Founded in 1983, the club was promoted to La Liga for the first time in 2004, and participated in the top level of Spanish football for twelve years between 2004 and 2016, and again since 2017. The club maintain rivalries with neighboursLeganés, who are based near the town of Getafe,Atlético Madrid andReal Madrid.
Sociedad Getafe Deportivo was founded in 1923,[1] only playing in lower divisions from 1928 to 1932. After theSpanish Civil War, in 1945 five Getafe locals – Enrique Condes García, Aurelio Miranda Olavaria, Antonio Corredor Lozano, Manuel Serrano Vergara and Miguel Cubero Francés – while meeting at La Marquesina bar, decided to form a local team. Officially founded on 24 February 1946, the club was namedClub Getafe Deportivo.[2]
The club originally played in the Campo del Regimiento de Artillería, which lacked goal posts. Shortly after, the club moved toSan Isidro, housed in the current Municipal Sports Center of San Isidro. Here, Club Getafe was promoted to thethird division following their victory againstVillarrobledo in the 1956–57 season. Getafe was nearly promoted to theSegunda División in 1957–58, but was defeated byCA Almería.[3]
On 2 September 1970, the club inaugurated its own stadium after being promoted back to the Tercera División. Presided by chairman Francisco Vara,Las Margaritas won a 3–1 victory over Michelín. The team survived in the third level that season, and six years later gained their first promotion to the second division.[4]
In 1978, the club advanced to play againstBarcelona in theCopa del Rey round of 16. Playing at home in the first leg, Getafe drew with a star-studded Barcelona team 3–3, before traveling away for the second leg and being thrashed 8–0 at theCamp Nou.
At the conclusion of the1981–82 season, players having not been paid, Getafe was automatically relegated and subsequently liquidated.
Meanwhile, on 1 September 1976, a new club was founded in the National Sports Council and the Regional Federation of Castille. The club was called Peña Madridista Getafe (the "Real Madrid supporters' club of Getafe"). This club played for four seasons in various divisions, until taking the name Club Deportivo Peña Getafe, and played under this name for a further two seasons. On 10 July 1982, they joined forces with the much older Club Getafe Promesas, and were registered again in the Regional Federation of Castille.[5]
Based on themerger the previous year, the presentGetafe Club de Fútbol was officially founded on 8 July 1983, after passing through assembly.[5]
Starting in the regional leagues in 1983–84, Getafe was promoted for four consecutive seasons until reaching theSegunda División B. The club started a new period with its promotion into Segunda in1994–95, staying only two years.[6] Threatening absolute disappearance just a few years later in 1997, Getafe survived relegation into the fourth levelTercera División following a two-legged playoff victory overHuesca.
Meanwhile, Getafe's current stadium, theColiseum Alfonso Pérez, was inaugurated on 1 January 1998.[7]
Returning to the second division for1999–2000, Getafe lasted another two seasons. However, one year later, they would return following an amazing promotion in2001–02 during which one of their players, Sebastián "Sebas" Gómez, was murdered, and controversy regarding unpaid payments of players following a debt of€3 million.[8]
Consolidating their position after one year, Getafe had a fantasticseason in Segunda. At the top of the table for most of the year, the side travelled to theCanary Islands on the final matchday needing a win to assure a historic promotion toLa Liga, the top-flight. Amazingly, they defeatedTenerife 5–3 with five goals fromSergio Pachón,[9] thus becoming along with Real Madrid,Atlético Madrid andRayo Vallecano the fourth team from theCommunity of Madrid – and the first of them from outside of thecapital – to ever play in La Liga.[10] With this promotion, Getafe had ascended the wholeSpanish football pyramid, achieving this feat in only 20 years.
