Sporting de Gijón

Sporting de Gijón

Full name	Real Sporting de Gijón, SAD
Nickname(s)	Rojiblancos (Red-and-Whites)
Founded	1905 (as Sporting Gijonés)
Ground	El Molinón, Gijón, Asturias, Spain
Capacity	30,000
President	Antonio Veiga
Manager	Abelardo Fernández
League	La Liga
2014–15	Segunda División, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club from Gijón, Asturias. Founded on 1 June 1905, it plays in La Liga. Known as Los Rojiblancos because of their red and white striped jerseys, their home ground is El Molinón stadium, the oldest professional football ground in Spain, in use since at least 1908. Its name is often abbreviated to Real Sporting or just Sporting. Its Asturian name is Real Sporting de Xixón.

History

The club was established in 1905 with the name Sporting Gijonés, Anselmo López being the first club president. King Alfonso XIII accepted the Royal patronage of the club for the Spanish Crown in 1912, introducing the term "Real" (Spanish for "Royal") to its name, becoming Real Sporting Club Gijonés. In 1916, a new change took place to adopt today's denomination, Real Sporting de Gijón. From 1941 until the 1970s, 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 into La Liga for the first time, and played thereafter in both the first and second divisions, achieving greatest success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, with players like Quini, Cundi, Enzo Ferrero or Antonio Maceda and others, Sporting competed for the titles, finishing as runner-up of La Liga in the 1978–79 season and two consecutive teams runner-up of the Copa del Rey in 1981 and 1982. This successes allowed Sporting to beat the record of season tickets with 22,766 and allowed El Molinón to be selected as one of the hosts of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. During this time, Sporting competed in the UEFA Cup six times, losing in the Round of 64 four times and the Round of 32 twice, most recently in the 1991–92 season.

Football players celebrate with their fans the club's return to top-flight, 15 June 2008

In 1992, following the laws, Sporting de Gijón becomes a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, being its name since that moment Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. The internal financial crisis and the leave of important players triggers the decline of the club pushing it to the lower positions in La Liga. In the 1994–95 season, Sporting remains in La Liga thanks to winning the relegation playoffs against UE Lleida, but three years later, following a disastrous 1997–98 campaign were Sporting only earned 13 points, the club was relegated to Second Division finishing its 21-year continuous stretch in La Liga.

Ten seasons later, on 15 June 2008, the club secured promotion back to Primera for the 2008–09 season. In that season, their best victories came against Valencia CF (2–3) and Sevilla FC (1–0). In their first five games of the 2008–09 season, they conceded 20 goals. That season also saw them break La Liga record of 29 consecutive games without a draw. They played 33 games before their only draw of the season, a 1–1 finish with Athletic Bilbao on 3 May 2009. 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.^[1][2] Sporting remained in La Liga until the 2012–13 season, when it finished in the 19th position, being relegated again to the Second Division. In 2015, Sporting once again returned to La Liga after finishing second in the Segunda after a late equaliser conceded by rival Girona in their separate match.

On 30 September 2015, the club announced it sold 22,906 season tickets for the 2015–16 La Liga, surpassing the record of the 1982–83 La Liga.^[3]

Club colours and crest

Flag of Gijón

Real Sporting de Gijón's flag.

Sporting de Gijón have worn red and white striped jerseys since their inception, being the first Spanish actual first division's 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.^[4] Traditionally, Sporting wears both blue shorts and socks.

Like most old football clubs, 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 Spanish Second Republic, the badge consisted of a circular shield and had the royal crown in the top replaced by a mural crown.

