Unió Esportiva Lleida was a Spanish football team based in

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

, in the autonomous community of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. It was founded as ''Lérida Balompié-AEM'' on 30 October 1939, and became ''Unión Deportiva Lérida'' in 1947, after a merger with ''CD Leridano''. It held home matches at ''

Camp d´Esports Camp d'Esports is a multi-use stadium in Lleida, Catalonia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Lleida Esportiu. The stadium holds 13,500 seats, and the dimensions for the football field are 102x68 meters. T ...

'', with a 13,500-seat capacity. It was dissolved in 2011. The soul of the club was reformed as Lleida Esportiu. Lleida adopted the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

version of its name in 1978. The club spent most of its history in the lower divisions, but in the early 1950s and early 1990s, the club won promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

. During the 1990s the club was managed by Mané,

Juande Ramos Juan de la Cruz "Juande" Ramos Cano (born 25 September 1954) is a Spanish former footballer and manager. After playing and managing at an amateur level, Ramos led Rayo Vallecano to promotion to La Liga, followed by reaching the quarter-finals o ...

and

Víctor Muñoz Víctor Muñoz Manrique (born 15 March 1957), known simply as Víctor in his playing days, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a manager. An all-around midfield unit, he was best known for his great physical strengt ...

, all of whom subsequently became successful managers with other clubs. From 1987 the club organised its own summer trophy, the

Ciutat de Lleida Trophy Ciutat de Lleida Trophy is a "friendly" football (soccer) tournament played annually in Lleida (province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain). Ciutat de Lleida Trophy ''Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. ...

History

Early Lleida football clubs

Football was first introduced to

in 1910 by Manuel Azoz, a

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

business man. Among the earliest clubs in the city were ''Montserrat'', founded in 1913 by Marist Brothers, and ''FC Lleida'' founded in 1914. Both played their early games in the district of Pla d’en Gardeny. In 1915, the ''Associació Cultural Lleidatana'' was founded by Catalan nationalists. By 1917 two other clubs, ''Club Colonial'' and , began playing at the Camp de Mart. In 1918 ''FC Joventut'' was formed by left-wing Catalan republicans and during the 1920s they emerged as the city’s strongest side. In 1919, Lleida became the first club to use the ''

'', but this team was dissolved in 1927. Other clubs of the 1920s included ''AE Lleida Calaveres'', ''Lleida Sport Club'' and ''AEM Lleida'', all of which disappeared during the 1930s.

Lérida Balompié and CD Leridano

After the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, former members of ''AE Lleida Calaveres'', ''Lleida Sport Club'' and ''AEM Lleida'' formed ''Lérida Balompié-AEM''. After playing in regional leagues for four seasons they made their debut in the

fourth division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in 1943. The following year, the club split into two separate clubs, ''Lérida Balompié'' and ''AEM''. Meanwhile, in 1941 Spanish nationalists formed ''CD Leridano'', and a local rivalry developed between that club and ''Lérida Balompié''. On March 9, 1947, these two sides merged to become ''Unión Deportiva Lérida''. The new team retained both the blue and white colours and club shield of ''Lérida Balompié'', the first president of the new club being Eduard Estadella.

First golden era

''UD Lérida'' enjoyed a golden age in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when they progressed from the third to the first division in just three seasons. In 1949, they won the third-tier and, the following season, 1949–50, they made their debut 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 ...

''. In the 1949–50 season the club achieved their biggest league victory in their history with a 9–2 win against

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Anxo Carro''. History The new board of directors was o ...

, along with finishing second in the league achieving promotion to the topflight for the first time ever. However, during its debut season, it was heavily defeated on several occasions: 9–0 to

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

, 10–1 to Deportivo de La Coruña and 10–0 to

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, being ultimately relegated back. Lleida's first eleven in the first division was: Rivero, Rigau, Telechea, Carrillo, Esquerda, Roca, Gausí, Pellicer, Ramón, Bidegain and Fustero.

The Mané era

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lleida enjoyed a second solid moment, under coach Mané. He joined the club in 1988 and took it from ''

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

'' to ''La Liga''. 1993–94 was the second topflight experience for the club; in spite of a 1–0 win over the

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

''Dream Team'' at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

, and another against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, 2–1 at home, Lleida only won seven times altogether and was relegated once again. The 1994–95 season saw the club finish third in the second division, with a subsequent promotion play-off defeat against

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

. In 2001, the team returned to level three and, in 2004–05 and the following campaign, played again in the second division. From 1996 and during an entire decade (with some interruptions), legendary player Miguel Ángel Rubio served as its manager.

