Deportivo Alavés

Deportivo Alavés

Full name	Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Babazorros El Glorioso (The glorious one)
Founded	23 January 1921; 100 years ago (23 January 1921)
Ground	Mendizorrotza
Capacity	19,840[1]
Owner	Saski Baskonia (70.44%) José Antonio Querejeta (6.4%)
President	Alfonso Fernández de Trocóniz
Head coach	Javier Calleja
League	La Liga
2020–21	La Liga, 16th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [depoɾˈtiβo alaˈβes]; Sporting Alavés), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it has played in the highest football category of The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, La Liga, since the 2016–17 season.

It is recognized as the third most successful team in the Basque Country following Athletic Club of Bilbao and Real Sociedad de Futbol of San Sebastián. Its biggest success was in 2001 when, in the year of its debut in European competition, it reached the 2001 UEFA Cup Final, where it played against Liverpool. It was defeated 5–4 by golden goal. In 2017, the club reached the final of the Copa del Rey, losing out 3–1 to Barcelona.^[2]

The team's home kit is blue and white-striped shirt, blue shorts and white socks. It holds home matches at the 19,840-seater Mendizorrotza Stadium^[3] and uses other facilities located in Ibaia dedicated to training.

History[]

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 the Segunda División to La Liga in 1929–30, 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]

In 1953–54 the club would reach the top league again for a two-year spell. With Roman Galarraga as a coach, the club reached long-awaited promotion to Segunda División in the 1973–74 season.^[4] In June 1983, after having avoided the relegation in the previous season, Alavés went down to Segunda División B, where remained until the 1985–86 campaign.^[6] After years of seriously facing disappearance which lasted well into the 1990s (playing in the fourth tier during the late 1980s), Alavés finally achieved a promotion back into the Segunda División in 1994–95 after two consecutive years of winning their group in Segunda División B – created as the new third level in 1977 – but failing in the promotion play-offs.

After winning the Segunda División in 1997–98,^[7] Alavés returned to the top level after a 42-year hiatus. Following their return season in which they escaped relegation by a single point, they achieved two wins against Barcelona in the following campaign and would qualify for the UEFA 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 the fourth level).

As well as concluding the domestic campaign in tenth position, in 2000–01 the Basque club reached the final of the UEFA Cup after beating Internazionale,^[8] Rayo Vallecano and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the latter in a crushing 9–2 aggregate victory.^[9] The final ended in a 4–5 loss against Liverpool, 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 ended 2001–02 in seventh position and qualified for the UEFA Cup for a second time, although the European campaign of 2002–03 was far less successful than two years earlier, with an opening win over Ankaragücü followed by a defeat to another Turkish Süper Lig side, Beşiktaş. On 26 January 2003, the club celebrated their 100th win in La Liga after defeating Real Valladolid 3–1.

Although Alavés were relegated after 2002–03, they regained top flight status two years later.^[9] In this time, Alavés was bought by Ukrainian–American businessman Dmitry Pietrman, and several clashes followed with the club's coaches, players^[11] and fans alike.^[12] The top-division return only lasted one 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 in 2008–09.

A subsequent black period in Segunda B lasted four years until Alavés was bought by José Antonio Querejeta^[13] and were promoted again to the second division in 2013 as overall champions of the third tier, providing an opportunity to sort out its economic difficulties. Three years later, on 29 May 2016, Alavés was promoted to La Liga as second tier champions after beating Numancia 2–0 to overtake Leganés on the final day.

On 10 September 2016, Alavés got their first win of their return season in La Liga by defeating defending La Liga champions Barcelona 2–1 at the Camp Nou.^[14] On 7 February 2017, Alavés qualified for the 2017 Copa del Rey Final after eliminating Celta de Vigo in the semi-finals of the 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 in 1998 and 2004. Their opponents in the final would be Barcelona, and coincidentally the two clubs met in the league directly after their cup semi-finals; the Catalans inflicted a 6–0 defeat on Alavés in their own Mendizorrotza Stadium, exacting revenge for the result earlier in the season.^[15] Barcelona also won the final, held at the Estadio 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]

Seasons[]

Season to season[]