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.^[5]

Flag

The official flag of Sporting de Gijón consist of, in a rectangular field with ratio 2:3, nine equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white. The logo of the club is displayed in the centre.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsors 1979–1986 Adidas none 1986–1989 Cajastur 1989–1991 Rasán 1991–1994 Lotto 1994–1997 Joma 1997–2002 Astore Gijón 2002–2011 Gijón Asturias 2011–2013 Kappa[6] 2013– Gijón

Latest kits 2010–11 season 2011–12 season 2012–13 season 2013–14 season 2014–15 season 2015–16 season

Stadium information

• Name - El Molinón
• City - Gijón
• Capacity - 30,000
• Opened - 1908
• Pitch size - 105 x 68 m

Mareo facilities

The club headquarters, in Mareo

The Escuela de Fútbol de Mareo is the training ground and academy base of Sporting de Gijón. It was opened on 28 March 1978 and it also has the club headquarters in it.

Located just 7 km away from the city center and covering 112,000 m², it is used for training and youth teams matches. At present, facilities include inter alia, eight pitches, one service building (including team catering areas), a gymnasium, and a medical centre. The main pitch, where Sporting de Gijón B plays its games, is called Campo Pepe Ortiz and has a capacity for 3,000 people.

Mareo is a very prolific cantera, where several international football players grown being widely famous like Eloy, Ablanedo, Luis Enrique, Abelardo, Manjarín, Juanele or David Villa, World Champion in 2010 with the Spain national team.

Supporters

During most home matches, the majority of the seats in the stadium are occupied by season ticket holders, or socios ("associates"), of which there are 21,000.^[7] In addition to socios, the club has more than 240 peñas (official, club-affiliated supporters' groups) in Spain and abroad.^[8] During the 2008–09 season, Sporting had the tenth-highest average attendance in the league, 21,491, and the fifth-highest average percentage, 84% of the total stadium capacity.^[9]

Sporting de Gijón supporters commonly call themselves Sportinguistas in order to show their dedication to the club.^[10] Sportinguistas are widely regarded as one of the most loyal, traveler, and cheerful supporter groups in La Liga,^[11][12][13] providing one of the best atmospheres in the competition.^[14] When following their team in large groups through the country, they are referred to as La Mareona, Spanish for The Big Tide.

About 300,000 fans showed up when Sporting's latest promotion was celebrated in June 2008.^[15]

Rivalries

The team's historic rival is Real Oviedo.^[16] When both teams play in the same division, they compete in the Asturian derby.

Honours

National titles

• La Liga: runners-up, 1978–79^[17]
• Copa del Rey: runners-up, 1981,^[18] 1982^[19]
• Segunda División: winners, 1943–44, 1950–51, 1956–57, 1969–70, 1976–77; runners-up 1929–30

Individual honours

Pichichi Trophy

• La Liga: Quini (3) (1973–74, 1975–76, 1979–80)
• Segunda División: 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)
• Segunda División: Roberto (2005–06), Cuéllar (2014–15)

Seasons

Recent seasons

Season		Pos.	PI	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Manager	Notes
2005–06	2D	9	42	13	17	12	41	34	56	Ciriaco Cano
2006–07	2D	13	42	16	8	18	53	53	56	Manuel Preciado
2007–08	2D	3	42	20	12	10	61	40	72	Manuel Preciado	Promoted
2008–09	1D	14	38	14	1	23	47	79	43	Manuel Preciado
2009–10	1D	15	38	9	13	16	36	51	40	Manuel Preciado
2010–11	1D	10	38	11	14	13	35	47	47	Manuel Preciado
2011–12	1D	19	38	10	7	21	42	69	37	Manuel Preciado / Iñaki Tejada / Javier Clemente	Relegated
2012–13	2D	10	42	15	11	16	60	53	56	Manolo / José Ramón Sandoval
2013–14	2D	5	42	16	16	10	63	51	64	José Ramón Sandoval / Abelardo Fernández
2014–15	2D	2	42	21	19	2	57	27	82	Abelardo Fernández	Promoted

