UE Lleida

Lleida
Full nameUnió Esportiva Lleida
Nickname(s)Els Blaus (The Blues)
Els de la Terra Ferma (Firmlanders)
Founded1939
(as Lérida Balompié-AEM)
1947
(as Unión Deportiva Lérida)
Dissolved10 May 2011
GroundCamp d´Esports, Lleida,
Catalonia, Spain
Capacity13,500

Unió Esportiva Lleida was a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It was founded as Lérida Balompié-AEM on 30 October 1939, and became Unión Deportiva Lérida in 1947, after a merger with CD Leridano. It held home matches at Camp d´Esports, with a 13,500-seat capacity. It was dissolved in 2011. The soul of the club was reformed as Lleida Esportiu.

Lleida adopted the Catalan version of its name in 1978. The club spent most of its history in the lower divisions, but in the early 1950s and early 1990s, the club won promotion to La Liga.

During the 1990s the club was managed by Mané, Juande Ramos and Víctor Muñoz, all of whom subsequently became successful managers with other clubs. From 1987 the club organised its own summer trophy, the Ciutat de Lleida Trophy.

History

Early Lleida football clubs

Football was first introduced to Lleida in 1910 by Manuel Azoz, a Barcelona business man. Among the earliest clubs in the city were Montserrat, founded in 1913 by Marist Brothers, and FC Lleida founded in 1914. Both played their early games in the district of Pla d’en Gardeny. In 1915, the Associació Cultural Lleidatana was founded by Catalan nationalists.

By 1917 two other clubs, Club Colonial and Athlètic Metalúrgic, began playing at the Camp de Mart. In 1918 FC Joventut was formed by left-wing Catalan republicans and during the 1920s they emerged as the city’s strongest side.

In 1919, Lleida became the first club to use the Camp d´Esports, but this team was dissolved in 1927. Other clubs of the 1920s included AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida, all of which disappeared during the 1930s.

Lérida Balompié and CD Leridano

After the Spanish Civil War, former members of AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida formed Lérida Balompié-AEM. After playing in regional leagues for four seasons they made their debut in the fourth division in 1943. The following year, the club split into two clubs, Lérida Balompié and AEM.

Meanwhile, in 1941 Spanish nationalists formed CD Leridano, and a local rivalry developed between that club and Lérida Balompié. On March 9, 1947, these two sides merged to become Unión Deportiva Lérida. The new team retained both the blue and white colours and club shield of Lérida Balompié, the first president of the new club being Eduard Estadella.

First golden era

UD Lérida enjoyed a golden age in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when they progressed from the third to the first division in just three seasons. In 1949, they won the third-tier and, the following season, 1949–50, they made their debut in Segunda División.[citation needed]

In the 1949–50 season the club achieved their biggest league victory in their history with a 9–2 win against CD Lugo, along with finishing second in the league achieving promotion to the topflight for the first time ever. However, during its debut season, it was heavily defeated on several occasions: 9–0 to CD Málaga, 10–1 to Deportivo de La Coruña and 10–0 to Athletic Bilbao, being ultimately relegated back. Lleida's first eleven in the first division was: Rivero, Rigau, Telechea, Carrillo, Esquerda, Roca, Gausí, Pellicer, Ramón, Bidegain and Fustero.[citation needed]

The Mané era

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lleida enjoyed a second solid moment, under coach Mané. He joined the club in 1988 and took it from Segunda División B to La Liga.

1993–94 was the second topflight experience for the club; in spite of a 1–0 win over the FC Barcelona Dream Team at the Camp Nou, and another against Real Madrid, 2–1 at home, Lleida only won seven times altogether and was relegated once again.

The 1994–95 season saw the club finish third in the second division, with a subsequent promotion play-off defeat against Sporting de Gijón. In 2001, the team returned to level three and, in 2004–05 and the following campaign, played again in the second division. From 1996 and during an entire decade (with some interruptions), legendary player Miguel Ángel Rubio served as its manager.

Liquidation

On 10 May 2011, Lleida was placed in a liquidation auction due to a 28 million debt.[1] On 12 July, the team's seat was acquired by local entrepreneur Sisco Pujol,[2] with the new club being named Lleida Esportiu.

