Levante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (Spanish: [leˈβante uˈnjon depoɾˈtiβa], Valencian: Llevant Unió Esportiva [ʎeˈvant uˈnjo espoɾˈtiva]) is a Spanish football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community.
Full name | Levante Unión Deportiva, | |||
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Nickname(s) | Granotas (The Frogs) | |||
Founded | 9 September 1909 | |||
Ground | Ciutat de València, Valencia, Valencia, Spain | |||
Capacity | 26,354 [1] | |||
President | Quico Catalán | |||
Head coach | Paco López | |||
League | La Liga | |||
2019–20 | La Liga, 12th of 20 | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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Founded on 9 September 1909, it plays in La Liga, holding home games at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium.[2][3][4]
History
Early years (1909–1935)
Levante UD was formerly registered as Levante Football Club on 9 September 1909[5][6] (celebrating its 100th anniversary on 9 September 2009[7]). Levante Union Deportiva (Football Club) has the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula as its namesake. Levante is Spain's east coast, the coast where the sun always rises (rise in Spanish being levantar).[8] Levante UD's name is likewise attributed to the Levant wind that comes from the east and reminiscent of the Levante beach in La Malvarrosa, where Levante Football Club (as Levante Union Deportiva was originally named) clashed some of its earliest fixtures. Historically backed, Levante Union Deportiva is the most senior football club in Valencia. Local rival team Valencia CF was not formed until 1919.[9][10][11][12]
Levante's earliest games were played at La Platjeta, near the docks on a plot of land owned by a perfume entrepreneur. Its next ground was also near the port area, and the club gradually began to become associated with the working class. In 1919, the side played Valencia CF for the first time, losing 0–1; the game marked the inauguration of the recently formed new ground at Algirós. In 1928, Levante FC won its first trophy, the Valencian Championship.
1909 also saw the birth of Gimnástico Football Club, which originally played at Patronato de la Juventud Obrera, being then named Gimnástico-Patronato. In 1919, Gimnástico became the champion of the Campeonato de Valencia, beating CD Castellón in two leg finals; the next year, the club had become Real Gimnástico Football Club, after being granted royal patronage by Alfonso XIII, and they reached the final of Campeonato Regional de Levante, but lost to Club Deportivo Aguileño. In 1931, with the emergence of the Second Spanish Republic, the club dropped the Real from its name.
In 1934–35, both Levante and Gimnástico debuted in the second division, when the league was expanded from 10 teams to 24. In 1935, Levante won the Campeonato Levante-Sur, a competition that featured teams from Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia,[13] and subsequently reached the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup, consecutively beating Valencia and Barcelona before losing to eventual runners-up Sabadell.
During the civil war: Copa de la España Libre (1937)
During the Spanish Civil War, Levante and Gimnástico played in the Mediterranean League, finishing fifth and sixth respectively – teams from this league also competed in the Copa de la España Libre ("Free Spain Cup"). It was originally intended that the top four teams from the league would enter the cup, but Barcelona opted to tour Mexico and the United States, and as a result , Levante took its place. The first round of the competition was a mini-league with the top two teams, Levante and Valencia, qualifying for the final. On 18 July 1937, Levante defeated its city rivals 1–0 at the Montjuïc.[14]
Merging: Gimnástico and Levante (1939)
During the Civil War, Levante's ground was destroyed, but the club's squad remained intact. In contrast, Gimnástico had a ground, Estadio de Vallejo, but had lost most of their players. As a result, in 1939 Levante FC and Gimnástico FC merged into Levante Unión Deportiva.[15] Levante UD thus having origin from at least 1909 from both Levante FC and Gimnástico FC. At first being named Unión Deportiva Levante-Gimnástico, then changing it a few years later to Levante Unión Deportiva, with current club colours also dating from this era (the blaugrana, blue-garnet, home colours were originally those of Gimnástico FC, while the black and white away kit, were the colours of Levante FC). Moreover, Levante UD not only inherited their colors from Gimnástico FC but also their nickname, "Granota", the Frogs.[16][17][12][10][18]
La Liga: relegations and promotions (1963–present)
Levante had to wait until the 1960s to make its La Liga debut. In 1963, the club finished runner-up in Group II of the second division, defeating Deportivo de La Coruña 4–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-offs. During the first top flight season, it managed to win both games against Valencia, managing a 5–1 home win against Barcelona in the 1964–65 campaign but being relegated nonetheless after losing in the playoffs against Málaga. It spent most of the following two decades in the second and third divisions; the Segunda División B would not be created until 1977. In the early 1980s, Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff played half a season for the club, retiring three years later. After winning 2003–04's second division, Levante returned to the top level but survived only one season. Finishing third in 2005–06, it returned for two additional campaigns, the decisive match in the 2006–07 season being a 4–2 home win against Valencia courtesy of Riga Mustapha (two goals), Salva and Laurent Courtois.
