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.
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.
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.
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.
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| Figueres not so secret garden - Campo Horta d’en Macau |
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| Camp de les Monges - Home for 19 years |
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| Camp de L'Afar - Free from covers and obstructed views. |
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| A new stadium for a new era - The Estadi Vilatenim in early 1986 |
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| Estadi Vilatenim - La Segunda, infinity & beyond... or back to Segunda B |
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| Back to a quiet life in Segunda B. Wait a minute... |
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| So would you swap this for Castelldefels? Flix's gamble defied logic |
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| UE Figueres is well along the road to recovery |
