This article is about men's football club. For the women's football club, see Levante UD Femenino.
Levante UD
ClubnameLevante
Upright0.7
FullnameLevante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D.
Founded6 September 1909 (age 117)
StadiumEstadi Ciutat de València
Capacity26,354[1]
ChrtitlePresident
ChairmanPablo Sánchez
MgrtitleHead coach
ManagerLuís Castro
Websitelevanteud.com
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Current2025–26 Levante UD season

Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (leˈβante wˈnjon depoɾˈtiβa) is a Spanish professional association football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish professional football.

Founded on 6 September 1909, the club competes in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home games at Ciutat de València Stadium.[2][3][4]

History

Early years (1909–1935)

Levante UD was formerly registered as Levante Football Club on 9 September 1909[5][6] (celebrating its 100th anniversary on 9 September 2009).[7] Thus Levante is the oldest football club in the city of Valencia, with rival team Valencia CF not being formed until 1919.[8][9][10][11]

Levante shares its name with the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, with Spain's east coast, the coast over which the sun rises (levantar in Spanish),[12] with the Levant wind that comes from the east, and with the Levante beach in La Malvarrosa where Levante Football Club played some of its earliest fixtures.

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 became 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 built 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 the two-leg finals; the next year, the club became 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 founding of the Second Spanish Republic, the club dropped the Real from its name.

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,[13] and subsequently reached the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup, consecutively beating Valencia and Barcelona before losing to eventual runners-up Sabadell.

During the civil war: Copa de la España Libre (1937)

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.[14][15]

Merging: Gimnástico and Levante (1939)

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, in 1939 Levante FC and Gimnástico FC merged into Levante Unión Deportiva.[16] Levante UD can thus trace its origin back to at least 1909 through both Levante FC and Gimnástico FC. The merged club was at first named Unión Deportiva Levante-Gimnástico, then changed it a few years later to Levante Unión Deportiva. The current club colours date from this era: the blaugrana, blue-garnet, home colours were originally those of Gimnástico FC, while the black and white away kit were the colours of Levante FC. Levante UD also inherited from Gimnástico FC their nickname, Granota, the Frogs.[17][18][11][9][19]

La Liga: relegations and promotions (1963–present)

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, and also achieved a 5–1 home win against Barcelona in the 1964–65 campaign, but was 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 with several matches to go that the club would be playing in the second division in 2008–09. 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 strike during the season-ending game at Real Madrid. The threat was withdrawn when league officials announced that a benefit game would be played between a Levante XI and a Primera División XI, with all receipts going to pay the Levante players' wages.

On 13 June 2010, Levante returned to La Liga after a 3–1 home win against already relegated Castellón, making its final round 0–4 defeat at Real Betis irrelevant.[20] Under the manager who led the team back to the top flight, Luis García Plaza, Levante finally retained its top division status in the 2010–11 season. At one point in the league's second round of matches, Levante was third in the table behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, after losing just once (against Real Madrid) in 12 games.[21]

On 26 October 2011, during round nine of the season, Levante defeated Real Sociedad 3–2 to move top of the first division table for the first time in the club's history, with 23 points.[22] In the process, it recorded seven straight wins after drawing its first two games.[23] The club eventually finished sixth 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.[24] There, they made it to the last 16 before a 2–0 extra-time loss to Russia's FC Rubin Kazan.[25]

In the 2015–16 season, Levante was relegated after defeat by Málaga and finished last. The club was promoted back to the top league in 2016–17, winning the Segunda División title. In the 2017–18 season, the club secured safety in the league and on 13 May, beat the champions Barcelona 5–4 (having led 5–1 early in the second half), with Emmanuel Boateng scoring his first ever career hat-trick.[26] This win ended Barcelona's hopes of achieving an unbeaten season.[27]

In the 2021–22 season, Levante was relegated after being defeated 0–6 by Real Madrid, ending their five years in the top tier.

