The Estadio Martínez Valero is a stadium located in the Spanish city of
Elche in the
province of Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...
,
Valencian Community. It is the home stadium of
Elche CF, a team that is currently playing in
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
. Its name pays tribute to the late president of the club, Manuel Martínez Valero. It hosted the largest rout in the finals of a World Cup and hosted the final of the Copa del Rey in 2003. The Spanish football team has played several friendly matches and competitive qualifiers there. The stadium has the largest field dimensions in Europe.
With a capacity of 31,388 seats, Martínez Valero is the 15th-largest stadium in Spain and the 2nd-largest in the
Valencian community.
History
The Martínez Valero Stadium was inaugurated on 8 September 1976, replacing the former
Campo de Altabix, which was constructed in 1923. It was designed by the architect Juan Boix Matarredona, and is currently the largest sports arena in the province of Alicante. The inaugural match was Elche CF v. the Mexico National Team, which ended in a 3–3 tie. Elche CF's goals were scored by Finarolli, Orellana and Gomez Voglino. It was one of 17 stadiums where matches took place in the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
. On June 15, 1982, it was the venue as
Hungary achieved a
record winning margin in
World Cup history, beating
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
10–1 before a crowd of 23,000. In addition, the Martinez Valero Stadium hosted the final of the
Copa del Rey for the
2002–03 season. It is listed by UEFA as a
four-star UEFA Elite Stadium.
In the 2013–2014 season the stadium received the AFEPE (organization which unites fan clubs of all Spanish clubs) Award for Best
La Liga Stadium.
International matches
Spain national team matches
1982 FIFA World Cup
The stadium was one of the venues of the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
(known as the ''Nuevo Estadio'' at the time of the tournament), and held the following matches:
Gallery
File:Panórámica del Estadio Martínez Valero.jpg,
File:Martínez Valero.JPG,
File:Martínez Valero (interior - 2015).jpg,
File:Preferecia Martínez Valero.jpg,
File:Interior del estadio.jpg,
File:Martinez Valero.jpg,
File:Martínez Valero desde un fondo.JPG,
See also
*
List of stadiums in Spain
*
Lists of stadiums
References
External links
Estadios de EspanaStadium Guide Article
{{Authority control
Football venues in the Valencian Community
Rugby union stadiums in Spain
1982 FIFA World Cup stadiums
Elche CF
Multi-purpose stadiums in Spain
Buildings and structures in the Province of Alicante
Elche
Sports venues completed in 1976