered tickets from €15.00 and were rewarded with a crowd of 43,000, who in turn were rewarded with a last minute winning goal. A few other clubs have tried similar initiatives, such as Valencia offering tickets at €10.00 on a couple of occasions last season. Villarreal should also be applauded for their support of their unemployed fans. 

Sadly, these examples are few and far between. Many clubs seem to lack the wit and imagination to integrate with the local community and offer cheaper seats to school children, who are potentially tomorrow’s fans. The lack of any loyalty scheme or 2-4-1 offers is dated, short-sighted and above all, damaging. There is so much to applaud and admire about Spanish football, however its administration and marketing are simply not up to scratch. Most club presidents are detached and seemingly content with sitting on their hands, and continuing with a policy that sees their clubs most loyal supporters pay for their idleness. A change will have to come soon, or there is a real risk that there won’t be anything worth changing.
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Spain vs France & the Calderón Connection

October 15, 2012, 1:20 pm
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When the draw for the UEFA qualification groups was held on 30 July last year, attention rightly focused on the Spain vs France fixtures. Tomorrow, at the Vicente Calderón, the first of the two ties will take place. So this is an opportune time to look at La Roja’s record at the home of Atlético Madrid, as well as shine a light on Les Bleu’s outings next to the Rio Manzanarés.

With the RFEF being based in Madrid, it will come as no surprise to learn that the Spanish capital has played host to La Seleccion most frequently. Tuesday’s match will be Spain’s 61st full international in Madrid, and whilst the Santiago Bernabéu has hosted the majority of those games, the national side has also played at two of the former stadia of Real Madrid as well as Atleti’s magnificent former home of the Estadio Metropolitano. Tuesday’s fixture will be La Roja’s tenth outing at the Estadio Vicente Calderón and to date, they have yet to lose a match.
Before the roof & La Roja arrived. The Calderón in 1968
Work originally started on the stadium in 1961, but progress was slow due in part to the location, up tight to the east bank of the river and Atléti’s lack of funds. Then, finally on 2 October 1966, the stadium was sort of ready and unofficially opened with a match against Valencia. I say sort of ready, as back in 1966 the main stand was an open bank of seats with a construction site behind it. Money was still tight and the upper tier of the main stand that hangs over the six-lane M30 Madrid ring-road, was not completed until 1970. At this point the stadium was renamed Estadio Vicente Calderén after the President of the club who had overseen its development. Complete and with a roof to boot, the 62,000 all-seat stadium - the first in Spain - was officially opened in the presence of General Franco and a young Prince Juan Carlos, on 23 May 1972. Goals from Valdez & Garate saw Spain beat Uruguay by two goals to nil.

La Roja returned to the Vicente Calderén four years later for the first leg of their quarter-final tie with reigning European Champions West Germany. The hosts took the lead on 21 minutes with a goal from Santillana, only to be pegged back on the hour when Beer scored for the Germans. The match ended 1-1, but a month later Spain lost 0-2 in Munich and failed to make the finals of the tournament in Yugoslavia.
The Vicente Calderón in one of its less colourful phases
Spain’s next outing at the Vicente Calderón was in October 1977 when Romania was the visitor for a vital World Cup qualifier for Argentina ’78. Two late goals from Atlético Madrid players all but sealed qualification to Mundial XI. First midfielder Eugenio Leal struck in the 74th minute, before striker Ruben Cano sealed victory with a strike seven minutes from time.

There was another four year wait for international action to return to the south west of Madrid, and this time France was the guest. Not that the international friendly caught the public’s imagination as only 18,000 turned up to watch Spain’s 1-0 victory thanks to Juanito’s 86th minute penalty. France did return to the Vicente Calderón a year later however, but this time La Roja was nowhere to be seen. The stadium had been selected to host three second round group matches at España 82, the twelfth addition of the World Cup. France played Austria in their first group match on 28 June 1982 and Les Bleu’s 1-0 victory hid the fact that this classy French side dominated the fixture. Six days later, France returned to the Calderón and demolished Northern Ireland 4-1, qualifying for a Semi-final tie with West Germany in Sevilla.