Season to season

Honours

Official

Friendly

Records

Club

  • Best league performance: 16th, La Liga, 1950–51
  • Best cup performance: Last 16 (six times), 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005
  • Most league points: 68, 2003–04 (three points for a win) 60, 1957–58 (two points for a win)
  • Most league goals: 102, 1957–58
  • Most league wins in one season: 26, 1957–58
  • Best league win home: 9–0 v. Calella, 30 November 1941
  • Best league win away: 8–1 v. Europa, 22 February 1942
  • Best cup win: 7–0 v. Sant Andreu, 19 December 1985

Player

  • Most league appearances: 460, Miguel Rubio (1982–96)
  • Most league goals: 82, Mariano Azcona (1984–91)
  • Most league goals in a season: 25, Mariano Azcona (1989–90)
  • Most league goals in a match: 5, Mariano Azcona 6–1 v. Fraga, 15 October 1989 and Vallejo 7–1 v. Alavés, 23 May 1965
  • Most international appearances: 12, Miguel Mea Vitali (Venezuela) (2000–01)

Top goalscorers by season

Season Top scorer Goals
2011–12 Spain Asier Eizaguirre 10
2010–11 Spain Rubén Rayos 19
2009–10 Spain Marc Sellarés 12
2008–09 Spain Mikel Álvaro 13
2007–08 Spain Keko 7
Spain Fernando Esparza 7
Spain Luismi Gracia 7
2006–07 Spain Luis Tevenet 14
2005–06 Croatia Mate Bilić 18
2004–05 Spain Nakor Bueno 13
2003–04 Spain Nakor Bueno 16
2002–03 Spain Nano 15
2001/02 Spain Raúl Caballero 11
2000–01 Brazil Renaldo 8
1999–00 Spain Josemi 15
1998–99 Spain Josemi 12
1997–98 Spain Óscar Arias 8
Spain Vicente Fernández 8
1996–97 Spain Estefan Juliá 8
1995–96 Spain Paco Salillas 10
1994–95 Spain Paco Salillas 18
1993–94 Bosnia and Herzegovina Nikola Milinković 6
1992–93 Spain Xabi Gracia 13
1991–92 Spain José Emilio Amavisca 14
1990–91 Uruguay James Cantero 17
1989–90 Spain Mariano Azcona 26
1988–89 Spain Mariano Azcona 6
Uruguay Álvaro Sánchez Pose 6
1987–88 Spain Mariano Azcona 13
1986–87 Spain Mariano Azcona 16
Spain Ignacio Alcelay 16
1985–86 Spain Mariano Azcona 9
1984–85 Spain José María Serna 17
1983–84 Spain José García Juárez 10
1982–83 Spain Javier Lozano 13
1981–82 Spain Ramón Clotet 15
1980–81 Spain Luis Alonso 21
1950–51 Spain Ignacio Bidegain 8

Appearance records

La Liga appearances

Goalscoring records

La Liga goals

Selected former players

Only international players or UEFA Champions League winners. Flags represent national teams player appeared for.

Selected former coaches

Presidents

  • Spain Sebastià Tàpies: 1939–40
  • Spain Joan Porta: 1941–47
  • Spain Eduard Estadella: 1947–51
  • Spain Llorenç Agustí: 1951–54
  • Spain Josep Servat: 1954–57
  • Spain Antoni Rocafort: 1957
  • Spain Laureà Torres: 1957–60
  • Spain Antoni Teixidó: 1960–62
  • Spain Ramon Vilaltella: 1962–67
  • Spain Josep Jové: 1967–68
  • Spain Pere Roig: 1968–69
  • Spain Manel Rosell: 1969–70
  • Spain Miquel Martínez: 1970–72
  • Spain Josep Montañola: 1972–74
  • Spain Lluís Nadal: 1974–77
  • Spain Josep Esteve: 1977–79
  • Spain Joan Planes: 1979–82
  • Spain Antoni Gausí: 1982–86
  • Spain Màrius Durán: 1986–96
  • Spain Josep Lluís González: 1996–97
  • Spain Màrius Durán: 1997–98
  • Spain Antoni Gausí: 1998–2002
  • Spain Miquel Pons: 2002–06
  • Spain Xavier Massana: 2006–07
  • Spain Ignasi Rivadulla: 2007–10
  • Spain Anabel Junyent: 2010–11

See also

References

  1. ^ El juez abre el proceso de subasta de la Unió Esportiva Lleida (Judge starts liquidation of Unió Esportiva Lleida); La Vanguardia, 10 May 2011 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ El juez resuelve a favor de Sisco Pujol la adjudicación de la UE Lleida (Judge rules UE Lleida's allocation in favor of Sisco Pujol); La Vanguardia, 12 July 2011 (in Spanish)

External links

  • Official website (in Spanish)
  • Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
  • Unofficial website (in Spanish)
  • Unofficial website #2 (in Spanish)

41°37′17″N 0°36′51″E / 41.621386°N 0.614033°E / 41.621386; 0.614033

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UE_Lleida&oldid=1194035344"