Levante U.D.

Levante Union Deportiva, S.A.D. , Valencian: Llevant Unio Esportiva  is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community. Founded on 9 September 1909, it plays in La Liga, holding home games at Ciutat de València.






                  LaLiga Preseason 2017/2018: Levante UD

Club: Levante UD | Opening: 1969 | Capacity: 25,352 seats
Estadi Ciutat de València was built as a replacement for Levante’s old Estadio de Vallejo. First plans were made in the late 1950s, but it took over ten years for plans to get approved and construction to start.Estadi Ciutat de Valencia officially opened on 9 September 1969 with a friendly between Levante and Valencia, won by the visitors.

The stadium was originally called Estadio Antonio Román, in honour of the club President at that time, and counted with a capacity of 30,000. In the next years the stadium first changed names to Nou Estadi, and later to its current name in order to reinforce the bond of the club with the city.Few changes have been made to the stadium since
its inauguration, though capacity has slightly declined due to safety measures.



How to get to Estadi Ciutat de Valencia
Estadi Ciutat de Valencia is located toward the north-east of the city of Valencia at about 2.5 kilometres from the historic city centre and one kilometre more from the main railway station. The walk from Valencia’s cathedral to the stadium will take about 30 minutes. Alternatively, there are various ways to get to the stadium by public transport.

From the railway station you can take metro line 3 (red) to get to the stadium. Take the metro from, for example, stop Xativa, Colon, or Alameda in the direction of Rafelbunyol, and get off at stop Machado. The ride won’t take more than 10 minutes, and it is a further 5-minute walk from the metro to the stadium.

An alternative is bus 70. Take the bus at Pl. de Ajuntament, Palau de Justicia, or from the former Turia riverbed, and get off at stop Alfahuir – Cercle de Belles Arts. Buses go at least every 20 minutes. Bus 11 can be taken from the same points. Get off at stop Santiago Rusinol.

Tram 6 stops right in front of the stadium (stop Estadi del Llevant), but only connects with destinations in the eastern part of the city and around the Mediterranean coast.If arriving by car from the Autovia V-21/E15 (north-east), take the Ronda Nord (northern ring road) at entering the city. Follow until you see the stadium on the left side
of the road.If entering the city from southern or western direction, follow the signs for Ronda Nord, and follow the Ronda Nord until you see the stadium on your right.


Levante UD was formerly registered as Levante Football Club on 9 Sep 1909 (but the club celebrated its 100th anniversary on 9 Sep 2009), taking its name from the Levante beach in La Malvarrosa, and was one of the pioneering football clubs in Valencia. Local rivals Valencia CF was not formed until 1919, however another club, Cabanyal FC, had been playing in the city since 1907.



Levante's earliest games were played at La Platjeta, near the docks on a plot of land owned by a perfume entrepreneur. Its next ground was also near the port area, and the club gradually began to become associated with the working class. In 1919, the side played Valencia CF for the first time, losing 0–1; the game marked the inauguration of the recently formed new ground at Algirós. In 1928, Levante FC won its first trophy, the Valencian Championship.

1909 also saw the birth of Gimnástico Football Club, which originally played at Patronato de la Juventud Obrera, being then named Gimnástico-Patronato. In 1919, Gimnástico became the champion of the Campeonato de Valencia, beating CD Castellón in two leg finals; the next year, the club had become Real Gimnástico Football Club, after being granted royal patronage by Alfonso XIII, and they reached the final of Campeonato Regional de Levante, but lost to Club Deportivo Aguileño. In 1931, with the emergence of the Second Spanish Republic, the club dropped the Real from its name.



                 
The path of the ascent of Levante UD

In 1934–35, both Levante and Gimnástico debuted in the second division, when the league was expanded from 10 teams to 24. In 1935, Levante won the Campeonato Levante-Sur, a competition that featured teams from Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia, and subsequently reached the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup, consecutively
beating Valencia and Barcelona before losing to eventual runners-up Sabadell.




During the Spanish Civil War, Levante and Gimnástico played in the Mediterranean League, finishing fifth and  sixth respectively – teams from this league also competed in the Copa de la España Libre ("Free Spain Cup"). It was originally intended that the top four teams from the league would enter the cup, but Barcelona opted
to tour Mexico and the United States, and as a result, Levante took its place.The first round of the competition was a mini-league with the top two teams, Levante and Valencia, qualifying for the final. On 18 July 1937, Levante defeated its city rivals 1–0 at the Montjuïc.



       
Resumen de Levante UD (1-4) FC Barcelona Copa del Rey


During the Civil War, Levante's ground was destroyed, but the club's squad remained intact. In contrast, Gimnástico had a ground, Estadio de Vallejo, but had lost most of their players. As a result, the two clubs merged in 1939 to become Unión Deportiva Levante-Gimnástico, changing two years later to Levante Unión Deportiva, which club
colors in the 2000s also dating from this era (the blaugrana home colours were originally those of Gimnástico, while the black and white away kit, was also used by Levante in the beginning).