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1929 2 2ª 3rd Round of 16 1929–30 2 2ª 1st Quarter-finals 1930–31 1 1ª 8th Round of 16 1931–32 1 1ª 9th Quarter-finals 1932–33 1 1ª 10th 1933–34 2 2ª 10th 1939–40 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1940–41 3 3ª 1st Second round 1941–42 2 2ª 3rd 1942–43 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1943–44 3 3ª 2nd Fifth round 1944–45 3 3ª 3rd Round of 16 1945–46 3 3ª 5th 1946–47 3 3ª 7th 1947–48 3 3ª 10th Third round 1948–49 3 3ª 12th First round 1949–50 3 3ª 10th 1950–51 3 3ª 2nd 1951–52 2 2ª 9th 1952–53 2 2ª 4th Round of 16

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1953–54 2 2ª 1st Round of 16 1954–55 1 1ª 10th Round of 16 1955–56 1 1ª 14th 1956–57 2 2ª 5th 1957–58 2 2ª 7th 1958–59 2 2ª 13th First round 1959–60 2 2ª 13th First round 1960–61 3 3ª 1st 1961–62 2 2ª 4th Round of 16 1962–63 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1963–64 2 2ª 16th Round of 16 1964–65 3 3ª 1st 1965–66 3 3ª 3rd 1966–67 3 3ª 7th 1967–68 3 3ª 1st 1968–69 2 2ª 14th 1969–70 3 3ª 9th First round 1970–71 4 1ª Reg. 1st 1971–72 3 3ª 7th First round 1972–73 3 3ª 3rd Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1973–74 3 3ª 1st Second round 1974–75 2 2ª 16th Third round 1975–76 2 2ª 15th Second round 1976–77 2 2ª 8th Second round 1977–78 2 2ª 11th Quarter-finals 1978–79 2 2ª 9th Quarter-finals 1979–80 2 2ª 9th Round of 16 1980–81 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1981–82 2 2ª 17th Third round 1982–83 2 2ª 17th 1983–84 3 2ª B 3rd Second round 1984–85 3 2ª B 3rd Third round 1985–86 3 2ª B 5th Second round 1986–87 4 3ª 7th First round 1987–88 4 3ª 8th 1988–89 4 3ª 2nd 1989–90 4 3ª 1st 1990–91 3 2ª B 2nd Second round 1991–92 3 2ª B 4th Third round 1992–93 3 2ª B 1st Third round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1993–94 3 2ª B 1st Third round 1994–95 3 2ª B 1st First round 1995–96 2 2ª 7th Second round 1996–97 2 2ª 13th Second round 1997–98 2 2ª 1st Semi-finals 1998–99 1 1ª 16th Third round 1999–2000 1 1ª 6th Round of 16 2000–01 1 1ª 10th Round of 32 2001–02 1 1ª 7th Round of 16 2002–03 1 1ª 19th Round of 16 2003–04 2 2ª 4th Semi-finals 2004–05 2 2ª 3rd Round of 32 2005–06 1 1ª 18th Third round 2006–07 2 2ª 17th Round of 16 2007–08 2 2ª 17th Third round 2008–09 2 2ª 19th Second round 2009–10 3 2ª B 5th First round 2010–11 3 2ª B 3rd First round 2011–12 3 2ª B 6th Third round 2012–13 3 2ª B 1st Round of 16

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2013–14 2 2ª 18th Third round 2014–15 2 2ª 13th Round of 32 2015–16 2 2ª 1st Third round 2016–17 1 1ª 9th Runners-up 2017–18 1 1ª 14th Quarter-finals 2018–19 1 1ª 11th Round of 32 2019–20 1 1ª 16th First round 2020–21 1 1ª 16th Round of 32 2021–22 1 1ª

---

• 17 seasons in La Liga
• 37 seasons in Segunda División
• 12 seasons in Segunda División B
• 22 seasons in Tercera División
• 1 season in Categorías Regionales

Recent seasons[]

Season	Div	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	Cup	Europe		Notes
2011–12	2B2	6th	38	14	17	7	64	39	59	Third round
2012–13	2B2	1st	38	25	7	6	57	22	82	Round of 32			Promoted
2013–14	2A	18th	42	13	12	17	57	57	51	Third round
2014–15	2A	13th	42	14	11	17	49	53	53	Round of 32
2015–16	2A	1st	42	21	12	9	49	35	75	Third round			Promoted
2016–17	1	9th	38	14	13	11	41	43	55	Runners-up
2017–18	1	14th	38	15	2	21	40	50	47	Quarter-finals
2018–19	1	11th	38	13	11	14	39	50	50	Round of 32
2019–20	1	16th	38	10	9	19	34	59	39	First round
2020–21	1	16th	38	9	11	18	36	57	38	Round of 32