Liquidation

On 10 May 2011, Lleida was placed in a liquidation auction due to a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

28 million debt. On 12 July, the team's seat was acquired by local entrepreneur Sisco Pujol,El juez resuelve a favor de Sisco Pujol la adjudicación de la UE Lleida (Judge rules UE Lleida's allocation in favor of Sisco Pujol)
La Vanguardia, 12 July 2011 with the new club being named Lleida Esportiu.

Season to season

*2 seasons in

*24 seasons in

*19 seasons in

*22 seasons in

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

(until 1976–77 as third level)

Honours

Official

: 1992–93 *

: 1989–90, 2003–04 *

: 1948–49 * Regional Preferente: 1970–71 * Segunda Regional: 1939–40, 1940–41 * Copa Catalunya: Runner-up 1991–92, 1998–99

Friendly

* Nostra Catalunya Trophy: 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1990 *

: 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008

Records

Club

*Best league performance: 16th,

, 1950–51 *Best cup performance: Last 16 (six times), 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005 *Most league points: 68, 2003–04 (three points for a win) 60, 1957–58 (two points for a win) *Most league goals: 102, 1957–58 *Most league wins in one season: 26, 1957–58 *Best league win home: 9–0 v. Calella, 30 November 1941 *Best league win away: 8–1 v.

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

, 22 February 1942 *Best cup win: 7–0 v. Sant Andreu, 19 December 1985

Player

*Most league appearances: 460, Miguel Rubio (1982–96) *Most league goals: 82, Mariano Azcona (1984–91) *Most league goals in a season: 25, Mariano Azcona (1989–90) *Most league goals in a match: 5, Mariano Azcona 6–1 v. Fraga, 15 October 1989 and Vallejo 7–1 v. Alavés, 23 May 1965 *Most international appearances: 12,

Miguel Mea Vitali Miguel Ángel Mea Vitali (born February 19, 1981 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan former football midfielder. Club career Mea Vitali started his career with Caracas FC in his home town. He has played professional football in several countries in Europ ...

(

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

) (2000–01)

Selected former players

''Only international players or

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

winners. Flags represent national teams player appeared for''. * Tito Vilanova *

José Emilio Amavisca José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(1991–92) *

Estanislao Basora Estanislau Basora Brunet (also Estanislao; 18 November 1926 – 16 March 2012) was a Spanish footballer who played as a winger or striker. Most of his 15-year career was spent at FC Barcelona for which he appeared in more than 300 official ga ...

(1955–56) * Carles Busquets (1999–2002) * Canito (1975–76) *

Enric Gensana Enric Gensana Merola (3 June 1936 – 28 September 2005) was a Spanish footballer. He was an important player for FC Barcelona at the end of the fifties and beginning of the sixties. A very physical player, he spent eight seasons at the club and ...

(1954–56) *

Marià Gonzalvo Mariano Gonzalvo Falcón (22 March 1922 – 7 April 2007), also referred to as Gonzalvo III or – especially as of late – by the Catalan rendition of his given name, Marià Gonzalvo, was a Spanish footballer who spent most of his career at FC ...

(1955–56) *

Tomás Hernández Tomás Hernández Burillo (19 February 1930 – 2 January 1982), commonly known as Moreno, was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Zaragoza, Aragon, Moreno spent four years of his career with La Liga giants FC Barce ...

(1955–56) *

Eladio Silvestre Eladio Silvestre Graells (born 18 November 1940 in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia) is a retired Spanish footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of footb ...

(1960–61) *

Raúl Tamudo Raúl Tamudo Montero (born 19 October 1977) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. An icon at Espanyol, he captained the club for almost a decade, playing nearly 400 official games, winning two Copa del Rey and ...

(1999) *

Unai Vergara Unai Vergara Díez-Caballero (born 20 January 1977), known simply as Unai, is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a central defender. He amassed La Liga totals of 74 matches and five goals over four seasons, almost exclusiv ...

(2005–07) *

Ali Benhalima Ali Benhalima (born 21 January 1962) is an Algerian retired football player. Titles National * Algerian Cup : Runner-up 1981, 1983 ,with ASC Oran * Algerian Championnat National: Runner-up 1990, with MC Oran *African Cup of Champions Clubs: R ...