Over the next two decades, the Calderón was effectively mothballed from international football, with La Roja paying just two visits in September 1995 and April 2003. The first was for a friendly with Argentina and the hosts prevailed again thanks to goals from Pizzi and Guerrero, before a late Ortega strike for Argentina finished the scoring. The second was a convincing 4-0 victory over Ecuador with goals from Morientes (3) and De Pedro.
The Vicente Calderón in 2006 after its international hiatus
Move on two years and qualification for the 2006 World Cup was not as straightforward as the Spaniards had hoped. A series of disappointing draws had left Spain trailing Serbia Montenegro in the table. The Vicente Calderón was selected to host the crucial home fixture with the Serbs in September 2005 and a full house was elated in the 18th minute when Raúl pounced to give La Roja the lead. They were silenced however on 68 minutes when Mateja Kezman equalised. The draw favoured the visitors and they automatically qualified for the 2006 tournament in Germany. Spain headed to the play-offs and was drawn against Slovakia. The Calderon was selected again and this time La Roja did not disappoint. Three goals from Luis Garcia and strikes from Morientes and Torres saw the Slovaks beaten 5-1, and Spain had all but qualified for the World Cup.

As part of the RFEF’s centenary celebrations, the Vicente Calderón was chosen to host a friendly with Argentina on 14 November 2009. A packed stadium saw two goals from Xabi Alonso seal a two-one victory, and Iker Casillas make his 100th appearance for La Selección. The only blot on the Casillas’ memorable day came when he was beaten by a Lionel Messi penalty on 62 minutes. 
Bring on Les Bleus - La Roja look to defend their unbeaten record at the stadium
So attention turns to Tuesday’s match with France and a vital qualifier for Brazil 2014. Spain has not lost a competitive match on home soil since 2003. Add to that their unbeaten record at the Vicente Calderón and Les Bleu’s are facing Une force formidable. As we now know, France has won on their last two visits to this corner of Madrid, but they were not facing La Furia Roja.
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Figueres - Estadi Municipal de Vilatenim

October 20, 2012, 7:45 am
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Here's a cautionary tale from one of Catalunya's footballing backwaters. The story of a small town club hitting the big time, before losing it all thanks to one man's ego. Special thanks to Liam Bambridge, who writes for the excellent In Bed With Maradona & El Centrocampista, for his great work on this article. You can follow Liam on Twitter - @agameinspain

