Tenerife has a history playing in the top flight ofLa Liga. They have been promoted to the top tier on four occasions, including a 10-year stint from1989 to1999. The club managed to finish as high as fifth in the league table on two occasions during that period, which qualified them for the first round of theUEFA Cup. They most recently played in La Liga in the2009–10 season.
Being based in the Canary archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Africa, while playing its away games on the Spanish mainland, both the club and rivalLas Palmas fromGran Canaria are two of the most geographically isolated professional clubs. Tenerife and Las Palmas contest theCanary Islands derby.
Match betweenCD Nacional of Madeira and CD Tenerife in 1925.
Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in 1922.La Liga started in 1928, but the team played in regional divisions until it was promoted to theSegunda División in 1953. It first reached the top flight in 1961,being immediately relegated back and, in the following 27 years, played almost exclusively in the second level, also spending three years inTercera División and six – five in a row – inSegunda División B, the newly created division three (in 1978).
In 1985 Tenerife whon his 15 champions, when Tenerife were relegated to the third division for a second time, Javier Pérez became president of the club. The side was promoted this year to the second level and,two years later, returned to the first, after winning the promotion playoff againstReal Betis (4–1 on aggregate).
Club Deportivo Tenerife league performance 1929–present.
Tenerife then went on a downward spiral which eventually led to relegation to the "silver category" in1999, prompting various managerial changes within the club. In2001, the club was again promoted, led byRafael Benítez, who promptly left to take up the manager's job atValencia; the promotion was achieved in the last match of the campaign thanks to a goal fromHugo Morales.
Tenerife suffered from serious economic problems in the following years, owing more than €40 million. President Pérez was replaced withVíctor Perez de Ascanio, who resigned due to bad management, leaving his position toMiguel Concepción, who negotiated with local politicians and businessmen, also creating a construction company as a subsidiary of the side.
On 13 June 2009, Tenerifesecured a top flight return after a seven-year absence after a 1–0 win atGirona. Inthe following season, even though the team held on until the last round, another relegation befell, after the 0–1 loss at third-placed Valencia.
2010–11 brought with it three coaching changes,[2] as Tenerife eventually suffered another relegation, returning to the third division after 24 years. On 2 June 2013, the club, led byÁlvaro Cervera, returned to the second level afterwinning the promotion play-off againstHospitalet (3–2 on aggregate).
Tenerife almost achieved promotion to La Liga in2016-17 and2021-22 season, but was defeated by bothGetafe andGirona at final play-off promotion in their respective season. Tenerife eventually suffered relegation to third division in2024-25 season, following a 12-years stay in second division.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Fans of Tenerife are calledChicharreros because in early days, the inhabitants of a small fishing village calledSanta Cruz (later the capital of Tenerife) consumed "chicharros" (Atlantic horse mackerel) as a main part of their diet.
Other inhabitants of Tenerife and the Canary Islands used the moniker as a pejorative name, but finally the inhabitants of Santa Cruz accepted it affectionately.