Seasons

Recent history

SeasonDivPos.PldWDLGFGAPtsCupNotes
2003–042D1st4222137593379Last 16Promoted
2004–051D18th3891019395837Relegated
2005–062D3rd42201485339741st roundPromoted
2006–071D15th38101216375342Last 16
2007–081D20th387526337526Last 16Relegated
2008–092D8th42181014595964
2009–102D3rd4219149634571Promoted
2010–111D14th3812917415245Last 16
2011–121D6th3816715545055Quarter-finalsQualified to UEFA Europa League
2012–131D11th38121016405746Last 16Last 16 UEFA Europa League
2013–141D10th38121214354348Quarter-finals
2014–151D14th3891019346737Last 16
2015–161D20th3678213466291st roundRelegated
2016–172D1st4225985732842nd roundChampions and Promoted
2017–181D15th38111314445846Last 16
2018–191D15th38111116596644Last 16
2019–201D12th3814717475349Last 32
2020–211D14th3891415465741Semi-finals
2021–221D19th38811195176352nd roundRelegated
2022–232D3rd4218186463072Last 16Promotion Play-offs Runners-up
2023–242D8th42132094945592nd round
2024–252D1st42221376942791st roundChampions and Promoted
2025–261D16th3811918476142Last 32

European record

SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionHomeAwayAggregate
2012–13UEFA Europa LeaguePlay-off roundMotherwell1–02–03–0
Group LTwente3–00–02nd
Hannover 962–21–2
Helsingborg1–03–1
Round of 32Olympiacos3–01–04–0
Round of 16Rubin Kazan0–00–20–2

Season to season

SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey
1939–4022ª1stFirst round
1940–4122ª3rdQuarterfinals
1941–4222ª8thFirst round
1942–4331ª Reg.1stFirst round
1943–4433ª1st-
1944–4533ª2nd-
1945–4633ª1st-
1946–4722ª6thRound of 16
1947–4822ª5thFifth round
1948–4922ª9thFourth round
1949–5022ª13thThird round
1950/5122ª13th-
1951–5222ª14th-
1952–5333ª2nd-
1953–5433ª1st-
1954–5522ª15th-
1955–5633ª1st-
1956–5722ª11th-
1957–5822ª4th-
1958–5922ª2ndRound of 32
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey
1959–6022ª6thFirst round
1960–6122ª6thFirst round
1961–6222ª6thFirst round
1962–6322ª2ndRound of 16
1963–6411ª10thRound of 32
1964–6511ª14thRound of 16
1965–6622ª5thFirst round
1966–6722ª4thRound of 32
1967–6822ª14thFirst round
1968–6933ª3rd-
1969–7033ª4thThird round
1970–7133ª12thFirst round
1971–7233ª6thSecond round
1972–7333ª1stThird round
1973–7422ª19thFifth round
1974–7533ª2ndFourth round
1975–7633ª1stFirst round
1976–7722ª18thSecond round
1977–7832ª B4thThird round
1978–7932ª B1stSecond round
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey
1979–8022ª10thThird round
1980–8122ª9thRound of 16
1981–8222ª19thThird round
1982–8343ª2ndSecond round
1983–8443ª2ndSecond round
1984–8532ª B11thSecond round
1985–8632ª B10th-
1986–8743ª2nd-
1987–8832ª B6thThird round
1988–8932ª B1stSecond round
1989–9022ª15thFirst round
1990–9122ª19thThird round
1991–9232ª B11thThird round
1992–9332ª B9thSecond round
1993–9432ª B3rdThird round
1994–9532ª B1stFirst round
1995–9632ª B1stThird round
1996–9722ª9thSecond round
1997–9822ª22ndFirst round
1998–9932ª B1stRound of 16
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey
1999–200022ª7thprem. round
2000–0122ª8thRound of 32
2001–0222ª19thRound of 32
2002–0322ª4thRound of 64
2003–0422ª1stRound of 16
2004–0511ª18thRound of 32
2005–0622ª3rdFirst round
2006–0711ª15thRound of 32
2007–0811ª20thRound of 16
2008–0922ª8thSecond round
2009–1022ª3rdSecond round
2010–1111ª14thRound of 16
2011–1211ª6thQuarterfinals
2012–1311ª11thRound of 16
2013–1411ª10thQuarterfinals
2014–1511ª14thRound of 16
2015–1611ª20thRound of 32
2016–1722ª1stSecond round
2017–1811ª15thRound of 16
2018–1911ª15thRound of 16
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey
2019–2011ª12thRound of 32
2020–2111ª14thSemifinals
2021–2211ª19thSecond round
2022–2322ª3rdRound of 16
2023–2422ª8thSecond round
2024–2522ª1stFirst round
2025–2611ª16thRound of 32
2026–2711ªTBD

Players

Current squad

[28]

Reserve team

Main article: Atlético Levante UD

Notable former players

Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.

See also:

Coaches

Honours

National competitions

Regional competitions

Friendly tournaments

  • Trofeo Costa de Valencia [30]
    • Winners: 1972, 1974, 1977
  • Trofeo Comunidad Valenciana [31]
    • Winners: 1986
  • Trofeo Ciutat de València
    • Winners: 1995
  • Trofeo Ciudad de Valencia
    • Winners: 1997
  • Trofeo de la Generalitat Valenciana
    • Winners: 2000
See also:

Stadium

Main article: Estadi Ciutat de València

Estadi Ciutat de València[4][3] was opened on 9 September 1969, with capacity for 25,354 spectators. The pitch measures 107 by 69 metres.