The club started2004–05 poorly, lying at the bottom of the table. Home wins overEspanyol,Athletic Bilbao,Valencia and Real Madrid,[11] followed by a sole away win of the season over Athletic Bilbao,[12] saw Getafe climb to finish 13th, being the only promoted side to avoid relegation. At the end of the season, the club lost head coachQuique Sánchez Flores and several players to rival clubs.[13] In Getafe'snext season, the club briefly topped the table[14] before slipping to finish ninth.[15] During the2006 FIFA World Cup, Argentine-bornMariano Pernía became Getafe's firstSpanish international,[16] before moving to Atlético Madrid.[17]
In2006–07, Getafe again finished ninth in the league,[18] conceding only 33 goals in 38 matches andgoalkeeperRoberto Abbondanzieri was awarded theZamora Trophy, having recorded 12 clean sheets. The highlight of the club's season was reaching the2006–07 Copa del Reyfinal, a competition in which Getafe had never reached the quarter-finals before. The run included a two-legged semi-final against Barcelona in which Getafe lost the first leg 5–2 at the Camp Nou[19] before producing a 4–0 rout in the second leg at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez.[20] Getafe lost their first major final 1–0 toSevilla at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium.[21] Through this, the club qualified for the following season'sUEFA Cup qualification, as Sevilla had already qualified for theUEFA Champions League through their league position.
Chart of Getafe CF league performance 1929–present
The following season, coachBernd Schuster left after two seasons to become head coach at Real Madrid,[22] and Getafe appointedMichael Laudrup as his replacement.[23] Under Laudrup, Getafe again finished the league mid-table. In theUEFA Cup, the team managed to progress to the quarter-finals after finishing top of Group G, only losing once,[24] setting up a tie against four-time European Cup winnersBayern Munich. Getafe drew the away leg 1–1,[25] thanks to an injury time equaliser fromCosmin Contra. In the second leg,Rubén de la Red wassent off after six minutes. Contra put Getafe ahead just before half-time, but in the 89th minute,Franck Ribéry equalized to send the match intoextra time. Two quick goals fromJavier Casquero and substituteBraulio gave Getafe a 3–1 lead, but Bayern pulled a goal back fromLuca Toni, before Toni again scored seconds before the end of extra time, giving Bayern anaway goals win.[26] Getafe also had successful run in theCopa del Rey, reachingthe final for a second year running. In the final, at theVicente Calderón Stadium, Getafe were beaten 3–1 by Valencia.[27]
In the2015–16 season, Getafe were relegated to second division after spending 12 years in first campaign. However, in2016–17, the club immediately returned to La Liga after defeatingHuesca andTenerife to gain promotion viathe play-offs. In the2017–18 season Getafe finished in the 8th position, easily avoiding the relegation back to Segunda División.[28]
In the2018–19 season Getafe finished 5th, their highest finish in the first division, and qualified for the2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage. They finished 2nd in their group, with 12 points from 6 games, which allowed them to advance to the next round. They managed to beatAjax 3–2 on aggregate in the Round of 32. Due to that win, they facedInter Milan in the round of 16, where their European dream ended with a 2–0 loss.
Getafe play at theEstadio Coliseum, located in Getafe. Its pitch dimensions are 105x70 metres. The stadium was inaugurated on 1 January 1998, named after the Spanish international (and of Real Madrid fame)Alfonso Pérez. Though he never played for or against Getafe, or even in the stadium, he is perhaps the most famousfootballer to come out of the area and was at the height of his career during the mid-1990s.[7]
Before playing in the Coliseum, Getafe played their home matches at the nearby Estadio de las Margaritas, part of the greaterSports City of Las Margaritas. The Coliseum was subsequently built as a natural extension to the much smaller facilities at Las Margaritas. Since its foundation, the stadium has had numerous renovations, and now seats 14,400 people and several thousand more standing. As such, the exact capacity is variable and ambiguous. Getafe generally fill the stadium for local matches against Real and Atlético Madrid, as well as against Barcelona, most famously in the 2006–07 Cup semi-final. For the first time in their history, Getafe pre-sold out the whole of the Coliseum before their second leg match against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup quarter-final.[29]
Getafe club presidentÁngel Torres expressed interest in upgrading the Coliseum to a much greater 20,000-seat arena, in conjunction withMadrid's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.[30] The failure of this bid and poor crowd averages put this redevelopment in doubt.
