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Unió Esportiva Lleida is a Spanish Catalan football club based in Lleida, Catalonia. They currently play in Segunda División B. Originally formed as Lérida Balompié-AEM in 1939, they became Unión Deportiva Lérida in 1947, after a merger with CD Leridano. They adopted the Catalan version of their name in 1978. The club has spent most of it’s history in the lower divisions. However in the early 1950s and early 1990s the club won promotion to La Liga. During the 1990s the club was managed by Mané, Juande Ramos and Víctor Muñoz. All three subsequently became successful managers with other clubs. Since 1987 the club has organised it’s own summer trophy, the Ciutat de Lleida Trophy.
[edit] History
[edit] Early Lleida football Clubs
Football was first introduced to Lleida in 1910 by Manuel Azoz, a Barcelona business man. Among the earliest clubs in the city were Montserrat, founded in 1913 by Marist Brothers, and FC Lleida founded in 1914. Both played their early games in the district of Pla d’en Gardeny. In 1915 the Associació Cultural Lleidatana was founded by Catalan nationalists. By 1917 two other clubs Club Colonial and Athlètic Metalúrgic began playing at the Camp de Mart. In 1918 FC Joventut was formed by left-wing Catalan republicans and during the 1920s they emerged as the city’s strongest side. In 1919 they became the first club to use the Camp d´Esports. However this club was dissolved in 1927. Other clubs of the 1920s included AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida, all of which disappeared during the 1930s.
[edit] Lérida Balompié and CD Leridano
After the Spanish Civil War, former members of AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida formed Lérida Balompié-AEM. After playing in regional leagues for four seasons they made their debut in the Tercera División in 1943. In 1944 the club spilt into two separate clubs, Lérida Balompié and AEM. Meanwhile in 1941 Spanish nationalists formed CD Leridano and a local rivalry developed between them and Lérida Balompié. On March 9 1947 Lérida Balompié and CD Leridano merged to become Unión Deportiva Lérida. The new team retained both the blue and white colours and club shield of Lérida Balompié. The first president of the new club was Eduard Estadella.
[edit] First Golden Era
UD Lérida enjoyed a golden age in the late 1940s and early 1950s when they progressed from the Tercera División to La Liga in three seasons. In 1949 they won the Tercera División and the following season, 1949-50, they made their debut in the Segunda División. The season saw the club achieve their biggest league to date, a 9-2 win against CD Lugo. They also finished as Segunda División runners-up and were then promoted to La Liga for the 1950-51 season. However the club were out of their depth and were heavily defeated on several occasions. There second game saw them lose 9-0 to CD Málaga and in subsequent games they lost 10-1 to Deportivo de La Coruña and 10-0 to Atlético Bilbao. It was no surprise when at the end of the season they were relegated. First eleven in La Liga was: Rivero, Rigau, Telechea, Carrillo, Esquerda, Roca, Gausí, Pellicer, Ramón, Bidegain and Fustero.
[edit] The Mané Era
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the club enjoyed a second golden era under coach Mané. He joined the club in 1988 and took them from Segunda División B to La Liga. In 1990 they were Segunda División B champions and in 1993 they won the Segunda División. The following season, 1993-94, saw UE Lleida return to La Liga for a second time. Despite a 1-0 win over the FC Barcelona Dream Team at the Camp Nou and a 2-1 win at the Camp d´Esports over Real Madrid, UE Lleida only managed to win five other games and were relegated once again. First eleven in the return to La Ligawas: Ravnic, Tomás, Virgilio, David, Txema, Gonzalo, Jaime, Rubio, Bartolo, Urbano and Parés. The 1994-95 season saw them finish third in the Segunda División but they then lost a promotion play-off against Sporting Gijón.
[edit] Honours
- Segunda División
- Winners 1993 1
- Runners-up 1950 1
- Segunda División B
- Winners 1990, 2004 2
- Runners-up 1987 1
- Tercera División
- Winners 1949, 1964, 1965 3
- Runners-up 1958 1
- Regional Preferente
- Primera Regional B
- Segunda Regional
- Copa Catalunya
- Ciutat de Lleida Trophy
- 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006 8
[edit] Club records
[edit] Statistics
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- See also: List of UE Lleida head to head
[edit] Current squad 2006/07
The numbers are established according to the official website: www.ellleida.com. As of 28 March 2007.
[edit] Players out on loan
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Current technical staff
Director of Football |
Ramon Planes |
Head Coach |
Esteban Vigo |
Assistant Coach |
Urbano Ortega |
Athletic Trainer |
Jaume Bartrès |
Physical Therapist |
Jordi Escura |
Physical Readaption |
Dani Colell |
[edit] Selected Former Managers
see also Cat:UE Lleida managers
[edit] Selected former players
[edit] Now playing in La Liga
[edit] Manufacturer of Clothing
[edit] See also
[edit] External links