Levante UD

History

Early years (1909–1935)

Levante UD was formerly registered as Levante Football Club on 9 September 1909 (celebrating its 100th anniversary on 9 September 2009). Thus Levante is the oldest football club in the city of Valencia, with rival team Valencia CF not being formed until 1919.

Levante shares its name with the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, with Spain's east coast, the coast over which the sun rises (levantar in Spanish), with the Levant wind that comes from the east, and with the Levante beach in La Malvarrosa where Levante Football Club played some of its earliest fixtures.

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 became 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 built 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 the two-leg finals; the next year, the club became 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 founding 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, 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.

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. Levante UD can thus trace its origin back to at least 1909 through both Levante FC and Gimnástico FC. The merged club was at first named Unión Deportiva Levante-Gimnástico, then changed it a few years later to Levante Unión Deportiva. The current club colours date 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. Levante UD also inherited from Gimnástico FC their nickname, Granota, the Frogs.

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, and also achieved a 5–1 home win against Barcelona in the 1964–65 campaign, but was 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 with several matches to go that the club would be playing in the second division in 2008–09. 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 strike during the season-ending game at Real Madrid. The threat was withdrawn when league officials announced that a benefit game would be played between a Levante XI and a Primera División XI, with all receipts going to pay the Levante players' wages.

On 13 June 2010, Levante returned to La Liga after a 3–1 home win against already relegated Castellón, making its final round 0–4 defeat at Real Betis irrelevant. Under the manager who led the team back to the top flight, Luis García Plaza, Levante finally retained its top division status in the 2010–11 season. At one point in the league's second round of matches, Levante was third in the table behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, after losing just once (against Real Madrid) in 12 games.

On 26 October 2011, during round nine of the season, Levante defeated Real Sociedad 3–2 to move top of the first division table for the first time in the club's history, with 23 points. In the process, it recorded seven straight wins after drawing its first two games. The club eventually finished sixth 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. There, they made it to the last 16 before a 2–0 extra-time loss to Russia's FC Rubin Kazan.

In the 2015–16 season, Levante was relegated after defeat by Málaga and finished last. The club was promoted back to the top 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 5–4 (having led 5–1 early in the second half), with Emmanuel Boateng scoring his first ever career hat-trick. This win ended Barcelona's hopes of achieving an unbeaten season.

In the 2021–22 season, Levante was relegated after being defeated 0–6 by Real Madrid, ending their five years in the top tier.

Seasons

Recent history

European record

Season to season

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• 17 seasons in La Liga
• 41 seasons in Segunda División
• 12 seasons in Segunda División B
• 16 seasons in Tercera División
• 1 season in Categorías Regionales

Players

Current squad

Reserve team

Main article: Atlético Levante UD

Out on loan

Club officials

Current technical staff

Notable former players

Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.

