Sporting de Gijón
Full name | Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. | |||
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Nickname(s) | Rojiblancos (Red-and-Whites) | |||
Short name | RSG, Sporting | |||
Founded | 1 July 1905 | (as Sporting Gijonés)|||
Ground | Estadio Municipal El Molinón – Enrique Castro "Quini" | |||
Capacity | 29,371[1] | |||
Owner | Grupo Orlegi | |||
President | Alejandro Irarragorri | |||
Head coach | Miguel Ángel Ramírez | |||
League | Segunda División | |||
2022–23 | Segunda División, 17th of 22 | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation:
The most important milestones of the club were in the 1970s and 1980s, when it finished as runner-up of the
Real Sporting is also one of only nine Spanish teams that have never played below the second division. Its local rivals are Real Oviedo from the neighbouring city slightly inland.
History
1905–1940: First years
The club was established in 1905 with the name Sporting Gijonés, Anselmo López being the first club president. The first game of the club is dated on 18 August 1907, against Sport Ovetense.[2] The decline of other local clubs like Gijón Sport Club (founded in 1903) and Sportiva Gijonesa allowed Sporting Gijonés to become the main team in the city.[3] In 1912, King Alfonso XIII accepted the Royal patronage of the club for the Spanish Crown, introducing the term "Real" (Spanish for Royal) to its name, becoming Real Sporting Club Gijonés.[3]
In 1914, Sporting Gijón won its first Regional Championship of Asturias, success repeated two years later when the club started the first steps to buy El Molinón, where Sporting started to play its games in 1915. On 2 April 1916, a new change took place to adopt today's denomination, Real Sporting de Gijón. Thanks to the win at the Regional Championship, on 24 April 1917 the club made its debut in the Copa del Rey, but was eliminated in the first round by Arenas Club de Getxo.[4] Sporting lost both games by 0–1 in Gijón and 0–7 at the Basque Country.
On 9 October 1921, Manolo Meana became the first Sporting Gijón player to be called up with the
1940–1970: Real Gijón era
From 1940 until 1970, due to a temporary law forbidding the use of foreign words in football club names, the team's official denomination was Real Gijón.
In 1944, the club was promoted to
Until the 1970s, Sporting alternated both divisions, spending all the decade of the 1960s in Segunda División. At the end of the
1970–1992: The golden years and EuroSporting
In 1970, with the name of "Sporting" recovered,[8] the club would start its consolidation in La Liga despite a relegation to Segunda División in 1975. This year would mean the start of the golden era of the club.
Just after promoting in 1976, Sporting Gijón started the
Players like
In 1981, the club played for the first time the Cup
The last UEFA Cup participation was during the
On 6 October 1992, Sporting Gijón played its 1,000th game in La Liga.
1992–2008: Decline of the club
In 1992, following the law, Real Sporting de Gijón became a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva. Its official name since that moment is Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. The internal financial crisis and the departure of important players triggers the decline of the club, pushing it to the lower positions in La Liga. In the 1994–95 season, Sporting remained in La Liga thanks to winning the relegation playoffs against Lleida, but three years later, following a disastrous 1997–98 campaign where Sporting only earned 13 points (two wins and seven draws in 38 games), the club was relegated to Second Division, finishing its 21-year continuous stretch in La Liga.
Due to the financial crisis during the 2000s, the club was menaced by its possible dissolution and was forced to sell the
2008–2012: Return to La Liga with Manuel Preciado
With
In its first season after the return, the
On 2 April 2011, they beat Real Madrid 1–0 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to end Real manager José Mourinho's nine-year home league unbeaten run.[11][12] This was the best season of the club since the last promotion, as it finished in the 10th position.
The 2011–12 season started without wins in the first eight games and the team remained in the relegation positions almost all the season. On 31 January 2012, after a 5–1 loss against Real Sociedad, Manolo Preciado was sacked.[13] The Cantabrian coach ended his era after nearly six years in the club and being very appreciated by all the club supporters. Javier Clemente was hired for avoiding the relegation, but despite keeping the possibilities until the last round, failed and the club was condemned to a new relegation, that carried a new financial crisis in the club.
2014–2022: Los guajes and a new decline
On 4 May 2014, Abelardo Fernández was appointed as head coach after José Ramón Sandoval was sacked. In his first season at the first squad, Abelardo could not achieve the promotion to La Liga after being eliminated in the semifinals of the play-offs by Las Palmas.
