Unión Deportiva Lanzarote is a
Spanish football team based in
Arrecife,
Lanzarote, in the autonomous community of
Canary Islands. Founded in 1970 it plays in
Tercera División RFEF – Group 12, holding home games at the ''
Ciudad Deportiva de Lanzarote'' (sports city), a 6,000-seat stadium which is shared with
CD Orientación Marítima
Club Deportivo Orientación Marítima is a Spanish football team based in Arrecife, Lanzarote, in the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Founded in 1954, it plays in Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol in Canary Islands, holding home ga ...
.
History
''Unión Deportiva Lanzarote'' was formed in August 1970, in views to a representation outside of the island. In its beginnings the team played on ''picón'' (volcanic granules), eventually moving on to
FIFA-approved artificial grass.
In its first competitive season, 1970–71, the team won the ''Segunda Regional Insular'' championship (second regional division), and for many years battled through local and Canarian leagues until making its debuts 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 ...
, in 1980; the first campaign ended with a fifth place, and it was also here the club had its first taste of the
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
– after a 0–0 home draw with neighbours
UD Las Palmas
Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at t ...
, Lanzarote was ripped apart 0–5 in the second leg.
The
1998–99 season saw Lanzarote end the campaign in third position, with promotion to
Segunda División B for the first time ever. It was a whistle-stop visit to the category, as the Island of Volcanoes club was
relegated in the first year.
From the
2001–02 campaign onwards, the team consolidated its position in the third level. In a
cup match against also-islanders
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...
, local legend Maciot bagged a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in a 5–1 shock win, in front of a 5,000 home crowd. The reward for this feat was a dream clash with
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' ...
powerhouse
Real Madrid, led by
Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...
and with the likes of
Raúl González
Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul.
Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...
,
Steve McManaman,
Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...
,
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Real ...
and
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...
on board: after the favorite's early lead, part-time
waiter Oscar Vladamir equalized and secured his place in local football history, but the club eventually lost it 1–3.
Lanzarote continued establishing itself and, in
2002–03, finished the campaign in third place and, for the first time, competed in the play-off to reach
Segunda División. President was Estanislao García, as manager
José Luis Mendilibar – later of
Athletic Bilbao and
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system.
The club c ...
– led the team in the
cup tie against
Atlético Madrid, which was only sealed for the ''Colchoneros'' (1–2) with a late
José María Movilla
José María Movilla Cubero (born 8 February 1975) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder.
He played 299 La Liga matches in exactly ten seasons, representing mainly Zaragoza and retiring at 39.
...
strike.
2003–04 was Lanzarote's finest season in division three, ending the campaign as champions, but once again failing to clinch promotion in the play-offs. That season also reserved a good
domestic cup performance, against rising
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...
: opponent manager
Joaquín Caparrós refused to play on Lanzarote's artificial grass, and the game was held in Gran Canaria where over 5,000 supporters watched the ''Conejeros'' perform valiantly, only to be downed with a goal by
Júlio Baptista after a cross from
José Antonio Reyes
José Antonio Reyes Calderón (; 1 September 1983 – 1 June 2019) was a Spanish professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger and also as a forward.
He made his debut for Sevilla aged 16 and signed for English club Arsenal in ...
.
In
2004–05's Spanish Cup, Lanzarote defeated
Héctor Cúper
Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player.
As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big ...
's
RCD Mallorca's 2–1, followed by another downing of a top level team, Athletic Bilbao also 2–1. However, the latter stage was already contested in two legs, and the smaller side were crushed 0–6 at
San Mamés, falling just one game short of the competition's quarterfinals. From 2004 to 2009, in the league, the team consecutively clinched mid-table positions. In the
2018–19 season the club finished 5th in the Tercera División, Group 12, just 7 points away from the 1st place.
Season to season
----
*10 seasons in
Segunda División B
*23 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 ...
*1 season in
Tercera División RFEF
*15 seasons in
Categorías Regionales
Current squad
Famous players
Note: this list includes players that have played at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.
*
Raúl Fabiani
*
Jotha
*
Fredrik Söderström
References
External links
Official websiteFutbolme team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanzarote
Football clubs in the Canary Islands
Sport in Lanzarote
Association football clubs established in 1970
1970 establishments in Spain
Arrecife