Levante's financial status worsened, however, and there were reports that the players had only received approximately one-fifth of their contractual payments. News reports stated that the club had incurred a debt of over €18 million in payments due to its players. The team plummeted down the standings, and it was confirmed that the club would be playing in the second division in 2008–09, with several matches to go. The players protested at their lack of payments at one point, refusing to move for several seconds after the opening whistle against Deportivo and later announcing that they would issue a job action during the season-ending game at Real Madrid. The action was resolved when league officials announced that a benefit game would be played between Levante team members, and a team made up of players from the first division, with all benefits going to pay the wages due to the players.
On 13 June 2010, Levante returned to La Liga after a 3–1 home win against already relegated Castellón. It lost in the final round 0–4 at Real Betis, but its opponents only managed to finish with the same points as fourth.[19] Under the manager who led the team back to the top flight, Luis García Plaza, Levante finally retained its division status in the 2010–11 season. During one point of the league's second round of matches, Levante was in third position in the Liga table, only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid after losing just once in 12 games, against Real Madrid.[20]
On 26 October 2011, during round nine of the season, Levante defeated Real Sociedad 3–2 to move top of the table with 23 points.[21] It was the first time in the club's history it reached the highest ranking in the top division. In the process, it recorded seven-straight wins after drawing its first two games.[22] The club eventually finished in sixth position after defeating Athletic Bilbao 3–0 at home in its last match, thus qualifying for the UEFA Europa League for the first time in its history.[23] There, they made it to the last 16 before a 2–0 extra-time loss to Russia's FC Rubin Kazan.[24]
In the 2015–16 season, Levante was relegated after defeat by Málaga and finished last. The club was promoted back to the first league in 2016–17, winning the Segunda División title. In the 2017–18 season, the club secured safety in the league and on 13 May, beat the champions Barcelona by a scoreline 5–4 (initially leading 5–1), with Emmanuel Boateng scoring his first ever career hat-trick.[25] This win ended Barcelona's hopes of achieving an unbeaten season.[26]
Seasons
Recent history
Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Notes | |
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2003–04 | 2D | 1st | 42 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 59 | 33 | 79 | Last 16 | Promoted |
2004–05 | 1D | 18th | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 37 | Relegated | |
2005–06 | 2D | 3rd | 42 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 53 | 39 | 74 | 1st round | Promoted |
2006–07 | 1D | 15th | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 42 | Last 16 | |
2007–08 | 1D | 20th | 38 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 33 | 75 | 26 | Last 16 | Relegated |
2008–09 | 2D | 8th | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 59 | 59 | 64 | ||
2009–10 | 2D | 3rd | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 63 | 45 | 71 | Promoted | |
2010–11 | 1D | 14th | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 41 | 52 | 45 | Last 16 | |
2011–12 | 1D | 6th | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 54 | 50 | 55 | Quarter-finals | Qualified to UEFA Europa League |
2012–13 | 1D | 11th | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 40 | 57 | 46 | Last 16 | Last 16 UEFA Europa League |
2013–14 | 1D | 10th | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 35 | 43 | 48 | Quarter-finals | |
2014–15 | 1D | 14th | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 34 | 67 | 37 | Last 16 | |
2015–16 | 1D | 20th | 36 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 34 | 66 | 29 | 1st round | Relegated |
2016–17 | 2D | 1st | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 57 | 32 | 84 | 2nd round | Champions and Promoted |
2017–18 | 1D | 15th | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 44 | 58 | 46 | Last 16 | |
2018–19 | 1D | 15th | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 59 | 66 | 44 | Last 16 | |
2019–20 | 1D | 12th | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 47 | 53 | 49 | Last 32 |
European record
Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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2012–13 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |
Group L | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2nd | |||
2–2 | 1–2 | |||||
1–0 | 3–1 | |||||
Round of 32 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | |||
Round of 16 | 0–0 | 0–2 (a.e.t.) | 0–2 |
Season to season
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- As Levante UD
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Levante FC
- 2 seasons in Segunda División
- 5 seasons in Tercera División
- 1 season in Categorías Regionales
Gimnástico FC
- 2 seasons in Segunda División
- 5 seasons in Tercera División
- 1 season in Categorías Regionales
Levante UD
- 14 seasons in La Liga
- 38 seasons in Segunda División
- 12 seasons in Segunda División B
- 16 seasons in Tercera División
- 1 season in Categorías Regionales
Players
Current squad
- As of 5 August 2020[27]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other players under contract
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials
Current technical staff
Position | Staff |
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Head coach | |
Assistant manager | |
Goalkeeping coach | |
Fitness coaches | |
Technical assistant | |
Analyst | |
Chief of medical services | |
Doctors | |
Physiotherapists | |
Physical readapter | |
Chiropodist | |
Psychologist | |
Kit men | |
Delegate | |
Maintenance chief |
Last updated: 11 April 2019
Source: Levante UD
Notable former players
Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.