However, the manager extended his contract for two years. Sporting was not allowed to sign any player out from the reserve team during 2014–15 season due to the non-payments, but despite this disadvantage, Sporting once again returned to La Liga with a squad where 17 players played before in the reserve team or any of the youth teams of the club. After only two losses in all the season, Sporting promoted in the last round by beating 3–0 Real Betis at Benito Villamarín stadium and a late equaliser conceded by rival Girona in their separate match against CD Lugo, when Sporting's game just finished.
During its
The season started with a 0–0 draw against Real Madrid, managed by
In the successive years, Sporting remained in Segunda División, only playing the promotion play-offs in 2018. The club continued a decline until 2022, where it narrowly avoided relegation to the third division. Abelardo came back to ensure the place in Segunda in the latest four rounds.
2022–present: Grupo Orlegi as new owners
On 28 June 2022, majority shareholder Javier Fernández sold the club to Mexican group Orlegi Sports by €43m, thus becoming the second highest sale of a club in Spain.[15] Alejandro Irarragorri the first foreign President of the club.[16][17]
Club colours and crest
Real Sporting de Gijón have worn red and white striped jerseys since their inception, being the first Spanish team to wear red and white, as both Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid wore blue and white until 1909. The colors are those of the official flag of Gijón, which itself is based on the flag of the maritime province of Gijón, established in 1845.[18] The color of the shorts alternated between blue and white, as in the first years there was not any officiality for its colors. In the 1910s, finally, the color blue was established as the color of the shorts of the first kit.
Currently, Sporting wears both blue shorts and socks but until the 1980s they were black. In the 1990s, Sporting wore white shorts and socks, until the supporters voted to come back to the traditional blue.
Like most old football clubs, Real Sporting de Gijón did not initially have any badge displayed on their shirts. Their first official badge was introduced in the 1920s. It consisted of a traditionally shaped shield split into three sections, representing the club and the city.
From 1931 to 1936, during the
The club's badge is a triangle with red and white vertical stripes with 'S' (for Sporting) and 'G' (for Gijón) intertwined, in gold, across them. A crown in the top symbolizes the royal patronage.[19]
Flag
The club's official flag consists of nine equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white in a rectangular field in a 2:3 ratio. The club logo is displayed in the centre.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
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Home kit evolution
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Stadium
El Molinón, with a capacity for 29,029 spectators,[22] holds the games of Sporting de Gijón.
Despite existing since at least 1908, Sporting did not start to use it until 1915. Before this year, the club played its games in different zones of the city. Firstly at San Lorenzo beach and later in the pitches of Prau Redondu (near El Humedal), La Matona in Somió, that was rented by the club for three months by paying 100 pesetas, and La Flor de Valencia in La Guía.
In 2018, the stadium was renamed as El Molinón-Enrique Castro "Quini" after the death of the club's all-time top scorer Quini.
Academy
The Escuela de Fútbol de Mareo is the
Located just 7 km away from the city center and covering 112,000 m2, it is used for training and
Mareo is a very prolific
In addition to Mareo, Sporting Gijón has a second academy located in Logroño, also called Mareo.[23]
Supporters
Sporting de Gijón supporters commonly call themselves Sportinguistas in order to show their dedication to the club.[24] Sportinguistas are widely regarded as one of the most loyal, traveler, and cheerful supporter groups in La Liga,[25][26][27] providing one of the best atmospheres in the competition.[28] When following their team in large groups through the country, they are referred to as La Mareona, Spanish for The Big Tide, composed mainly by 240 groups of supporters or peñas.[29]
About 300,000 fans showed up when Sporting's promotion was celebrated in June 2008.[30]
Sporting finished the 2015–16 season with 23,400 season tickets; this record would be beaten in August 2016, when the club reached the 24,078 tickets sold,[31] and again in the 2017–18 season, with 24,402 season tickets despite suffering a relegation in the previous season.[32]
Rivalries
The team's historic rival is Real Oviedo.[33] They compete in the Asturian derby.
