The team's home kit is blue and white-striped shirt, blue shorts and white socks. It holds home matches at the 19,840-seaterMendizorrotza Stadium[3] and uses other facilities located inIbaia dedicated to training.
Deportivo Alavés home stadium Campo de Fútbol de Mendizorrotza.
Chart of Deportivo Alavés league performance 1929-present
Founded in 1920, the initial name of the club was Sport Friends, but on 23 January 1921 the name was changed to the current one, and this is considered the official foundation date.[4] Alavés was the first club to win promotion from theSegunda División toLa Liga in1929–30, a stint which would last three years. In its first season in Primera División Alavés finished 8th from 10 teams, just 1 point away from being relegated.[5]
In1953–54 the club would reach the top league again for a two-year spell. With Roman Galarraga as a coach, the club won a long-awaited promotion to Segunda División in the 1973–74 season.[4] In June 1983, after having avoided relegation in the previous season, Alavés went down to Segunda División B, where it remained until the1985–86 campaign.[6] After years of seriously facing disappearance which lasted well into the 1990s (playing in thefourth tier during the late 1980s), Alavés finally achieved a promotion back into the Segunda División in1994–95 after two consecutive years of winning their group inSegunda División B – created as the new third level in 1977 – but failing in the promotion play-offs.
After winning the Segunda División in1997–98,[7] Alavés returned to the top level after a 42-yearhiatus. Following theirreturn season in which they escaped relegation by a single point, they achieved two wins againstBarcelona inthe following campaign and would qualify for theUEFA Cup for the first time upon finishing sixth (to date, their highest-ever placing, coming just 12 years after their lowest-ever: eighth in their group in thefourth level).
As well as concluding the domestic campaign in tenth position, in2000–01 the Basque club reached the final of theUEFA Cup after beatingInternazionale,[8]Rayo Vallecano and1. FC Kaiserslautern, the latter in a crushing 9–2 aggregate victory.[9] The final ended in a4–5 loss againstLiverpool, Alavés losing to an "own-golden goal" after taking the match to extra time. The match also featured two red cards and two disallowed goals in extra time in addition to the nine goals which did count, and has been described by some observers as one of the greatest showpiece games in the competition's history.[10]
Alavés ended2001–02 in seventh position and qualified for the UEFA Cup for a second time, although theEuropean campaign of 2002–03 was far less successful than two years earlier, with an opening win overAnkaragücü followed by a defeat to another TurkishSüper Lig side,Beşiktaş. On 26 January 2003, the club celebrated their 100th win in La Liga after defeatingReal Valladolid 3–1.
Although Alavés wererelegated after2002–03, they regained top-flight status two years later.[9] In this time, Alavés was bought by Ukrainian–American businessmanDmitry Pietrman, and several clashes followed with the club's coaches, players[11] and fans alike.[12] The top-division return only lastedone season as the club went through three head coaches and finished in 18th position, one point from safety. Piterman departed in 2007, leaving the club deep in debt after his tenure. After two years of battling against relegation to the third level, Alavés eventually succumbed in2008–09.
On 10 September 2016, Alavés got their first win oftheir return season in La Liga by defeating defending La Liga champions Barcelona 2–1 at theCamp Nou.[14] On 7 February 2017, Alavés qualified for the2017 Copa del Rey Final after eliminatingCelta de Vigo in the semi-finals ofthe competition. This was the first time in their history that the club had qualified for the final of the national cup, their previous best being the semi-finals in1998 and2004. Their opponents in the final would be Barcelona, and coincidentally the two clubs met in the league directly after their cup semi-finals; theCatalans inflicted a 6–0 defeat on Alavés in their ownMendizorrotza Stadium, exacting revenge for the result earlier in the season.[15] Barcelona also won the final, held at theEstadio Vicente Calderón with a 3–1 scoreline,[16] meaning there would be no return to European competition for Alavés. In the La Liga that season Alavés finished 9th with 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses.[17] In the2021–22 season, Alavés were relegated following defeat on the penultimate matchday byLevante (who also went down) to end their six-year stay in La Liga, the longest top-flight run in the club's history. The following season saw the club achieve promotion back to La Liga at the first attempt, winning the play-off final 0–1 against fellow relegated side Levante to ensure their return to the top tier for the2023–24 season.[18]
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.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The team wore kits from theDanish brand Hummel for several seasons.[20][21][22] In the 2017-2018 season, they started wearing new kits fromKelme. They had an agreement withKelme until 2022.[23] That same year, the team signed a new agreement with the German company Puma for four seasons.[24]
For the launch of the new brand, they choose to bring back the traditional vertical stripes and keep the original black pants.
Second version of the pennant used as the club’s crest (1923)
Deportivo Alavés has changed its crest several times since it was founded in 1921.[25][26][27] The first crest looked very similar to the official coat of arms of the Álava province. However, instead of a sword-wielding arm, the team's crest featured a blue and white pennant. At the top of the crest was a medallion with the initials "DA".
In 1922, the crest was simplified to just a pennant. The pennant was white with a blue center stripe and had the team initials "DA" in a square at the top left corner. This design stayed until 1950, but the initials changed when the team was renamed Club Deportivo Alavés. In 1950, the team redesigned its crest to look more like the traditional Álava symbol. They brought back the castle and lion, and also added a sword. The "C.D.A." pennant was moved behind the castle, and the whole design was placed within a circle with a crown on top.[28][29]
The club's primary reserve team isDeportivo Alavés B, founded in 1960 and currently playing at the amateurTercera División level of the senior Spanish system. When that team gained promotion toSegunda División B in 2000, a further reserve sideDeportivo Alavés C was formed, later partnering with local teamClub San Ignacio, but the C-team was discontinued in 2005 due to the poor financial situation at the club. San Ignacio and most other teams in the vicinity of Vitoria-Gasteiz continue to operate as partner clubs of Alavés.[32][33][34][35]
In 2007, Alavés operated a team in theUSL First Division in the United States called theCalifornia Victory. The team played atKezar Stadium in San Francisco, California, and wore the Alavés colors. However, Alavés, under new ownership, pulled its support for the club later that year, after which the Victory folded.
In May 2017, Alavés signed a ten-year partnership deal withNK Rudeš, freshly promotedCroatian First Football League club, with Rudeš acting as a feeder club to Alavés.[36]In June 2018, Deportivo Alavés and NK Rudeš ended its partnership agreement.[37]
In April 2018, Alavés signed an agreement with French clubFC Sochaux-Montbéliard;[38] however the partnership lasted only a few months, ending abruptly in December of the same year.[39]
In June 2018 Alavés took a controlling interest in another Croatian top-tier club,NK Istra 1961, a few weeks after ending their agreement with Rudeš.[40]
^Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (23 February 2001)."El Alavés incendia San Siro" [Alavés set fire to San Siro].El País (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved24 February 2019.
^"Glorioso Matagigantes" [Glorious Giantkillers] (in Spanish). Marca. 10 September 2016.Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved21 September 2017.
^"Clubes Convenidos" [Partner Clubs] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 1 August 2017.Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved24 January 2019.
^José Luis del Campo (14 December 2018)."Alavés y Sochaux separan sus caminos" [Alavés and Sochaux separate their paths].Marca (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved24 January 2019.
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