Levante UD was formerly registered asLevante Football Club on 9 September 1909[5][6] (celebrating its 100th anniversary on 9 September 2009).[7] Thus Levante is the most senior football club inValencia, with rival teamValencia CF not being formed until 1919.[8][9][10][11]
Levante shares its name with the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, with Spain's east coast, the coast over which the sun rises (levantar in Spanish),[12] with the Levant wind that comes from the east, and with the Levante beach in La Malvarrosa where Levante Football Club played some of its earliest fixtures.
Levante's earliest games were played at La Platjeta, near the docks on a plot of land owned by a perfume entrepreneur. Its next ground was also near the port area, and the club gradually became associated with the working class. In 1919, the side played Valencia CF for the first time, losing 0–1; the game marked the inauguration of the recently built ground at Algirós. In 1928, Levante FC won its first trophy, the Valencian Championship.
1909 also saw the birth ofGimnástico Football Club, which originally played at Patronato de la Juventud Obrera, being then named Gimnástico-Patronato. In 1919, Gimnástico became the champion of the Campeonato de Valencia, beating CD Castellón in two leg finals; the next year, the club had becomeReal Gimnástico Football Club, after being granted royal patronage byAlfonso XIII, and they reached the final of Campeonato Regional de Levante, but lost to Club Deportivo Aguileño. In 1931, with the founding of theSecond Spanish Republic, the club dropped theReal from its name.
In1934–35, both Levante and Gimnástico debuted in thesecond division, when the league was expanded from 10 teams to 24. In 1935, Levante won the Campeonato Levante-Sur, a competition that featured teams fromValencia, Murcia andAndalusia,[13] and subsequently reached the semi-finals of theSpanish Cup, consecutively beating Valencia andBarcelona before losing to eventual runners-upSabadell.
During the civil war: Copa de la España Libre (1937)
During theSpanish Civil War, Levante and Gimnástico played in theMediterranean League, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Teams from this league also competed in theCopa de la España Libre ("Free Spain Cup"). It was originally intended that the top four teams from the league would enter the cup, but Barcelona opted to tour Mexico and the United States, and as a result, Levante took its place. The first round of the competition was a mini-league with the top two teams, Levante and Valencia, qualifying for the final. On 18 July 1937, Levante defeated its city rivals 1–0 at theMontjuïc.[14][15]
During the Civil War, Levante's ground was destroyed, but the club's squad remained intact. In contrast, Gimnástico had a ground,Estadio de Vallejo, but had lost most of their players. As a result, in 1939 Levante FC and Gimnástico FC merged into Levante Unión Deportiva.[16] Levante UD can thus trace its origin back to at least 1909 through both Levante FC and Gimnástico FC. The merged club was at first namedUnión Deportiva Levante-Gimnástico, then changed it a few years later toLevante Unión Deportiva. The current club colours date from this era: theblaugrana, blue-garnet, home colours were originally those ofGimnástico FC, while the black and white away kit were the colours ofLevante FC. Levante UD also inherited from Gimnástico FC their nickname,Granota, the Frogs.[17][18][11][9][19]
La Liga: relegations and promotions (1963–present)
Levante had to wait until the 1960s to make itsLa Liga debut. In 1963, the club finished runner-up in Group II of the second division, defeatingDeportivo de La Coruña 4–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-offs. Duringthe first top flight season, it managed to win both games against Valencia, and also achieved a 5–1 home win against Barcelona inthe 1964–65 campaign, but was relegated nonetheless after losing in the playoffs againstMálaga. It spent most of the following two decades in the second andthird divisions; theSegunda División B would not be created until 1977.
Johan Cruyff in his debut with Levante, March 1981
In the early 1980s, Dutch superstarJohan Cruyff played half a season for the club, retiring three years later. After winning2003–04's second division, Levante returned to the top level but survived onlyone season. Finishing third in2005–06, it returned for two additional campaigns, the decisive match in the2006–07 season being a 4–2 home win against Valencia courtesy ofRiga Mustapha (two goals),Salva andLaurent Courtois.
Levante's financial status worsened, however, and there were reports that the players had only received approximately one-fifth of their contractual payments. News reports stated that the club had incurred a debt of over €18 million in payments due to its players. The team plummeted down the standings, and it was confirmed with several matches to go that the club would be playing in the second division in2008–09. The players protested at their lack of payments at one point, refusing to move for several seconds after the opening whistle against Deportivo and later announcing that they wouldstrike during theseason-ending game atReal Madrid. The threat was withdrawn when league officials announced that a benefit game would be played between a Levante XI and a Primera División XI, with all receipts going to pay the Levante players' wages.
On 13 June 2010, Levante returned to La Liga after a 3–1 home win againstalready relegatedCastellón, making its final round 0–4 defeat atReal Betis irrelevant.[20] Under the manager who led the team back to the top flight,Luis García Plaza, Levante finally retained its top division status in the2010–11 season. At one point in the league's second round of matches, Levante was third in the table behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, after losing just once (against Real Madrid) in 12 games.[21]
Chart of Levante UD league performance 1929–present
On 26 October 2011, during round nine ofthe season, Levante defeatedReal Sociedad 3–2 to move top of the first division table for the first time in the club's history, with 23 points.[22] In the process, it recorded seven straight wins after drawing its first two games.[23] The club eventually finished sixth after defeatingAthletic Bilbao 3–0 at home in its last match, thusqualifying for theUEFA Europa League for the first time in its history.[24] There, they made it to the last 16 before a 2–0 extra-time loss to Russia'sFC Rubin Kazan.[25]
In the2015–16 season, Levante was relegated after defeat byMálaga and finished last. The club was promoted back to the top league in2016–17, winning theSegunda División title. In the2017–18 season, the club secured safety in the league and on 13 May, beat the championsBarcelona 5–4 (having led 5–1 early in the second half), withEmmanuel Boateng scoring his first ever career hat-trick.[26] This win ended Barcelona's hopes of achieving an unbeaten season.[27]
In the2021–22 season, Levante was relegated after being defeated 0–6 by Real Madrid, ending their five years in the top tier.
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.
Levante contest theDerbi Valenciano, also known as theDerbi del Turia orDerbi Valentino, with local rivalsValencia.[33] The fixture has been played 38 times competitively, with Valencia winning 21 times to Levante's 8.
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