Honours
National titles
- La Liga: runners-up, 1978–79[34]
- Copa del Rey: runners-up, 1981,[35] 1982[36]
- Segunda División: winners, 1943–44, 1950–51, 1956–57, 1969–70, 1976–77; runners-up 1929–30, 2014–15
Individual honours
Pichichi Trophy
- La Liga: Quini (3) (1973–74, 1975–76, 1979–80)
- Ricardo (1956–57), Solabarrieta (1966–67), Quini(2) (1969–70, 1976–77)
Zamora Trophy
- La Liga: Ablanedo II (3) (1984–85, 1985–86, 1989–90)
- Roberto (2005–06), Cuéllar(2014–15)
Seasons
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- 42 seasons in La Liga
- 51 seasons in Segunda División
Sporting de Gijón in European football
Sporting de Gijón played six editions of the
Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg. |
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1978–79 | UEFA Cup |
R64 | Torino
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3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
R32 | Red Star Belgrade | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | ||
1979–80 | R64 | PSV Eindhoven | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
1980–81 | R64 | Bohemians | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–4 | |
1985–86 | R64 | Köln | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | |
1987–88 | R64 | Milan
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1–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | |
1991–92 | R64 | Partizan | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | |
R32 | Steaua București
|
2–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 |
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Personnel
Current technical staff
Role | Name |
---|---|
Head coach | Miguel Ángel Ramírez |
Assistant coaches | Endika Gabiña |
Technical assistant | Borja de Matías |
Analysts | Caco Morán Carlos Hernández |
Delegate | Mario Cotelo |
Goalkeeping coach | Juan Pablo |
Fitness coaches | Eduardo Domínguez Roberto Montes |
Chief doctor | Antonio Maestro |
Club doctors | Gonzalo Revuelta Juan Cachero |
Physiotherapists | César Castaño Pablo del Fueyo Pelayo Merediz |
Masseur | Diego Lobelle |
Nutritionist | Beatriz Manchón |
Podologist | Benjamín Arnáiz |
Kit men | Jorge Luis García Pablo Caso |
Direction and finances
Board of directors
Role | Name |
---|---|
Owner | Javier Fernández |
President | Javier Fernández |
Vice-president | Javier Martínez |
Counselors | Fernando Losada Ramón de Santiago |
Executive Director | Carlos Barcia |
Financial Director | Guillermo Sampredro |
Press & Communication Director | José Luis Rubiera |
Director of Football | Javi Rico |
Youth Academy director | Manolo Sánchez |
Club Ambassador | Joaquín Alonso |
Club budgets
Season | Division | Budget (€) |
---|---|---|
2013–14 | Segunda | 14,099,300.00 |
2014–15 | Segunda | 11,884,180.00 |
2015–16[39] | La Liga | 31,278,634.45 |
2016–17[40] | La Liga | 43,785,450.00 |
2017–18 | Segunda | 23,286,465.00 |
2018–19 | Segunda | 24,138,980.00 |
2019–20 | Segunda | 23,772,801.00 |
2020–21[41] | Segunda | 20,851,230.00 |
Presidents
Until 1992
- Anselmo López Sánchez (1905–1915)
- Fernando Fernández Quirós Suárez (1905–1917)
- Manuel Ignacio González Rivera (1917–1919)
- Enrique Martínez (1919–1921)
- Ismael Figaredo Herrero (1921–1928)
- Roberto González de Anda(1928–1930)
- Pedro Portillo (1930–1934)
- Emilio García (1934–1935)
- Félix García (1935–1938)
- Pedro González del Río (1938–1940)
- Secundino Fernández (1940–1945)
- Juan Velasco (1945–1946)
- Jesús Fernández Hernández (1946–1947)
- José María Fernández Álvarez (1946–1947)
- Secundino Fernández (2) (1948–1949)
- Paulino Palacios (1949–1954)
- Joaquín Alonso Díaz (1954–1955)
- Eustaquio González (1955–1957)
- Alejandro Vidal (1957–1959)
- Ramón Gómez Lozano (1959–1960)
- Aurelio Menéndez González (1960–1961)
- Francisco Quirós Rodríguez (1961)
- Víctor Manuel Suarez Díaz (1967–1968)
- Antonio Ruiz (1967–1968)
- Carlos Méndez Cuevas (1968–1973)
- Ángel Vallejo (1973–1977)
- Manuel Vega-Arango Alvaré (1977–1986)
- Ramón Muñoz Fernández (1986–1989)
- Plácido Rodríguez Guerrero (1989–1992)
Since the conversion into SAD in 1992
- With Fernández family as owners
- Eloy Calvo Capellín (1992–1994)
- Manuel Calvo Pumpido (1994)
- José Fernández Álvarez (1994–1997)
- Ángel García Flórez (1997–1998)
- Germán Ojeda Gutiérrez (1998–1999)
- Juan Manuel Pérez Arango (1999–2002)
- Manuel Vega-Arango Alvaré (2) (2002–2013)
- Antonio Veiga Suárez (2013–2016)
- Javier Fernández Rodríguez (2016–2022)
- With Orlegi Sports as owners
- Alejandro Carlos Irarragorri Gutiérrez (2022–present)
Women's team
The women's team of Sporting Gijón was founded in 1995 as EF Mareo and declared officially as a section of the club in 2016. It currently plays in
Sections
In other time, Sporting Gijón had sections of athletics, handball and rugby union.[42]
See also
- Sporting de Gijón B – Sporting de Gijón's farm team.