Season to season

Season Division Pos. Significant events Copa del Rey 1929 Segunda División 4 – Round of 32 1929–30 Segunda División 2 – Round of 32 1930–31 Segunda División 4 – Round of 16 1931–32 Segunda División 3 – Quarterfinalist 1932–33 Segunda División 6 – Round of 16 1933–34 Segunda División 6 – Round of 16 1934–35 Segunda División 3 – Round of 16 1935–36 Segunda División 3 – Third round Spanish Civil War 1939–40 Segunda División 3 – Round of 16 1940–41 Segunda División 3 – Third round 1941–42 Segunda División 1 Promotion Playoff Round of 32 1942–43 Segunda División 1 Promotion Playoff Round of 32 1943–44 Segunda División 1 Promoted Round of 32 1944–45 La Liga 7 – Round of 16 1945–46 La Liga 9 – Round of 16 1946–47 La Liga 10 – First round 1947–48 La Liga 14 Relegated Sixth round 1948–49 Segunda División 6 – Fifth round 1949–50 Segunda División 3 – Second round 1950–51 Segunda División 1 Promoted Quarterfinalist 1951–52 La Liga 13 – – 1952–53 La Liga 7 – Round of 16

Season Division Pos. Significant events Copa del Rey 1953–54 La Liga 16 Relegated – 1954–55 Segunda División 4 – – 1955–56 Segunda División 7 – – 1956–57 Segunda División 1 Promoted – 1957–58 La Liga 12 – Round of 16 1958–59 La Liga 15 Relegated Round of 16 1959–60 Segunda División 5 – Quarterfinalist 1960–61 Segunda División 13 – Round of 32 1961–62 Segunda División 13 – First round 1962–63 Segunda División 5 – Round of 32 1963–64 Segunda División 2 Promotion Playoff First round 1964–65 Segunda División 3 – Quarterfinalist 1965–66 Segunda División 3 – Round of 32 1966–67 Segunda División 2 Promotion Playoff First round 1967–68 Segunda División 5 – Round of 32 1968–69 Segunda División 5 – – 1969–70 Segunda División 1 Promoted Fourth round 1970–71 La Liga 12 – Round of 32 1971–72 La Liga 11 – Round of 16 1972–73 La Liga 14 – Semifinalist 1973–74 La Liga 13 – Fifth round 1974–75 La Liga 14 – Fourth round 1975–76 La Liga 18 Relegated Round of 16

Season Division Pos. Significant events Copa del Rey 1976–77 Segunda División 1 Promoted Third round 1977–78 La Liga 5 – Semifinalist 1978–79 La Liga 2 Played UEFA Cup Third round 1979–80 La Liga 3 Played UEFA Cup Semifinalist 1980–81 La Liga 7 Played UEFA Cup Runner-up 1981–82 La Liga 14 – Runner-up 1982–83 La Liga 8 – Semifinalist 1983–84 La Liga 13 – Quarterfinalist 1984–85 La Liga 4 – Quarterfinalist 1985–86 La Liga 6 Played UEFA Cup Third round 1986–87 La Liga 4 – Second round 1987–88 La Liga 9 Played UEFA Cup Round of 16 1988–89 La Liga 13 – Round of 16 1989–90 La Liga 13 – Quarterfinalist 1990–91 La Liga 5 – Semifinalist 1991–92 La Liga 8 Played UEFA Cup Semifinalist 1992–93 La Liga 12 – Fifth round 1993–94 La Liga 14 – Round of 16 1994–95 La Liga 18 Relegation Playoff Semifinalist 1995–96 La Liga 18 – Round of 16

Season Division Pos. Significant events Copa del Rey 1996–97 La Liga 15 – Third round 1997–98 La Liga 20 Relegated Second round 1998–99 Segunda División 9 – Fourth round 1999–00 Segunda División 9 – First round 2000–01 Segunda División 7 – Round of 64 2001–02 Segunda División 6 – Round of 16 2002–03 Segunda División 10 – Round of 64 2003–04 Segunda División 5 – Round of 64 2004–05 Segunda División 11 – Round of 64 2005–06 Segunda División 9 – First round 2006–07 Segunda División 13 – Second round 2007–08 Segunda División 3 Promoted Second round 2008–09 La Liga 14 – Quarterfinalist 2009–10 La Liga 15 – Round of 32 2010–11 La Liga 10 – Round of 32 2011–12 La Liga 19 Relegated Round of 32 2012–13 Segunda División 10 – Round of 32 2013–14 Segunda División 5 Promotion Playoff Second round 2014–15 Segunda División 2 Promoted Second round 2015–16 La Liga – Round of 32