The town of Figueres is tucked away in the north east corner of Catalonia, just 15 miles from the French border. It is more famous as the birthplace and home of Salvador Dali than for any footballing exploits. The resident club's main claim to fame was that it became the first from the third tier of Spanish football to reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. However, just as significant was a bitter take-over row that turned out to be more surreal and nightmarish than any Dali painting.
Figueres not so secret garden - Campo Horta d’en Macau
However, let’s go back to less sullied and simpler times. Football has been played in this corner of Catalunya since 1905, whilst UE Figueres can trace its roots back to 1919, when the merger of Sport Club Catalá and Juventud Sportiva Figueres led to the creation of Unión Sportiva Figueres. Home was the Horta de l’Institut, which was essentially a clearing in a private orchard. The club moved to Horta d’en Macau in 1925, which was larger, more enclosed, but still pretty primitive. The club was still playing in the lower reaches of the Catalan Championship when in February 1931, it opened the Camp de les Monges, its first purpose built ground on the Calle Santa Leocadia. The club started to progress in the years immediately following the Civil War, changing its name to UD Figueras in 1941, and winning two successive promotions which earned a place in the Catalan Primera Categoría. The restructuring of the leagues led to UD Figueras appearing in the Tercera in 1943/44, but it proved a step too far and the club was relegated after a tenth place finish.
Camp de les Monges - Home for 19 years
UD Figueras returned to the regional leagues and saw out their time at the Camp de les Monges, before moving to the Camp de L’Alfar in May 1950, which was located to the east of the town, close to the town's railway station. The club returned to the Tercera in 1956 and four seasons later was crowned Tercera champions. This saw UD Figueras face San Sebastián CF - Real Sociedad’s reserve side - in the play-offs for a place in La Segunda. The Basque side prevailed over the two legs by 6 goals to 4. UD Figueras remained in the Tercera until a re-organisation of the leagues led to their demotion in 1963. Over the next 15 years, the club flitted between the Tercera and Regional Preferente, primarily due to more restructuring than any on-field action. 1977 saw a return to the Tercera and a series of strong finishes saw the club challenge for promotion to Segunda B. However, the play-offs proved to be a stumbling block on three occasions, but eventually, a second place finish and victories over SCD Durango & Sevilla Atlético earned promotion to the third tier. Promotion coincided with the adoption of the Catalan version of their name and within three years, promotion to La Segunda had been achieved with a dominant campaign that saw the club lose just five matches.
Camp de L'Afar - Free from covers and obstructed views.
Promotion also saw the end of Camp de L’Alfar. This basic enclosure had evolved very little in UE Figueres 36-year-stay and was frankly not suitable to host football in the second tier. It’s narrow series of terraces had no shelter and the nearby tenements and bullring offered plenty of free views. The last game at the Camp de L’Afar was on 18 May 1986, but UE Lleida ruined the promotion party with a 0-2 win. Earlier that year, on January 26 to be precise, work got under way on a new stadium that lay a kilometre to the east, near the small village of Vilatenim. The municipality had appointed local architect Enric Fita to design a stadium housing 5,000 spectators at a cost of 139m pesetas, but UE Figueres promotion saw a change to those plans. The stadium was extended to house a capacity of 9472, 2025 of which that could be housed in a the main tribuna. Opposite stood an open bank of seating whilst open terraces could be found at either end. At a total cost of near 200m pesetas, the Estadi Municipal de Vilatenim was a world away from any of UE Figueres previous homes. The stadium was officially inaugurated on 25 August 1986 with a friendly against FC Barcelona, and the home side got the stadium off to a perfect start with a 3-1 win. 
A new stadium for a new era - The Estadi Vilatenim in early 1986
The second division was uncharted territory, but over the next six seasons, UE Figueres did not disappoint. That first 1986-86 season saw a steady tenth place finish, whilst seventh was achieved a year later. Although the club flirted with relegation in 1989-90, it is the 91-92 campaign that holds the fondest memories for the club and its supporters. Built on a solid defence, UE Figueres maintained a position in the top two for three-quarters of the season, but a wretched run of just one win in the final seven matches, saw the club lose out on the final promotion place by just one point to Rayo Vallecano. Their third place finish ensured that they would get another bite at the promotion cherry. UE Figueres was paired with Cádiz CF who had finished La Primera season in a lowly 19th place. On 10 June 1992, a packed Estadio Ramon Carranza in Cádiz witnessed the home side take a vital 2-0 lead in to the second tie. A week later, UE Figueres dream of top flight football ended with a 1-1 draw at the Vilatenim. Funds dried up in the summer of 1992 and the successful squad was dismantled. What followed was an inevitable descent into the world of regional football and Segunda B, but at least UE Figueres had its one season flirting with the stars.
Estadi Vilatenim - La Segunda, infinity & beyond... or back to Segunda B
Back in Segunda B after a seven season absence, UE Figueres showed plenty of promise, making the promotion play-offs in three of their first four seasons back at this level. However, the last hurdle could not be navigated and there followed a slow decline. One highlight amidst all the mediocrity of life in Segunda B was the club's record run to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in 2001-02. A 10-1 aggregate win over CD Teruel earned UE Figueres a home tie against FC Barcelona and on 7 November 2001, with the Vilatenim packed to watch the superstars of Catalan football, UE Figueres pulled off one of La Copa's greatest shocks. In the first minute of extra-time, Kali Garrido scored the most famous goal in the club's history, setting them on their way to make cup history. UE Figueres went onto beat Osasuna, Novelda & Cordoba, before losing to eventual winners Deportivo La Coruña in the semi-finals. After the excitement of the cup, the club settled back into the mundane routine of mid-table finishes in Segunda B, when in the summer of 2006, just six years after the finest hour in their history, the club was on the brink of oblivion thanks to the actions of one unscrupulous individual. The culprit was Enric Flix, owner of the Miapuesta betting company, who had bought a majority shareholding in the club in the summer of 2006.  However within a year of doing so, Flix announced his intention to move the team to Castelldefels, a town nearly one hundred miles away, citing a lack of support for his newly acquired interest. 
Back to a quiet life in Segunda B. Wait a minute...
The fact that the club had survived perfectly well for the previous 88 years on an admittedly limited fan base apparently mattered little to the powers that be when considering the validity of Flix’s complaint.  An additional problem for those who were faced with the disappearance of their team, was that a precedent had already been set.  The Spanish football federation had been forced by an independent sports tribunal to allow a similar move.  Earlier that summer, Carlos Marsá Valdevinos had bought Ciudad de Murcia and relocated it nearly 200 miles west to Granada. As the majority shareholder, Flix was able to propose and approve the move whilst the other directors stood by powerless to intervene.  They did not give up without a fight, and indeed initially they seemed to have been successful in blocking the relocation, when a judge suspended Flix’s ownership on 17 July 2007.  However two weeks later the same court lifted the suspension, and at that point the club’s fate was sealed.
So would you swap this for Castelldefels? Flix's gamble defied logic
Thankfully this was far from the end of the road for football in the town, with the club reforming several weeks later as Union Sportiva Figueres, although they had to start right back at the bottom in the Catalonian Third Division.  Meanwhile Flix’s tenure at Castelldefels proved to be a brief one, after the team were relegated to the Tercera Division at the end of his first and only season in charge.  Given that he had initially turned the town’s existing football club into a feeder side for his new team, even adopting their colours, he was hardly the most popular man in town, and after moving on again to a small town very near to Figueres called Vilajuiga, his team disappeared for good in the summer of 2009.  
UE Figueres is well along the road to recovery
By contrast, the new team formed from the ashes of the one which Flix had destroyed went from strength to strength after his departure, and just six seasons later the team find themselves in the Spanish Tercera Division, just one promotion away from where they were in the summer of 2007.  Indeed back in September they locked horns with none other than UE Castelldefels for the first time since their footballing worlds were turned upside down, winning in Castelldefels by a goal to nil. Meanwhile, Enric Flix has reappeared on the scene, this time showing an interest in second division Girona FC. Will it be a marriage made in heaven? I wouldn't bet on it.
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A Season in the Spotlight - 1945-46