- Trofeo Villa de Gijón
References
- ^ "Las cifras del nuevo aforo de El Molinón, se metería en el top15 de España y mantendría su antigüedad". lavozdeasturias.es. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "1900–1910" (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ a b "1910–1920" (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ "Un siglo desde el debut en competición nacional oficial" [One century of the debut in official national competition] (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. 25 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
- ^ "1920–1930" (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ "El Torneo Relámpago de Mallorca en 1961" (in Spanish). CIHEFE. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Los seis milagros que resucitaron al Sporting" (in Spanish). La Voz de Asturias. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "Se autoriza al presidente rojiblanco para la enajenación de "Los Fresno"" (in Spanish). El Comercio Hemerotec. 23 July 1970. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ^ "¡Así, así gana el Madrid!" (in Spanish). As. 14 November 2010.
- ^ "José Fernández pondrá los 1,5 millones de euros" (in Spanish). As. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ "Mourinho's unbeaten home run ends". London: BBC. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (4 April 2011). "After nine years, 151 games and four clubs, José Mourinho's record ends". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ "Lamento si hice algo mal, seré de este equipo siempre" ["I'm sorry if i did something wrong, this will be my team for always"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 31 January 2012.
- ^ "Sporting Gijón escape drop as Getafe, Rayo Vallecano go down". As. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^ "Solo Peter Lim pagó más que los 43 millones de Orlegi por el Sporting" (in Spanish). La Nueva España. 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Alejandro Irarragorri y Javier Fernández firman la venta del Sporting en una notaría de Madrid" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Orlegi hace oficial la compra del Sporting con el "compromiso de desarrollar su máximo potencial como club y cantera"" (in Spanish). La Nueva España. 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Las Banderas del Club" (in Spanish). RealSporting.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Los Escudos" (in Spanish). RealSporting.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Kappa vestirá al equipo" (in Spanish). La Nueva España. 29 March 2011.
- ^ "TESLACARD, nuevo patrocinador principal del Real Sporting de Gijón" (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Podcast Gijón Ser Deportivos; 9 March 2015
- ^ "EF Mareo Logroño website" (in Spanish).
- ^ PortalSportinguista.com
- ^ "Sporting Gijon To Take 4,000 Fans To Valladolid". Goal. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Spanish Inquisition: Sporting de Gijón, the darlings of Spain". Goal. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (22 September 2008). "Even the result can't spoil Real Sporting de Gijón's party". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Spanish Debate: The Best Stadium in La Liga". Goal. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Premio para el consejero Mariano Fernández" (in Spanish). La Nueva España. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ "Gijón está de fiesta 10 años después". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Récord: 24.000 socios" (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "El club confirma una nueva cima en su historia y finaliza la campaña con 24.402 abonados" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ "Real Oviedo, Real who?". SpanishFootball.info. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ Spain – Final Table 1978-79
- ^ Spain – Cup 1981
- ^ Spain – Cup 1982
- ^ "Plantilla RSG". Sporting de Gijón.
- ^ "Real Sporting de Gijón SAD". La Liga (USA) Inc.
- ^ "Real Sporting de Gijón. Junta General Ordinaria 2014-15" (PDF) (in Spanish). Proyecto Clubes. October 2016.
- ^ "Junta General Ordinaria y Extraordinaria 2015-2016" (PDF) (in Spanish). Proyecto Clubes. February 2017.
- ^ "La pandemia lleva al Sporting a los números rojos, con una caída de ingresos de 8,6 millones" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 21 November 2020.
- ^ "La influencia de Juan Arribas" [The influence of Juan Arribas] (in Spanish). El Comercio.
External links
- Official club website
- Sporting de Gijón at BDFutbol
- Real Sporting de Gijón at the UEFA official website
- News sites
- Sporting de Gijón news from Marca (in Spanish)
- Sporting de Gijón news at AS (in Spanish)