• Algeria Abdelkader Ghezzal
• Algeria Nabil Ghilas
• Argentina Pablo Cavallero
• Argentina Gustavo Reggi
• Australia Mitchell Langerak
• Austria Andreas Ivanschitz
• Brazil Sávio
• Brazil Wanderley
• Brazil Zé Maria
• Bulgaria Vladimir Manchev
• Cameroon Daniel N'Gom Kome
• Cameroon Lauren
• Cameroon Albert Meyong
• Cape Verde Valdo
• Cape Verde José Veiga
• Chile Carlos Caszely
• Colombia Edwin Congo
• Colombia Jefferson Lerma
• Côte d'Ivoire Félix Ettien
• Côte d'Ivoire Arouna Koné
• Costa Rica Keylor Navas
• Croatia Tomislav Erceg
• Ecuador Felipe Caicedo
• Ecuador Jefferson Montero
• Equatorial Guinea Sergio Barila
• Equatorial Guinea Juvenal
• Equatorial Guinea Yago
• France Frédéric Déhu
• France Olivier Kapo
• France Péguy Luyindula
• France Laurent Robert
• Georgia Shota Arveladze
• Ghana Emmanuel Boateng
• Ghana Riga Mustapha
• Greece Theofanis Gekas
• Greece Nikolaos Karabelas
• Greece Loukas Vyntra
• Ireland Ian Harte
• Italy Damiano Tommasi
• Italy Giuseppe Rossi
• Macedonia Enis Bardhi
• Mali Mohamed Sissoko
• Morocco Issam El Adoua
• Morocco Nabil El Zhar
• Morocco Zouhair Feddal
• Morocco Moha
• Mozambique Simão Mate
• Netherlands Johan Cruyff
• Netherlands Faas Wilkes
• Nigeria Obafemi Martins
• Poland Dariusz Dudka
• Portugal Duda
• Saudi Arabia Fahad Al-Muwallad
• Serbia Vladan Kujović
• Senegal Baba Diawara
• Senegal Pape Diop
• Senegal Rémi Gomis
• Senegal Sylvain N'Diaye
• Spain Alexis
• Spain Salva Ballesta
• Spain Sergio Ballesteros
• Spain Claudio Barragán
• Spain Antonio Calpe
• Spain Diego Camacho
• Spain José Campaña
• Spain Víctor Casadesús
• Spain Ángel Cuéllar
• Spain Asier del Horno
• Spain Iñaki Descarga
• Spain Ernesto Domínguez
• Spain Javier Farinós
• Spain Rubén García
• Spain Sergio García
• Spain Fernando Giner
• Spain Sergio González
• Spain Jason
• Spain Jofre
• Spain Juanfran
• Spain Juanlu
• Spain Vicente Latorre
• Spain Pedro López
• Spain José Francisco Molina
• Spain Nando
• Spain David Navarro
• Spain Miguel Pallardó
• Spain Sergio Postigo
• Spain Alberto Rivera
• Spain Gaspar Rubio
• Spain Rubén Suárez
• Spain Vicente Rodríguez
• Sweden Johan Mjällby
• Switzerland Fabio Celestini
• Turkey Enes Ünal
• United States Shaquell Moore
• Uruguay Gustavo Munúa
• Uruguay Héctor Núñez
• Uruguay Tabaré Silva
• Uruguay Cristhian Stuani
• Venezuela Emilio Rentería
• FR Yugoslavia Predrag Mijatović

Coaches

• ESP Josep Escolà (1955–56)
• ESP Enrique Orizaola (1964–65)
• ESP Mundo (1971)
• ESP José Juncosa (1972–73)
• URU Héctor Núñez (1973–74)
• TCH Ferdinand Daučík (1974–75)
• URU Dagoberto Moll (1975–76)
• ESP Pachín (1979–81)
• ESP Joaquim Rifé (1981)
• YUG Todor Veselinović (1981)
• ESP Vicente Piquer (1981)
• ESP Pachín (1984–85)
• ESP Quique Hernández (1987)
• ESP Pachín (1987–88)
• HUN Antal Dunai (1990)
• ESP José Antonio Irulegui (1990–91)
• ESP Luis Costa (1992)
• ESP José Enrique Díaz (1993–94)
• ESP Jordi Gonzalvo (1994)
• ESP Juande Ramos (1994–95)
• ESP Mané (1996–97)
• ESP José Enrique Díaz (1997)
• ESP Jesús Aranguren (1998)
• ESP Pepe Balaguer (1998–2000)
• ESP José Carlos Granero (2000–01)
• ESP Pepe Balaguer (2001–2002)
• ESP Carlos García Cantarero (2002–03)
• ESP Manuel Preciado (2003–04)
• GER Bernd Schuster (2004–05)
• ESP José Luis Oltra (2005)
• ESP Mané (2005–06)
• ESP Juan Ramón López Caro (2006–07)
• ESP Abel Resino (2007)
• ITA Gianni De Biasi (2007–08)
• ESP José Ángel Moreno (2008)
• ESP Luis García (2008–11)
• ESP Juan Ignacio Martínez (2011–13)
• ESP Joaquín Caparrós (2013–14)
• ESP José Luis Mendilibar (2014)
• ESP Lucas Alcaraz (2014–15)
• ESP Rubi (2015–16)
• ESP Juan Muñiz (2016–18)
• ESP Paco López (2018–21)
• ESP Javier Pereira (2021)
• ITA Alessio Lisci (2021–22)
• TUN Mehdi Nafti (2022)
• ESP Javier Calleja (2022–2024)
• ESP Felipe Miñambres (2024)
• ESP Julián Calero (2024–2025)
• POR Luís Castro (2025-present)

Honours

National competitions

• Copa del Rey
  • Winners (1): 1937
• Segunda División
  • Winners (3): 2003–04, 2016–17, 2024–25
• Segunda División B
  • Winners (5) - joint record: 1978–79, 1988–89, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99
• Tercera División
  • Winners (7): 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

Friendly tournaments

• Trofeo Costa de Valencia
  • Winners: 1972, 1974, 1977
• Trofeo Comunidad Valenciana
  • Winners: 1986
• Trofeo Ciutat de València
  • Winners: 1995
• Trofeo Ciudad de Valencia
  • Winners: 1997
• Trofeo de la Generalitat Valenciana
  • Winners: 2000

Stadium

Main article: Estadi Ciutat de València

Estadi Ciutat de València was opened on 9 September 1969, with capacity for 25,354 spectators. The pitch measures 107 by 69 metres.