October 21, 2012, 9:39 am
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Background. This was the fifteenth Spanish league championship and to date, the title had only travelled to the south of the country on one occasion when Real Betis won the league in 1935. By 1945, Betis had fallen on hard times and was struggling at the wrong end of La Segunda. Barcelona had just won the championship and having expanded the Camp de Les Corts in the close season, many expected the Catalan giants to earn back-to-back titles. However, a new force was emerging in the south of the country in the shape of Sevilla Club de Fútbol.

The Story of the Campaign. Sevilla had shown promise in recent seasons, winning the Copa del Generalísimo in 1939 and finishing runner-up to Atlético Bilbao (Athletic Club) in 1942-43 championship. The 45-46 championship will go down in history as one of the most open, with a total of six different clubs topping the league standings at some point during the season. 1943-44 champions Valencia made the early running, beating Atlético Aviación (Atlético Madrid) 6-1 on the opening day of the season, and they vied with Barcelona for top spot during the opening month. An unbeaten start to the season saw Real Oviedo take over at the top in late October, before Sevilla’s own unbeaten start was rewarded with the lead in early November. Sevilla’s 1-0 loss away at Valencia and a 2-3 reverse at home to Barcelona, saw the Andalucian’s drop to fourth at the season’s half-way point. With 13 matches played, the table was headed by Real Madrid, but the top seven clubs were separated by just three points. The second half of the season remained just as tight, as first Real Oviedo and then Atlético Bilbao moved into pole position. The Basques seven-match unbeaten run had taken them to the summit with six matches to play. Tied with them on points was Sevilla, with Barcelona a point further back. After an uncharacteristic slip up away to Castellón, Bilbao got back on track with a 4-3 victory over Sevilla at San Mamés. With two matches left to play Bilbao, Sevilla & Barcelona were tied together on 33 points. However,  with the easier fixtures and the fact that Barcelona & Sevilla had to meet on the final day of the season, many felt it was Bilbao’s title to lose.

