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| Full name | Deportivo La Guaira Fútbol Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Los Naranjas La Naranja Mecánica La Ola Naranja | ||
| Founded | July 21, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-07-21) (asReal Esppor Club) | ||
| Ground | Estadio Olímpico de la UCV | ||
| Capacity | 23,940 | ||
| Chairman | George Antar | ||
| Manager | Juan Domingo Tolisano | ||
| League | Liga FUTVE | ||
| 2025 | Liga FUTVE, 1st of 14 | ||
Deportivo La Guaira (formerly known asReal Esppor) is a professionalfootball club promoted to theVenezuelan league in 2009, based inLa Guaira but playing its home games inCaracas at theEstadio Olímpico de la UCV.
The club was founded in Caracas on 21 July 2008 under the nameReal Esppor Club, with Esppor being a combination of the wordsEspaña (Spain) andPortugal because the founders of the club were entrepreneurs with Spanish and Portuguese ancestry.[1] It was originally intended to be the reincarnation ofDeportivo Galicia, four-time champions of theVenezuelan Primera División, however the debts the original club still had with theVenezuelan Football Federation prevented the founders from using said name.[2]
Real Esppor entered theVenezuelan Segunda División for its 2008–09 season and played its first match in the competition on 16 August 2008, a 2–1 win overTrujillanos. The team only played one season in the second tier, being promoted to Primera División after they merged with the Segunda División championsUnión Atlético Trujillo.[3] Theirfirst campaign in Primera División began with a 1–0 win overZulia inMaracaibo, as well as victories againstDeportivo Anzoátegui,Yaracuyanos, and a draw againstDeportivo Táchira inSan Cristóbal. Although Real Esppor's performance started to dwindle after that string of positive results, their results in the Clausura tournament were enough for them to ensure safety from relegation in their first season in Primera División as they placed 14th with 10 wins, 8 draws, and 16 losses.[1]
For the2010–11 season, Real Esppor hiredNoel Sanvicente as their new manager. In the Apertura, the team managed to stay on top of the table for most of the tournament, however losses toCaracas and Deportivo Táchira and draws againstCarabobo and Trujillanos in the final five games allowed Deportivo Táchira to win the tournament on goal difference, leaving Real Esppor to settle for second place as both sides ended up tied with 36 points. In the Torneo Clausura, Real were not off to a good start, earning four points in their first four games which moved them away from the title race. They would then set their aims on getting a berth to theCopa Libertadores through the aggregate table, which would happen in case Caracas won the Clausura, however,Zamora beat Caracas on the last matchday to claim the Clausura title and forced Real Esppor to play the Serie Sudamericana for qualification to theCopa Sudamericana, where they defeated Carabobo in the first round but were ultimately beaten to a berth by Deportivo Anzoátegui.[1]
Thefollowing season was not as successful, as the club's financial problems began to become apparent to the extent that the footballers refused to train until they received their payment. Due to these issues, manager Noel Sanvicente resigned on 2 December 2011, before the conclusion of the 2011 Apertura tournament, in which they ended in 12th place.[4] Sanvicente was replaced by Charles López, who also had to deal with the club's economic crisis.[5] The team finished the season in 14th place of the aggregate table, missing out on qualification for the Serie Sudamericana by two points but being nine points clear from relegation to Segunda División. In the2012–13 season, Real Esppor's last season under that name, the team advanced to the Serie Sudamericana, where they lost at the hands ofMineros de Guayana.
In August 2013, Real Esppor was taken over by new investors who rebranded it asDeportivo La Guaira as part of a project which included the change of crest and colors from white to purple (which was further changed to orange along with a new logo for the2014–15 season) and eventually, a move to theVargas state as a long-term goal.[2] The team played its first game under its new name on 13 August 2013, a 3–1 loss to Deportivo Táchira at thePolideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo stadium and won its first game on 15 September, 1–0 againstLlaneros de Guanare.[6] Whilst they ended the2013 Apertura in penultimate place, their fortunes improved in the Clausura tournament, in which a 10th place allowed them to advance to the Serie Sudamericana, where they defeatedTucanes de Amazonas and Carabobo to qualify for the2014 Copa Sudamericana, their first participation in an international tournament. There they were knocked out by Colombian sideAtlético Nacional in the first round after a 1–1 draw in Caracas and a narrow 1–0 defeat inMedellín.[7]
Later that year, Deportivo La Guaira earned its first domestic accolade by winning the2014 Copa Venezuela under the command of managerLeo González by beating Trujillanos on penalty kicks in the final.[8] La Guaira successfully defended their Copa Venezuela title in2015, defeatingDeportivo Lara in the final,[9] while also advancing to the second round of theCopa Sudamericana where they were defeated bySportivo Luqueño from Paraguay.[7] In the domestic league, they reached the finals of the2015 Torneo Adecuación, losing to Zamora by a 2–1 aggregate score.[10]
Deportivo La Guaira returned to the Copa Sudamericana in2016, in which they became the first Venezuelan team to reach the round of 16. Playing their home matches in the competition at theEstadio Metropolitano de Cabudare due to remodeling works at the Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, the squad managed byEduardo Saragó advanced past the first and second rounds by eliminatingDeportes Tolima from Colombia andEmelec from Ecuador.[11] They were eventually knocked out by Argentine sideSan Lorenzo by a 4–1 aggregate score.[7]
After finishing in third place of the aggregate table of the2018 season, La Guaira qualified for theCopa Libertadores for the first time. They started their participation in thefirst stage againstReal Garcilaso from Peru, whom they defeated in the first leg in Caracas by a 1–0 score. In the second leg played atEstadio Garcilaso inCusco, they found themselves trailing 2–0 against Real Garcilaso, but a late goal by José Balza helped them advance on away goals despite losing the match since the aggregate score ended tied 2–2.[7] La Guaira were eventually knocked out in the following stage of the competition by Atlético Nacional.
In2020, Deportivo La Guaira won their first league title. Led by managerDaniel Farías, with a young squad aged 24 on average, and displaying a direct style of play,Los Naranjas managed to advance to the Torneo Normalización final by winning Group A with 33 points. In that final match, played atEstadio Misael Delgado inValencia, they faced the Group B winnersDeportivo Táchira, whom they beat by a 2–0 score with goals byMartín García andCharlis Ortiz.[12][13][14]
Since their rebranding in 2013, Deportivo La Guaira have played their home matches at theEstadio Olímpico de la UCV in Caracas given the lack of suitable sports infrastructure in theVargas state. As Real Esppor, their home stadium wasEstadio Brígido Iriarte, also located in the Venezuelan capital.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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(in Spanish)
