From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club. Founded on June 20, 1928, it is currently playing in the first division, after gaining promotion in 2006-07. The club currently ranks 13th on the franchises All-Time La Liga table.
Based in Valladolid, Castile and León, from which it derives the nickname Pucela, the club holds home games at the Nuevo Estadio José Zorrilla, which seats 26,512 spectators.
[edit] History
[edit] Early history
Founded from the amalgamation of Real Unión Deportiva de Valladolid and Club Deportivo Español (currently Real Unión), Valladolid first reached the top level in the 1947-48 season, as champions of Segunda División. In the following year, the team pushed on from this success and reached the finals of the domestic cup in the Chamartín Stadium against Athletic de Bilbao, eventually losing 4-1.
The next ten years were spent in the first division, but relegation was short-lived and Valladolid gained promotion in 1958-59 with a 5-0 win over Terrassa FC under manager José Luis Saso, a legendary figure in the history of the team. He had originally been a goalkeeper for the club, and subsequently went on to perform many roles, ending up as president of the team.
Valladolid vacillated between the first and second divisions in the subsequent years, descending as low as third in 1970-71. Promoted in 1992-93, the team was again sent down after the 2003-04 season. In 1984, Valladolid also won the Spanish League Cup (a competition only played in the early 80s), over Atlético de Madrid.
The side's highest position during this 11-year stint was 7th in 1996-97, being coached in the previous seasons by former Real Madrid Castilla's coach Rafael Benítez, as various players from there also would later appear for Valladolid.
[edit] The 2006-07 boom
In 2006-07, after signing Basque José Luis Mendilibar as coach, Valladolid performed one of their best years in history while playing in the second level. The side took the lead in the 15th game and went on to finish with a competition all-time high 88 points, winning the championship by a total margin of eight points, and holding an advantage of 26 points over the non-promotion zone (fourth and worse), both being all-time records in the league. They also achieved the honour of staying unbeaten 29 games in a row, from October 10, 2006 to May 6, 2007, being mathematically promoted after outscoring CD Tenerife 0-2 on April 22, 2007 (just the 34th day of the season), the earliest any club has achieved promotion in Spanish history.
Also remarkable was the side's role in the King's Cup, getting as far as the quarter-finals after beating two top division teams: Gimnàstic de Tarragona (agg. 4-1) and 2006 Champions League contender Villarreal CF (agg. 3-1), while playing the whole competition with the reserve players.
[edit] Honours
Achievements
Records
[edit] Season to season
[edit] Current squad
As of June 14, 2009
[edit] Out on loan
[edit] Notable players
see Cat:Real Valladolid footballers
[edit] Famous coaches
Esteban Platko, 1928-31, 1934-40- Carlos Platko, 1941-43
Helenio Herrera, 1948-49
Heriberto Herrera, 1962
Antoni Ramallets, 1962-63, 1965-66- Emilio Aldecoa, 1966-67
- Enrique Orizaola, 1967-68, 1968-69
- Fernando Redondo, 1973-74, 1984-85, 1990, 1995
Rafael Benítez, 1995-96-
Vicente Cantatore, 1985-86 to 1989-90, 1996-97
- José Luis Mendilibar, 2006-
[edit] External links