Newly extended, Les Corts was about to stage its biggest match
Matches of the Season.  Bilbao had beaten Sevilla at home and done the double over Barcelona, which included a 0-6 victory at Les Corts in October. However it was the Basques unwanted ability to lose unexpected matches that ultimately cost them the title. In the penultimate round of fixtures, Bilbao travelled to relegation threatened Alcoyano and contrived to lose 3-2. With Barcelona drawing away at Castellón, Sevilla’s 3-0 victory at home to Real Oviedo catapulted them to the top of the table and ended Bilbao’s title aspirations. The league would be decided on the final day of the season as Barcelona hosted Sevilla. A capacity crowd of 60,000 at Les Corts knew that only a victory would keep the title in Barcelona, but they were silenced in the 7th minute when Sevilla’s Araujo headed Lopez’s looping cross into the corner of the Barça net. Sevilla continued to control the game and reached half-time with the title in their sights. Barcelona eventually breached their opponents defence on 63 minutes when Bravo scored from close range. Sevilla withstood the Barcelona onslaught with some controlled and at times frantic defending, but eventually referee Pedro Escartin signalled the end of the match and the title was Sevilla’s. Here's some fotos & rare footage of that historic match.

Sevilla show off the silverware at their Estadio Nervion
Extras. The excitement of a tight finish was not the sole preserve of the top teams, as the relegation battle was not resolved until the final week. At some point during the season, Celta Vigo, Real Mucia, Español & Hércules had occupied the relegation places. Alcoyano on the other hand, had pootled along in mid-table and despite a poor run of results in the second-half of the campaign, appeared to have saved their tocino with that 3-2 victory over Atlético Bilbao. However, Celta’s 4-2 win over Hércules saved the Galicians and condemned their opponents, whilst wins for Murcia & Español, meant that only one from three could guarantee safety. Tellingly, Murcia & Español were to meet in the final fixture, whilst Alcoyano had to travel to Valencia. As news filtered through of a hatful of Valencia goals, Murcia & Español played out a 2-2 draw. Alcoyano eventually lost 6-1 and occupied a relegation spot for the first and at the most important stage of the season. Español eventually won a relegation play-off against Gimnástico de Tarragona to retain their position in the top flight. In the Copa, Real Madrid ended their 10 year wait for a trophy with a 3-1 victory over Valencia at Montjuic.

Borrowed time - 1946 was the penultimate final that the old Montjuic staged
For the Record. Atlético Bilbao finished the season as top scorers with 63 goals and also recorded the highest victory with a 7-1 crushing of Castellón. Atlético Aviación also scored seven when they beat Español 7-3, whilst Celta Vigo was the league’s entertainers with 113 goals coming in their 26 matches. A total of 611 goals were scored in total at an average of 3.35 per match.


Pichichi. Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra continued to be the scourge of La Liga’s defenders as he bagged a second consecutive top scorer title thanks to 24 goals in 18 matches. It’s thought by many, that Zarra’s absence from 8 matches cost Bilbao the title in 1945-46. Zarra spent 16 seasons at Athletic Club, scoring a total of 333 goals in all competitive matches. His tally of 252 goals in 278 first division matches is an all-time record, as is his total of six Pichichi titles.

"Pick 'e out the stingers" - Zarra strikes again
Zamora. The Real Madrid custodian José Bañón was the league’s top goalkeeper, conceding 29 goals in 25 matches. Bañón was a native of Alicante and joined Los Merengues in 1943 from Hércules. He went on to win two Copa’s and finish runner-up in the league, before a lung injury led to his early retirement at the age of 27. Bañon played just the one game for the national side, a 1-4 defeat to Portugal in Lisbon in 1947.