Due to the 2019–20 season's late finish because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and renovation work at their stadium, Levante concluded the campaign behind closed doors at the Estadi Olímpic Camilo Cano in La Nucia, Province of Alicante.[32]

Rivals

Main article: Valencia derby

Levante contest the Derbi Valenciano, also known as the Derbi del Turia or Derbi Valentino, with local rivals Valencia.[33] The fixture has been played 38 times competitively, with Valencia winning 21 times to Levante's 8.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Levante: Paco López es el hombre de moda tras vencer al Barça" (in Spanish). AS.com. 2018-05-15. Archived 4 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  2. ^ "Ten things you may not know about the Ciutat de Valencia stadium". Laliga.es. 13 September 2018. Archived 8 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Levante UD Información al Espectador". LALIGA. Archived 17 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Estadi Ciutat de Valencia - Levante". The Stadium Guide. Archived 29 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Levante Unión Deportiva SAD". Laliga.es. 13 September 2018. Archived 16 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  6. ^ "La nostra història, el nostre orgull". Archived 8 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  7. ^ "El Levante cumple cien años". Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  8. ^ ""Se siente, se nota, Valencia es granota"". 15 June 2010.
  9. ^ "La historia más enorme jamás contada". 28 November 2011. Archived 25 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  10. ^ "El nacimiento del fútbol en Valencia". Levanteud.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  11. ^ González, Emilio Nadal (16 December 2014). Siempre Tuyo, Levante Ud. ISBN 9788416048724.
  12. ^ "Levant". Dictionary.com. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  13. ^ Spain – List of Champions of Levante, Valencia and Murcia Archived 13 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine; at RSSSF
  14. ^ Spain – Copa de España Libre 1937; at RSSSF
  15. ^ La Federación reconoce la Copa del Levante de 1937 y la del Deportivo de 1912 Archived 3 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine, [The Federation recognizes Levante's 1937 Cup and Deportivo's 1912 Cup], Noel Rodilla, Marca, 25 March 2023 (in Spanish)
  16. ^ "Todo empezó en el mes de septiembre de 1909". Levanteud.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Why are Levante called the 'granotas'?". Laliga.es. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  18. ^ La Vanguardia (26 October 2011). "Las diez leyendas del Levante". Lavanguardia.com. Archived 25 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  19. ^ "El Levante cumple cien años... Más dos". 31 August 2009. Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  20. ^ Levante are finally dethroned as La Liga becomes a more boring place Archived 14 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine; The Guardian, 31 October 2011
  21. ^ Levante are back and this time they're ready to take on the world Archived 14 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine; The Guardian, 17 October 2011
  22. ^ Levante pulls off the impossible Archived 28 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine; Sports Illustrated, 26 October 2011
  23. ^ Underdog turns heads at the top in Spain Archived 23 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine; The New York Times, 28 October 2011
  24. ^ "Ghezzal helps Levante secure European place". ESPN Soccernet. 13 May 2012. Archived 23 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  25. ^ "Rubin edge out Levante in extra time". UEFA. 14 March 2013. Archived 16 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  26. ^ "LaLiga – Levante 5–4 Barcelona: Emmanuel Boateng scores the first hat-trick of his career against Barcelona". MARCA in English. Archived 2 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  27. ^ Grounds, Ben (14 May 2018). "Levante 5-4 Barcelona: Catalans' unbeaten run comes to an end in nine-goal thriller". Sky Sports. Archived 23 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Plantilla" (in Spanish). Levante UD Web Oficial. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  29. ^ "Pedro López y Juan Miguel Bernat dejan el Levante" ["Pedro López and Juan Miguel Bernat leaves Levante"] (in Spanish). as.com. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  30. ^ Trofeo Costa de Valencia Archived 4 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine；at RSSSF
  31. ^ "Trofeo Comunidad Valenciana". 15 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  32. ^ "El At.Madrid jugará mañana contra el Levante UD en La Nucía" [At.Madrid will play tomorrow against Levante UD in La Nucía] (in Spanish). El Peridic. 22 June 2020. Archived 26 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  33. ^ "Valencian Derby: 8 Surprising Anecdotes About The Most Exciting Football Encounter". ISC Spain. 25 November 2015.[dead link]