(1990–93) *

Renaldo Renaldo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Renaldo "Obie" Benson (1937–2005), American soul and R&B singer and songwriter * Renaldo Balkman (born 1984), American professional basketball player * Renaldo Hill ...

(2000–01) *

Mate Bilić Mate Bilić (born 23 October 1980) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a striker. During his professional career he played mainly in Spain – where he arrived at the age of 21 – representing five different clubs. He amassed La Li ...

(2005–06) *

Søren Andersen Søren Andersen (born 31 January 1970) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played as a striker, and most prominently represented English club Bristol City, Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, as well as several Danish clubs. He won the 199 ...

(1993–94) *

Goran Stanić Goran Stanić ( mk, Горан Станиќ; born 8 September 1972) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Stanić scored his first goal in Scottish League Football for St Johnstone with a 35-yard ...

(1998–2000) * Michael Emenalo (1997–98) * Carlos González (2000–01) * Melanio Olmedo (1956–57) * Ilija Stolica (1998–00) * Dmitri Kuznetsov (1994–95) * Julio Rodríguez (1995–98) * Gustavo Matosas (1993–94) * Manny Lagos (1991–92) *

(2000–01) * Boban Babunski (1994–96) *

Jovan Stanković Jovan Stanković (; born 4 March 1971) is a Serbian retired football manager and former player who played as a left midfielder. He spent the better part of his career with Red Star Belgrade and in Spain, most notably with Mallorca – he playe ...

(2004–05) *

Mauro Ravnić Mauro Ravnić (born 29 November 1959) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent his 17-year professional career with Rijeka in his homeland, and Valladolid and Lleida in Spain. Subsequently, he worked as a goalkeeper ...

(1992–94)

Selected former coaches

* Mané (1988–95) *

(1999–2000) *

Juan José Nogués Juan José Nogués Portalatín (28 March 1909 – 2 July 1998), also known as Joan Josep Nogués, was a Football in Spain, Spanish Aragonese footballer and manager. During the 1930s and 1940s, he played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goal ...

(1954–55) *

(1997–98) *

Manuel Ruiz Sosa Manuel Ruiz Sosa (10 April 1937 – 12 December 2009) was a Spanish football midfielder and manager. Honours Player Atlético Madrid *La Liga: 1965–66 *Copa del Generalísimo The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, com ...

(1971–72) *

Marcel Domingo Marcel Domingo Algara (15 January 1924 – 10 December 2010) was a French football goalkeeper and manager of Spanish origin. He spent part of his career in Spain. Domingo coached RCD Espanyol, UD Las Palmas, UE Lleida, Pontevedra CF, Córdob ...

(1962–63) *

Nicolae Simatoc Nicolae Simatoc (also known as Miklós Szegedi; 1 May 1920 – 2 December 1979) was a Romanian association football manager and midfielder who played for a number of clubs throughout Europe, including Ripensia Timişoara and Carmen București in ...

(1959–60)

Presidents

* Sebastià Tàpies: 1939–40 * Joan Porta: 1941–47 * Eduard Estadella: 1947–51 * Llorenç Agustí: 1951–54 * Josep Servat: 1954–57 * Antoni Rocafort: 1957 * Laureà Torres: 1957–60 * Antoni Teixidó: 1960–62 * Ramon Vilaltella: 1962–67 * Josep Jové: 1967–68 * Pere Roig: 1968–69 * Manel Rosell: 1969–70 * Miquel Martínez: 1970–72 * Josep Montañola: 1972–74 * Lluís Nadal: 1974–77 * Josep Esteve: 1977–79 * Joan Planes: 1979–82 *

Antoni Gausí Antonio Gausí Subías (10 December 1927 – 7 May 2021) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a right winger. Career Born in Lleida, Gausí played for Ilerda, Leridano, Lérida, Real Madrid, Celta de Vigo, Zaragoza and Levante. ...

: 1982–86 * Màrius Durán: 1986–96 * Josep Lluís González: 1996–97 * Màrius Durán: 1997–98 *

: 1998–2002 * Miquel Pons: 2002–06 * Xavier Massana: 2006–07 * Ignasi Rivadulla: 2007–10 * Anabel Junyent: 2010–11

References

External links

Official website

Futbolme team profile

Unofficial website

Unofficial website #2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lleida Defunct football clubs in Catalonia Association football clubs established in 1939 Association football clubs disestablished in 2011 Sport in Lleida 1939 establishments in Spain 2011 disestablishments in Spain Segunda División clubs La Liga clubs