Madrista Bañon at full stretch
The Clubs Today. Eight of the class of 1945-46 still ply their trade in this season’s top division. The absentees are spread over three tiers, with Sporting Gijón, Real Murcia and Hércules playing in La Segunda. Real Oviedo & Alcoyano play in the regionalised Segunda B, whilst Castellón has dropped furthest, playing in Group 6 of the Tercera.

The Final Table 1945-46
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Madrid - Campo de Chamartin

October 29, 2012, 1:19 pm
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It may come as a surprise to many, but Madrid was absent from the birth of Spanish football. The city did not take on its current fatherly duties until the foundation of the RFEF in 1909. With no significant British community in Madrid in the late 1890’s, the formation of football clubs in the Spanish capital was left to the usual suspects, middle-class students from schools with overseas ties. One such team to emerge was Sky Foot-ball Club, who can rightly claim to have played a part in the formation of one of the world’s most illustrious sporting institutions. A club that now occupies more stellar surroundings – Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. 
Juan Palacios cancelled his Sky subscription to co-found Madrid FC
Sky Foot-ball Club was formed in 1897 by students at the La Institución Libre de Enseñanza. The club played on wasteland in the area of Moncloa, but within two years, a faction led by brothers Giralt and Juan Palacios had broken away to form Madrid Foot-ball Club. Madrid’s first pitch was a square of land on the corner of Calle Valázquez and Calle José Ortega y Gasset, which they named the Campo de Estrada after the marble merchant that owned the plot. Those early games were unofficial, friendly affairs but in March 1902 textile merchants Juan and Carlos Padrós ploughed money into the club and established its first constitution. This coincided with a move a few streets to the south east on to land next to the city’s old bullring. This enclosure went by the rather unimaginative name of Campo de la Avenida de la Plaza de Toros and was part-owned by Queen Maria Cristina, to whom the club played an annual rent of 150 pesetas. What was officially a land-fill site was soon transformed into a level, roped-off dirt pitch with changing facilities at an adjoining tavern called La Taurina. 
Does what it says on the tin - Campo de la Avenida de la Plaza de Toros
Madrid FC continued to play at the Campo de la Avenida de la Plaza de Toros over the next decade, although there are contemporary reports of some matches being played in front of the main grandstand at Madrid’s hippodrome. The club soon started to attract the best players from Madrid’s other amateur clubs and in 1903 reached the final of the first Copa del Rey, losing 3-2 to Athletic Club at Madrid’s hippodrome. After failing to reach the final stages in 1904, the club returned to the finals in 1905 and secured its first national trophy, beating Athletic Club and San Sebastián Recreation Club in a round robin tournament. This was the first of four consecutive victories in the Copa del Rey and established Madrid as Spain’s top side. With football growing in popularity in the Spanish capital, Madrid FC outgrew their home next to the bullring and from 1910 started to occasionally use a pitch on the corner of Calle O’Donnel & Calle Narváez. 
On borrowed time - The Campo Plaza de Toros
This was only slightly better than the Plaza de Toros site, but in 1912 the club fully enclosed the ground and added a wooden fence around the dirt pitch. It was officially inaugurated on 31 October 1912 with a match against Sporting de Irun, which finished one a-piece. Madrid FC rented the stadium for 1,000 pesetas per annum from Laureano Camisón and spent 6,000 pesetas of their own money in 1914, when they built a short covered stand that housed 216 spectators. The Campo O’Donnell with its capacity of 5,000, was now the best stadium in Madrid, but as significant was the fact that among the volunteers that had helped with the build was one Santiago Bernabéu.
Picture Perfect - A club painting of the Campo O'Donnell 
It was at the Campo O’Donnell where Bernabéu would make his name playing as an inside forward, however the success of the club’s early years proved to be more elusive. The formation of clubs such as Unión Sporting Club and Racing Club de Madrid diluted Madrid’s pool of talent and it took another five years for Madrid to win another national trophy. This came in a replayed final of the Copa del Rey at Barcelona’s Camp de la Indústria, where Arenas Club de Getxo were eventually defeated 2-1. A year later, Madrid FC returned to the final which was staged at their Campo O’Donnell, but a side that featured Santiago Bernabéu lost 0-2 to Real Union de Irun. In June 1920, the club sought and was granted royal patronage, thus becoming Real Madrid, but time was running out at the Campo O’Donnell, as the owner wanted to develop the land. Pressed into finding a quick solution, the club opted to move out of town to a newly built velodrome in the eastern suburb of Ciudad Lineal.