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 26 August 2021^[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ESP Fernando Pacheco (vice-captain) 2 DF  ESP Tachi 3 DF  ESP Rubén Duarte 4 DF  USA Matt Miazga (on loan from Chelsea) 5 DF  ESP Víctor Laguardia (captain) 6 MF  SEN Mamadou Loum (on loan from FC Porto) 7 FW  SEN Mamadou Sylla 8 MF  ESP Tomás Pina 9 FW  ESP Joselu 10 FW  SWE John Guidetti 11 FW  ESP Luis Rioja 12 DF  ESP Saúl García 13 GK  ESP Antonio Sivera 14 MF  ESP Manu García (on loan from Sporting Gijón)

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  ESP Toni Moya 16 MF  ESP Édgar Méndez 18 FW  URU Facundo Pellistri (on loan from Manchester United) 19 MF  ESP Iván Martín (on loan from Villarreal) 20 MF  ESP Pere Pons 21 DF  ESP Martín Aguirregabiria 22 DF  FRA Florian Lejeune 23 DF  ESP Ximo Navarro 24 FW  ESP Miguel de la Fuente 26 DF  MAR Abdel Abqar 27 DF  ESP Javi López 31 GK  EQG Jesús Owono 35 FW  ESP

Other players under contract[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  CMR Fabrice Ondoa

Reserve team[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

Out on loan[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ESP (at Arenas Getxo until 30 June 2022) — DF  ESP Carlos Isaac (at Oviedo until 30 June 2022) — MF  MTN Abdallahi Mahmoud (at Istra 1961 until 30 June 2022) — MF  ESP Antonio Perera (at Istra 1961 until 30 June 2022)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  PAN José Luis Rodríguez (at Sporting Gijón until 30 June 2022) — MF  ESP Borja Sainz (at Zaragoza until 30 June 2022) — FW  JPN Taichi Hara (at Sint-Truiden until 30 June 2022)

Honours[]

Domestic competitions[]

• Segunda División

Winners (4): 1929–30, 1953–54, 1997–98, 2015–16

• Segunda División B^[a]

Winners (4): 1992–93,^[b] 1993–94,^[c] 1994–95,^[d] 2012–13^[e]

• Tercera División

Winners (5):^[f] 1940–41,^[g] 1960–61,^[h] 1964–65,^[i] 1967–68,^[j] 1973–74^[k]

Winners:^[l] 1989–90^[m]

• Regional Championship^[19]

Biscay Championship: 1929–30

Gipuzkoa Championship: 1938–39

• Copa Federación de España

Winners: 1945–46

• Copa del Rey

Runners-up: 2016–17

European competitions[]

• UEFA Cup

Runners-up: 2000–01

Notes[]

Stadium information[]

• Name – Mendizorrotza
• City – Vitoria-Gasteiz
• Capacity – 19,840^[20][3]
• Inauguration – 1924
• Pitch size – 105 m x 67 m
• Other facilities – El Glorioso and José Luis Compañón

Famous players[]

Coaches[]

Affiliated clubs[]

Alavés B/C[]

The club's primary reserve team is Deportivo Alavés B, founded in 1960 and currently playing at the amateur Tercera División level of the senior Spanish system. When that team gained promotion to Segunda División B in 2000, a further reserve side Deportivo Alavés C was formed, later partnering with local team Club 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.^{[21][22][23][24]}

California Victory[]

In 2007, Alavés operated a team in the USL First Division in the United States called the California Victory. The team played at Kezar 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.

NK Rudeš[]

In May 2017, Alavés signed a ten-year partnership deal with NK Rudeš, freshly promoted Croatian First Football League club, with Rudeš acting as a feeder club to Alavés.^[25] In June 2018, Deportivo Alavés and NK Rudeš ended its partnership agreement.^[26]

Sochaux[]

In April 2018, Alavés signed an agreement with French club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard;^[27] however the partnership lasted only a few months, ending abruptly in December of the same year.^[28]

NK Istra 1961[]

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.^[29]

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Deportivo Alavés at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (in Spanish)
• Alavés at La Liga (in English and Spanish)
• Alavés at UEFA (in English and Spanish)
• Club profile at BDfutbol (match reports in each season)
• Club history at El Correo(in Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• Glorioso, unofficial website (in Spanish)
• Terra club info (in Spanish)