Levante had to wait until the 1960s to make its La Liga debut. In 1963, the club finished runner-up in Group II of the second division, defeating Deportivo de La Coruña 4–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-offs. During the first top flight season, it managed to win both games against Valencia, managing a 5–1 home win against Barcelona in the
1964–65 campaign but being relegated nonetheless after losing in the playoffs against Málaga. It spent most of the following two decades in the second and third divisions; the Segunda División B would not be created until 1977.  In the early 1980s, Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff played half a season for the club, retiring three years later.



After winning 2003–04's second division, Levante returned to the top level but survived only one season. Finishing third in 2005–06, it returned for two additional campaigns, the decisive match in the 2006–07 season being a 4–2 home win against Valencia courtesy of Riga Mustapha (two goals), Salva and Laurent Courtois.Levante's financial status worsened, however, and there were reports that the players had only received approximately one-fifth of their contractual payments. News reports stated that the club had incurred a debt of over €18 million in payments due to its players. The team plummeted down the standings, and it was confirmed that the club would be playing in the second division in 2008–09, with several matches to go.

The players protested at their lack of payments at one point, refusing to move for several seconds after the opening whistle against Deportivo and later announcing that they would issue a job action during the season-ending game at Real Madrid. The action was resolved when league officials announced that a benefit game would be played between Levante team members, and a team made up of players from the first division, with all benefits going to pay the wages due to the players.On 13 June 2010, Levante returned to La Liga after a 3–1 home win against already relegated Castellón. It lost in the final round 0–4 at Real Betis, but its opponents only managed to finish with the same points as fourth.

Under the manager who led the team back to the top flight, Luis García Plaza, Levante finally retained its division status in the 2010–11 season. During one point of the league's second round of matches, Levante was in third position in the Liga table, only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid after losing just once in 12 games, against Real Madrid. On 26 October 2011, during round nine of the season, Levante defeated Real Sociedad 3–2 to move top of the table with 23 points.It was the first time in the club's history it reached the highest ranking in the top division.



              Inside La Liga Matchday Warm up Levante UD

In the process, it recorded seven-straight wins after drawing its first two games. The club eventually finished in sixth position after defeating Athletic Bilbao 3–0 at home in its last match, thus qualifying for the UEFA Europa League for the first time in its history.In 2015–16 season, Levante was relegated after defeated by Málaga and finished
as dead last, but the club promoted back to first division and finished as a winner of second league.


The Levante squad honours the Virgen de los Desamparados

Levante UD squad made the traditional floral offering to the Virgen de los Desamparados in the Basilica prior to the start of the 2017-2018 La Liga competition, scheduled for next Monday at 8.15pm with the clash that will size up Levante and Villarreal in the Ciutat de València Stadium. Quico Catalán, Club Chairman, Paco Fenollosa, Honorary Chairman, and López Muñiz, Head Coach, led the Levante players in a classic act during the summer period. Pedro López, captain of the first team, and Quico Catalán headed towards the city’s patron, appealing for protection from the toughness of the coming year. This event concluded with the usual family photo that brought together the players, coaches and members of the Board of Directors gathered together in the Basilica.

Levante vs Eibar , match information & kick-off time

If Levante can beat Eibar on Friday night in Spain, the relegation battle in La Liga could record a pivotal moment.Levante come into the Eibar game fourth bottom and four points clear of the bottom three.With third bottom Las Palmas facing off at second-bottom Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, Levante have the opportunity to make a
huge statement in their bid for survival.

And Levante will feel confident about their chances of claiming the home win following last weekend’s 1-0 victory at Getafe. Eibar have been one of the surprise teams in the Spanish top flight this season as they’ve competed in the top half of the table for the majority of the campaign.But last weekend’s defeat to Real Madrid saw Eibar drop down to ninth in the division as their season begins to peter out.

Eibar’s lack of purpose until the close of the campaign is reflected in their recent results. They have one win, one draw and three defeats in their last five.Last time they met: Eibar 2 – Levante 2When the sides met earlier in the  season, Eibar fought back from 2-down for the draw. José Luis Morales opened for Levante before Enis Bardhi doubled the lead.Goals from Anaitz Arbilla and Charles in the second half earned Eibar a point.

Juan Ramon Lopez Muñiz has left his role as Levante UD coach. The club announced the decision on Sunday afternoon following a 1-1 draw with RCD Espanyol. Muñiz leaves the side in 17th position in LaLiga Santander and on a 14-game winless streak. The Asturias-born coach took over at the start of last season and led the club back to the top-flight but was unable to replicate the good form that handed Levante the LaLiga 1l2l3 title in 2017.The club have announced that youth team coach Paco Lopez will take Muñiz’s place in the dugout until the end of the season.


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       Levante vs Eibar 2-1 All Goals & Highlights 16/03/2018