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'Levante Unión Deportiva' (''Spanish''), also known as 'Llevant Unió Esportiva' (''Valencian''), is a Spanish football club based in Valencia. They currently play in La Liga after winning promotion from the Segunda División at the end of the 2005-06 season. The 2006-07 season is the fourth season the club has played in La Liga.
They are the older of two main clubs based in Valencia. The club was originally formed in 1909 as ''Levante FC'', taking their name from Levante, the name used to refer to the eastern coast of Spain. Their local rivals Valencia CF were not formed until 1919. In 1937 ''Levante FC'' won the Copa de la España Libre, a cup competition organised in the Republican area of Spain. They adopted their current name in 1942 following a merger with ''Gimnástico FC''. During the early 1980s Johan Cruyff briefly played for the club.
| Contents |
| History |
| Early Years |
| Copa de la España Libre |
| The Merger |
| La Liga |
| Current squad 2007/08 |
| Selected Former Players |
| Famous Coaches |
| Honours |
| Recent History |
| External link |
History
Early Years
''Levante FC'' was originally formed in 1909 and was one of the pioneering football clubs in Valencia. However another club ''Cabanyal FC'' had been playing since 1903. The club’s earliest games were played at La Platjeta, near the docks on a plot of land owned by a perfume entrepreneur. Their next ground was also near the port area and the club gradually began to become associated with the working class. In 1919 they played Valencia CF for the first time and lost 1-0. The game marked the inauguration of the recently formed club’s new ground at Algirós. In 1928 ''Levante FC'' won their first trophy, the Campeonato de Valencia.
1913 saw the formation of ''Gimnástico FC''. They originally played at the Patronato de la Juventud Obrera and started out as ''Universitario FC''. By 1920 they had become ''Real Gimnástico CF'' after they were granted royal patronage by Alfonso XIII. In 1920 they also reached the final of the ''Campeonato de Valencia'' but the game was never played. In 1930 with the emergence of the Second Spanish Republic they dropped the ''Real'' from their name.
In 1934 both ''Levante FC'' and ''Gimnástico CF'' made their debut in the Segunda División, when the division was expanded from ten teams to twenty four. In 1935 ''Levante FC'' won the ''Campeonato Levante-Sur'', a competition that featured teams from Valencia, Murcia and Andalucia, and subsequently reached the semi-finals of the Copa de España. In the early rounds they beat Valencia CF and FC Barcelona before losing to the eventual runners-up, CE Sabadell.
Copa de la España Libre
During the Spanish Civil War both ''Levante FC'' and ''Gimnástico CF'' played in the Mediterranean League, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Teams from this league also competed in the ''Copa de España Libre'' or the ''Free Spain Cup''. It was originally intended that the top four teams from the league would enter the cup, but FC Barcelona opted to tour Mexico and the United States. As a result ''Levante FC'' took their place. The first round of the competition was a mini-league with the top two teams, ''Levante FC'' and Valencia CF, then qualifying for the final. On July 18 1937 ''Levante FC'' beat their city rivals 1-0 at the Montjuïc.
The Merger
During the Civil War the ''Levante FC'' ground was destroyed but their squad remained intact. In contrast ''Gimnástico CF'' had a ground, the Campo de Vallejo, but had lost most of their players. As a result the two clubs merged in 1939 to become ''Unión Deportiva Levante-Gimnástico''. In 1941 they adopted their current name ''Levante Unión Deportiva''. The clubs colours also date from this era. The ''azulgrana'' home colours were originally the colours of ''Gimnástico CF''. They have also used a black and white away kit, the original ''Levante FC'' colours.
La Liga
Levant UD had to wait until the 1960s to make their La Liga debut. In 1963 they finished as runners-up in Segunda División Group 2 and then beat Deportivo de La Coruña 4-2 on aggregate in a promotion play-off. During their first season in La Liga they managed to a do a double over their rivals Valencia CF and during the following season they managed a 5-1 win against FC Barcelona. However they survived just two seasons in La Liga and were relegated in 1965 after losing a play-off to CD Malaga. After winning the Segunda División in 2004 they returned to La Liga but survived only one season. They were promoted to La Liga again in 2006 after finishing third in the Segunda División. A win over their city rivals Valencia CF in the penultimate game of the 2006-7 season guaranteed their place in La Liga for the 2007-8 season.
Current squad 2007/08
''The numbers are established according to the official website:www.levanteud.com and www.lfp.es
Selected Former Players
''see also ''
Famous Coaches
★ Josep Escolà
★ Enrique Orizaola, 1964-65
★ Juande Ramos, 1994-95
★ Mané, 1996-97, 2005-06
★ Manuel Preciado, 2003-04
★ Bernd Schuster, 2004-05
★ Juan Ramón López Caro, 2006-07
★ Abel Resino, 2007-
''see also ''
Honours
★ 'Segunda División: 1'
★
★ 2003-04
★ 'Segunda División Group 2'
★
★ ''Runners-Up'' 1962-63
★ 'Segunda División B: 3'
★
★ 1988-89, 1995-96, 1998-99
★ 'Tercera División: 2'
★
★ 1943-44, 1972-73
★ 'Campeonato Levante-Sur: 1'
★
★ 1934-35
★ 'Campeonato de Valencia: 1'
★
★ 1927-28
★ 'Trofeo Ciudad de Valencia: 1'
★
★ 1996-96
---------------------------------------------
'Levante FC / Levante UD'
★ '4' seasons in the ''Primera División''
★ '34' season in the ''Segunda División''
★ '12' seasons in the ''Segunda División B''
★ '16' season in the ''Tercera División''
'Gimnástico CF'
★ '2' season in the ''Segunda División''
Recent History
:
| Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Europe | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/2005 | 1D | '18' | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 39 | 58 | '37' | Relegated | |||
| 2005/2006 | 2D | '3' | 42 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 53 | 39 | '74' | 1st Round | Promoted | ||
| 2006/2007 | 1D | '15' | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 53 | '42' | Last 16 | |||
External link
★ Levante UD Official Website
★ Free Forum of Llevant UE
★ Regional Titles at Rsssf
★ Copa de Libre Espana at Rsssf
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