Getafe use the nearby Sports City when training. These facilities include several training pitches with both grass and artificial turf, full medical rooms and recuperation facilities.
Commonly calledMarea Azul, orAzulones, Getafe supporters have steadily increased in number with the success of the team in recent years. There are 18peñas ("supporter clubs") and 12,000socios ("associates"). Former Real Madrid playerFrancisco Pavón is a well-known Getafesocio, whileFernando Alonso andRafael Nadal have attended matches at the Coliseum in the past.
Getafe supporters have grown far beyond the local area and are now known to have fans in Australia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Argentina, Scotland, Denmark, the United States and Mexico. In 2007, apeña was founded in Venezuela to extend the worldwide club reach.
Getafe also created some controversy in 2007 when their season ticket campaign included biblical references ofAbraham,Moses and Jesus sacrificing themselves for the team. The club responded by withdrawing the first scene involving Abraham.
Upon important or famous victories, Getafe fans congregate to celebrate at the Cibelina statue in the town centre. Prior to the 2007 Cup final, Torres implored the fans to "tear down the Cibelina" upon victory, promising to pay for a new design. During that final, thousands of supporters rushed to get tickets and packed into the Santiago Bernabéu, yet were vastly outnumbered bySevillistas. However, those who failed to get tickets – most of which went to season ticket holders for the 2007–08 campaign – were able to watch the match on a big screen in Getafe's central square.
Getafe has also a small group ofUltras supporters, calledComandos Azules ("bluecommandos").
In 2011, Getafe released a humorous tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign, pretending to decry the club's relatively small fanbase and encouraging male supporters todonate sperm in order to breed more fans.[31] To inspire those donations, the club produced a shortpornographic film calledZombies Calientes de Getafe ("Horny Zombies of Getafe"), "shot in the style of a 1970s porn film", and delivered it tosperm donation clinics in Madrid.[32]
Historically, due to their close geographical position, Getafe has always held a strong rivalry withLeganés. They played out numerous encounters in the lower division before the two teams fortunes began to contrast as Getafe gained ascendency and Leganés began to deteriorate.
In the first division, the side has held some exciting matches in the last few years with Real Madrid, with the ledger being most recently squared at three wins each. Real Madrid's much greater stature, huge budget and expensive squad has never stopped Getafe from rising to the challenge and often playing their best football against their "bigger brother".
In addition to this, Getafe has developed somewhat of a rivalry with Barcelona, which culminated in their famous 4–0 victory over their more fancied opponents during the 2006–07 Copa del Rey semi-final. Also, Valencia has succumbed numerous times toel Geta, often quite heavily, as was the case during the 2006–07 Copa del Rey, which ensured Getafe's first appearance in the Copa's quarter-finals with a 2–4 win at Valencia'sMestalla Stadium. However, this result was turned around in the 2008 Copa del Rey final, as Valencia would deny Getafe their first trophy with a 3–1 victory. This rivalry is propped up healthily by the regular transfer of Getafe players (and head coachQuique Sánchez Flores) to Valencia.
The club has not appeared in any European competition except in theUEFA Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup).[33]
The club appeared only three times in this tournament, In2007–08 they qualified for the tournament asCopa del Rey runner-up in the previous season forSevilla, who qualified for theUEFA Champions League, and progressed from the first round, group stage, round of 32 and round of 16 before being beaten byBayern Munich in the quarter-finals.[34] three years later, in2010–11 they were paired withAPOEL in the playoff round, and qualified by eliminating them, but then they were eliminated from the group stage as third place.[35]
In the2019–20 season, Getafe appeared in the tournament for the third time, and they were able to qualify from the group stage in second place, and they also managed to pass the round of 32 after eliminatingAjax, but they were eliminated in the next round againstInter Milan in one match due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[36][37]
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.