A packed Campo O'Donnell in its latter years
The Velodrome was owned by Arturo Soria who charged the club 1,500 pesetas per annum to use the 8,000 capacity arena. The stadium was full to capacity when Real Madrid beat Real Union 2-0 in their first match at the new ground on 29 April 1923. The stadium’s principle use was for cycling which meant that the spectators behind the goal were perched high on a bank, some 30 meters from the nearest action. It did however have a grass pitch, Real Madrid’s first and the suburb of Ciudad Lineal was reasonably well served by tram links. However the trek across town proved too tiresome for the majority of the club’s support and after a mere 12 months at the venue, the club moved to a more central location. The velodrome was purchased by the Plus Ultra insurance group in 1943, whose senior team eventually became Real Madrid’s reserve section in the 1950’s.
Lacking eastern promise - Opening day at Ciudad Lineal
Real Madrid was not content with renting and having purchased land in the northern Chamartin district of town, set about building a stadium. Architect José Maria Castell was commissioned to design a 15,000 capacity stadium and he did not disappoint, coming up with a typical estadio inglés. It featured three open banks of terracing and one covered grandstand, which held 4,000 and had a central pointed gable on its pitched roof. The Campo de Chamartin would not have looked out of place next to the great designs of Britain’s leading stadium architect Archibald Leitch. As if to underline the very Englishness of the new arena, English cup-holders Newcastle United were invited to open the new stadium on 17 May 1924, and a sell-out crowd watched the locals prevail, winning 3-2 with Real Madrid’s Félix Pérez scoring the first goal at Chamartin. 
Home in the country - Chamartin before the urban sprawl
The new stadium did not herald a new era of Real Madrid dominance. That would have to wait until the beginning of the 1930’s when, following the arrival of talismanic goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora from Español, the club won back-to-back league titles in 1931-33. Victory in the Copa del Rey followed in 1934, and a further appearance in the final came in 1936. However, with the clouds of Civil War gathering, the league was suspended. Real Madrid made attempts to join the Catalan Championship, but these were thwarted, so the club was effectively mothballed during the hostilities, which is more than can be said for the Campo de Chamartin. Close to the front-line, the main stand was broken up for fuel and the terracing and pitch all but destroyed. It took six months and 300,000 pesetas to restore the ground before football could resume on 22 October 1939, when Real Madrid beat Atlético Aviación by 2 goals to one in front of an increased capacity of 22,000.
In its Prime - Chamartin hosts the 1931 final of the Copa del Rey
The years following the Civil War were a barren period, but in 1943 Santiago Bernbéu began his reign as club president. Since retiring as a player, Bernabéu had become a lawyer, but had also coached and served the club as secretary. One of his first acts was the purchase of 5 hectares between the Campo de Chamartin and the Castellana, the main thoroughfare to the north of the city. It cost a mammoth 3 million pesetas, but Bernabéu had a plan for Spain’s first super stadium, and broke the first ground himself in October 1944. On this site, at a staggering cost of 38 million pesetas, Real Madrid would build the new Estadio Chamartin. Such was the close proximity of the new stadium that the north-west corner of the existing stand encroached onto the east side of the new build. This meant that the club had to vacate the Campo de Chamartin so that work could be completed on the new arena. Real Madrid played their final game at the old Chamartin on 15 May 1946, a 4-5 defeat to CD Málaga, before spending just over a year as guests of Atléti at the Estadio Metropolitano.
Move over darling - The new stadium starts to take shape
The Campo de Chamartin was raised to the ground during the summer of 1946, just as the first trophy of the Bernabéu era had been secured with a 3-1 victory over Valencia in the Copa de Generalisimo. No trace of the old stadium remained when the Nuevo Estadio Chamartin opened its doors for the first time on 14 December 1947. As we now know, Santiago Bernabéu's gamble proved to be an inspired move.
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