---

• 41 seasons in Primera División (level 1)
• 42 seasons in Segunda División (level 2)
• Participations in UEFA Cup: 6

Sporting de Gijón in European football

Sporting de Gijón played six editions of the UEFA Cup, but only in two times it passed the first round.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
1978–79	UEFA Cup	R64	Torino	3–0	0–1	3–1
		R32	Crvena Zvezda	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	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

As of 1 February 2016

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Iván Cuéllar (vice-captain) 2 DF Luis Hernández 3 MF Álex Menéndez 4 DF Igor Lichnovsky (on loan from Porto) 5 DF Bernardo Espinosa (4th captain) 6 MF Sergio Álvarez 8 MF Álex Barrera 9 FW Miguel Ángel Guerrero 10 MF Nacho Cases 11 DF Alberto Lora (3rd captain) 13 GK Alberto García (captain) 15 DF Roberto Canella

No. Position Player 16 FW Carlos Castro 17 MF Omar Mascarell (on loan from Real Madrid) 18 DF Isma López 19 MF Carlos Carmona 20 FW Antonio Sanabria (on loan from Roma) 21 DF Ognjen Vranješ 22 MF Pablo Pérez 23 MF Jony 24 MF Rachid Aït-Atmane 25 MF Alen Halilović (on loan from Barcelona) 28 DF Jorge Meré 33 MF Dani Ndi

Personnel

Current technical staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Abelardo Fernández
Assistant Manager	Iñaki Tejada
Goalkeeping Coach	Isidro Fernández
Physical Fitness Coach	Gerardo Ruiz
Director of Football	Nicolás Rodríguez
Delegate	Mario Cotelo
Academy Director	Manolo Sánchez Murias
Head Coach Reserve Team	Tomás Hervás

Last updated: August 2015
Source: Sporting de Gijón Official Website

Current Board of Directors

Office	Name
President	Antonio Veiga Suárez
Vicepresident	Javier Fernández Rodríguez
Counselor	Javier Martínez Fernández
Chief executive	Carlos Barcia Alonso
Ambassador	Quini
Director of communications	Manfredo Álvarez
Press secretary	José Luis Rubiera

Last updated: June 2014
Source: Sporting de Gijón Official Website

Presidents

Anselmo López Sánchez (1905–15) Fernando Fernández Quirós Suárez (1905–17) Manuel Ignacio González Riera (1917–19) Enrique Guisasola Martínez (1919–21) Ismael Figaredo Herrero (1921–28) Roberto González de Agustina (1928–30) Pedro Garnung Portilla (1930–34) Emilio Tuya García (1934–35) Félix Guisasola García-Castañón (1935–38) Pedro González del Río (1938–40) Secundino Felgueroso Fernández-Nespral (1940–45) Juan Velasco Nespral (1945–46) Jesús Fernández Hernández (1946–47) José María Fernández Álvarez (1946–47) Secundino Felgueroso Fernández-Nespral (2) (1948–49) Paulino Antón Trespalacios (1949–54) Joaquín Alonso Díez (1954–55) Eustaquio Campomanes González (1955–57) Alejandro Pidal Guilhou (1957–59)

Ramón Gómez Lozana (1959–60) Aurelio Menéndez González (1960–61) Francisco Quirós Rodríguez (1961) Víctor Manuel Felgueroso Suardíaz (1967–68) Antonio Roibás de Inza (1967–68) Carlos Méndez Cuervo (1968–73) Ángel Viejo Feliú (1973–77) Manuel Vega-Arango Alvaré (1977–86) Ramón Muñoz Fernández (1986–89) Plácido Rodríguez Guerrero (1989–92) Eloy Calvo Capellín (1992–94) Manuel Calvo Pumpido (1994) José Fernández Álvarez (1994–97) Ángel García Flórez (1997–98) Germán Ojeda Gutiérrez (1998–99) Juan Manuel Pérez Arango (1999–2002) Manuel Vega-Arango Alvaré (2) (2002–13) Antonio Veiga Suárez (2013–)