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.

Rivals

Main article: Valencia derby

Levante contest the Derbi Valenciano, also known as the Derbi del Turia or Derbi Valentino, with local rivals Valencia. The fixture has been played 38 times competitively, with Valencia winning 21 times to Levante's 8.

References

References

1. (2018-05-15). "Levante: Paco López es el hombre de moda tras vencer al Barça".
2. (13 September 2018). "Ten things you may not know about the Ciutat de Valencia stadium". Laliga.es.
3. "Levante UD Información al Espectador".
4. "Estadi Ciutat de Valencia - Levante". The Stadium Guide.
5. (13 September 2018). "Levante Unión Deportiva SAD". Laliga.es.
6. "La nostra història, el nostre orgull".
7. "El Levante cumple cien años".
8. (15 June 2010). ""Se siente, se nota, Valencia es granota"".
9. (28 November 2011). "La historia más enorme jamás contada".
10. "El nacimiento del fútbol en Valencia". Levanteud.com.
11. (16 December 2014). "Siempre Tuyo, Levante Ud".
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13. [https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/span-levantechamp.html Spain – List of Champions of Levante, Valencia and Murcia] {{Webarchive. link. (13 February 2023 ; at [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation). RSSSF]]
14. [https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/spancuplibre37.html Spain – Copa de España Libre 1937]; at RSSSF
15. [https://www.marca.com/futbol/copa-rey/2023/03/25/641ef935ca47410a6f8b4572.html La Federación reconoce la Copa del Levante de 1937 y la del Deportivo de 1912] {{Webarchive. link. (3 April 2023 , [The Federation recognizes Levante's 1937 Cup and Deportivo's 1912 Cup], Noel Rodilla, Marca, 25 March 2023 (in Spanish))
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20. [https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/oct/31/la-liga-levante-finally-dethroned Levante are finally dethroned as La Liga becomes a more boring place] {{Webarchive. link. (14 June 2024 ; ''[[The Guardian]]'', 31 October 2011)
21. [https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/oct/17/levante-la-liga-expendables-2 Levante are back and this time they're ready to take on the world] {{Webarchive. link. (14 June 2024 ; ''The Guardian'', 17 October 2011)
22. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sid_lowe/10/26/levante/index.html Levante pulls off the impossible] {{Webarchive. link. (28 October 2011 ; [[Sports Illustrated]], 26 October 2011)
23. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/sports/soccer/levante-la-ligas-david-stares-down-at-spains-two-goliaths.html Underdog turns heads at the top in Spain] {{Webarchive. link. (23 December 2016 ; ''[[The New York Times]]'', 28 October 2011)
24. (13 May 2012). "Ghezzal helps Levante secure European place". [[ESPN Soccernet]].
25. (14 March 2013). "Rubin edge out Levante in extra time". UEFA.
26. "LaLiga – Levante 5–4 Barcelona: Emmanuel Boateng scores the first hat-trick of his career against Barcelona". MARCA in English.
27. (14 May 2018). "Levante 5-4 Barcelona: Catalans' unbeaten run comes to an end in nine-goal thriller". Sky Sports.
28. "Plantilla". Levante UD Web Oficial.
29. "Pedro López y Juan Miguel Bernat dejan el Levante". as.com.
30. [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/costavalencia.html Trofeo Costa de Valencia] {{Webarchive. link. (4 April 2023 ；at RSSSF)
31. (15 December 2017). "Trofeo Comunidad Valenciana".
32. (22 June 2020). "El At.Madrid jugará mañana contra el Levante UD en La Nucía". El Peridic.
33. (25 November 2015 }}{{Dead link). "Valencian Derby: 8 Surprising Anecdotes About The Most Exciting Football Encounter". ISC Spain.