Coaches
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Honours
National competitions
- Copa del Rey
- Semi-finals (1): 1935
- Copa de la España Libre
- Winners: 1937
- Segunda División
- Segunda División B
- Winners: 1978–79, 1988–89, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99
- Tercera División
- Winners: 1931–32, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1972–73, 1975–76
Regional Competitions
- Campeonato de Valencia
- Winners: 1927–28
- Campeonato Levante-Sur
- Winners: 1934–35
Stadium
Estadi Ciutat de València[4][3] was opened on 9 September 1969, with capacity for 25,354 spectators. Dimensions are 107x69 meters.
Due to the 2019–20 season's late finish because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and renovation work at their stadium, Levante concluded the campaign behind closed doors at the Estadi Olímpic Camilo Cano in La Nucia, Province of Alicante.[31]
Rivals
Levante contest the Derbi Valenciano, also known as the Derbi del Turia or Derbi Valentino, with local rivals Valencia.[32] The fixture has only been played 33 times competitively, however, with Valencia currently holding the title of most derby victories with 19 wins to Levante's 7 wins.
See also
- Atlético Levante UD, reserve team of Levante UD
References
- AS, Diario (15 May 2018). "Levante: Paco López es el hombre de moda tras vencer al Barça". AS.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- "Ten things you may not know about the Ciutat de Valencia stadium". Laliga.es. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- http://files.laliga.es/pdfs_estadios/estadio-ciutat-de-valencia.pdf
- "Estadi Ciutat de Valencia - Levante". The Stadium Guide. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- "Levante Unión Deportiva SAD". Laliga.es. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- La nostra història, el nostre orgull
- El Levante cumple cien años
- "Levant". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- https://as.com/futbol/2010/06/15/mas_futbol/1276583211_850215.html
- https://www.levante-emv.com/deportes/2011/11/28/historia-enorme-contada/860311.html
- "El nacimiento del fútbol en Valencia". Levanteud.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- González, Emilio Nadal (16 December 2014). Siempre Tuyo, Levante Ud. ISBN 9788416048724.
- Spain – List of Champions of Levante, Valencia and Murcia; at RSSSF
- Spain – Copa de España Libre 1937; at RSSSF
- "Todo empezó en el mes de septiembre de 1909". Levanteud.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- "Why are Levante called the 'granotas'?". Laliga.es. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- La Vanguardia (26 October 2011). "Las diez leyendas del Levante". Lavanguardia.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- https://www.levante-emv.com/deportes/2009/08/31/levante-cumple-cien-anos/626049.html
- Levante are finally dethroned as La Liga becomes a more boring place; The Guardian, 31 October 2011
- Levante are back and this time they're ready to take on the world; The Guardian, 17 October 2011
- Levante pulls off the impossible; Sports Illustrated, 26 October 2011
- Underdog turns heads at the top in Spain; The New York Times, 28 October 2011
- "Ghezzal helps Levante secure European place". ESPN Soccernet. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- "Rubin edge out Levante in extra time". UEFA. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "LaLiga – Levante 5–4 Barcelona: Emmanuel Boateng scores the first hat-trick of his career against Barcelona". MARCA in English. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- "Levante 5–4 Barcelona: Champions stunned in nine-goal thriller". Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- "Plantilla" [First team] (in Spanish). Levante UD.
- "Coke Andújar, Postigo y Oier acceden a la capitanía junto a Pedro, Morales y Roger". 17 August 2018.
- Trofeo Costa de Valencia;at RSSSF
- "Trofeo Comunidad Valenciana". 15 December 2017.
- "El At.Madrid jugará mañana contra el Levante UD en La Nucía" [At.Madrid will play tomorrow against Levante UD in La Nucía]. El Peridic (in Spanish). 22 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- "Valencian Derby: 8 Surprising Anecdotes About The Most Exciting Football Encounter". ISC Spain. 25 November 2015.
External links
- Official website (Spanish, Valencian, English)
- LaLiga Levante Unión Deportiva 1909 Forever
- Levante UD at UEFA (in Spanish)