Women's team

Sporting has also a women's football team that currently plays in Segunda División. Since 1999, it competes with the name of Escuela de Fútbol de Mareo.^[20]

Season by season

Season	League
	Div.	Pos.	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1998–99	1ª	8th	26	5	4	11	31	54	19
1999–00	1ª	10th	26	7	6	13	54	93	27
2000–01	1ª	14th	26	0	2	24	21	123	2
2001–02	2ª	3rd	18	11	2	5	65	34	35
2002–03	2ª	3rd	22	14	0	8	75	35	42
2003–04	2ª	8th	26	5	5	12	33	58	20
2004–05	2ª	8th	26	9	3	14	47	65	30
2005–06	2ª	8th	28	9	10	9	65	61	47
2006–07	2ª	7th	26	7	9	10	36	52	34
2007–08	2ª	7th	26	10	6	10	41	36	36
2008–09	2ª	11th	25	5	9	11	36	48	24
2009–10	2ª	8th	26	9	4	13	53	56	31
2010–11	2ª	3rd	26	16	2	8	72	41	50
2011–12	2ª	4th	26	14	5	7	50	25	47
2012–13	2ª	5th	26	12	4	10	35	38	40
2013–14	2ª	6th	26	11	5	10	45	42	38
2014–15	2ª	2nd	26	14	5	7	52	37	47
2015–16	2ª

Partnerships

• Storm FC^[21][22]

See also

• Sporting de Gijón B - Sporting de Gijón's farm team.
• Trofeo Villa de Gijón

References

1. "Mourinho's unbeaten home run ends". London: BBC. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
2. 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.
3. "El Sporting bate el récord histórico de abonados: 22.906" (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. 30 September 2015.
4. "Las Banderas del Club" (in Spanish). RealSporting.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
5. "Los Escudos" (in Spanish). RealSporting.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
6. Kappa vestirá al equipo; La Nueva España, 29 March 2011 (Spanish)
7. "El Sporting alcanza los 21.000 socios" (in Spanish). La Nueva España. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
8. "Premio para el consejero Mariano Fernández" (in Spanish). La Nueva España. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
9. Attendances - Liga BBVA 2008-2009
10. PortalSportinguista.com
11. "Sporting Gijon To Take 4,000 Fans To Valladolid". Goal.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
12. "Spanish Inquisition: Sporting de Gijón, the darlings of Spain". Goal.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
13. Lowe, Sid (22 September 2008). "Even the result can't spoil Real Sporting de Gijón's party". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
14. "Spanish Debate: The Best Stadium In La Liga". Goal.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
15. "Gijón está de fiesta 10 años después" (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
16. "Real Oviedo, Real who?". SpanishFootball.info. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
17. Spain - Final Table 1978-79
18. Spain - Cup 1981
19. Spain - Cup 1982
20. Current roster of the women's team; Official website.
21. El Sporting y el Storm FC (Miami) firman un acuerdo de colaboración; Sporting de Gijón, 6 October 2014 (Spanish)
22. Storm FC partners with Real Sporting Gijón (Spain); Storm FC, 1 October 2014

External links

Official websites

• RealSporting.com Official club website (Spanish)
• Real Sporting de Gijón at the Liga de Fútbol Profesional official website (Spanish) (English)
• Real Sporting de Gijón at the UEFA official website

News sites

• Sporting de Gijón news BDFutbol
• Sporting de Gijón news Futbolme (Spanish)
• Sporting de Gijón news from Marca (Spanish)
• Sporting de Gijón news from AS (Spanish)
• Sporting de Gijón news Canal Rojiblanco (Spanish)
• Sporting de Gijón news Polish Site (Polish)