Galicia national football team

Galicia
Nickname(s) A Irmandinha (The Fellowship)
Association Galician Football Federation
Head coach Fernando Vázquez
Captain N/A
FIFA code N/A
First colours
Elo ranking
Current N/A
First international
 Galicia 4–1 Castille
(Vigo, Galicia; 19 November 1922)
Biggest win
 Galicia 9–0 CD Paraguayo Galicia (Spain)
(Santiago, Galicia; 26 December 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Galicia 1–7 Occitania 
(Lugo, Galicia; 28 December 2013)

The Galicia national football team is the official football team of Galicia. It is organised by the Galician Football Federation. The team is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and is, therefore, only allowed to play friendly matches against non-FIFA-affiliated teams.

Galicia's biggest supporters are the Siareiros Galegos collective. They should not be confused with the term Siareiros, used to refer to all Galicia's supporters, whether or not they are part of that specific group. The team has been knicknamed A Irmandinha, As tropas de Breogám or the Tropa da Tralha, although the first denomination is the most common.

History

The first game of the Galician national football team took place on November 19, 1922 in Coia, Vigo – This was at a time when there was no national championship per se, Galician teams would play each other in the Galician Championship and the winner would then go on to face the other regional champions in the Spanish Championship. However, later political developments in Spain made it impossible for Galicia to take part at official competitions. Hence, all games were merely friendlies. The Galician national football team as such ceased all activity during the time of the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship (1936–1975).

The project was retaken in the early 1980s, although Galicia's first recent game only happened on 29 December 2005. It was a 3–2 win over Uruguay, and it was played at the packed stadium of San Lázaro, Santiago de Compostela. In December 2006, another game was contested against Ecuador, played in Riazor, A Coruña. The teams tied 1–1. Against Cameroon, on the next year, the result was the same, 1–1. Once again, in 2008, the Irmandinha played another friendly game, this time against Iran. The result was 3–2.

Changes in the composition of the Galician Government after the 2009 elections resulted in a lack of official support for the national team. However, the group Siareiros Galegos managed to organise a number of non-official international games involving Galician players from lower categories as a sign of protest, giving continuation to the project. These efforts were supported by a number of local governments, which would allow the use of their facilities. Galicia played teams representing Palestine, Western Sahara, Iraqi Kurdistan and Occitania in 2013. Siareiros Galegos announced at that time that it would be the last match until further notice due to the financial situation.[1] On December 26, 2015, however, Siareiros Galegos did set up yet another game, where Galicia faced players representing Senegal.[2]

The current president of the FGF, Mr Louzán, days after the Senegal game, announced that the Federation would organise a first-level game in 2016, with further details to be confirmed. It was mentioned that players from the top professional Galician teams, Deportivo and Celta, had lobbied in favour.[3][4]

Friendly matches

Players

Current squad

Players in the squad for the friendly against Iran on 27 December 2008.

Name D.O.B Club Caps (goals) Debut
Goalkeepers
Diego López 3 November 1981 Italy A.C. Milan 3 (0) v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Roberto 25 January 1979 Andalusia Granada CF
Defenders
Rubén 29 January 1982 Navarre CA Osasuna v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Francisco Noguerol 9 June 1976 Spain Albacete
Adrian Piscu 25 February 1987 Denmark Aarhus
Capi 2 April 1981 Galicia (Spain) SD Ciudad de Santiago v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Jonathan Aspas 28 February 1982 Cyprus Alki Larnaca
Roberto Lago 30 August 1985 Galicia (Spain) Celta de Vigo
Sito Castro 21 May 1980 Free Agent
Midfielders
Álex Bergantinhos 7 June 1985 Galicia (Spain) Deportivo de La Coruña
Cabanas 17 January 1979 Free Agent v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Borja Fernández 14 January 1981 Spain Getafe CF v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Julio Alvarez 1 May 1981 Spain CD Numancia v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Pablo Alvarez 14 May 1980 United States New York City FC v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Roberto Trashorras 28 February 1981 Spain Rayo Vallecano
Jonathan Vila 6 March 1986 Galicia (Spain) Celta de Vigo
Nano 20 April 1982 Navarre CA Osasuna v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Strikers
Roberto Losada 25 October 1976 Hong Kong Tai Chung FC v Uruguay, 27 December 2005
Nacho Novo 26 March 1979 England Carlisle United 2 (2) v Cameroon, 27 December 2007

Citations

  1. ↑ "2015 Nin amigábel nin partido pola oficialidade" (in Galician). Praza.gal. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Siareir*s Galeg*s recupera jogo da nossa selecçom nacional de futebol: Galiza-Senegal" (in Galician). diarioliberdade.org. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Louzán anuncia un partido de la selección gallega en el 2016" (in Spanish). lavozdegalicia.es. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Louzán anuncia que tamén haberá partido da selección galega feminina en 2016" (in Galician). crtvg.gal. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

External links


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