The Estadio Martínez Valero is a stadium located in the Spanish city of

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,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 The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

. It is the home stadium of

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at ''Es ...

, a team that is currently playing in

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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

. 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 The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

History

The Martínez Valero Stadium was inaugurated on 8 September 1976, replacing the former

Campo de Altabix Campo de Altabix was a multi-use stadium in Elche, Spain. It was initially used as the stadium of Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicant ...

, 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 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, who defeated West Germany 3–1 ...

. On June 15, 1982, it was the venue as

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

achieved a record winning margin in

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

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 ...

10–1 before a crowd of 23,000. In addition, the Martinez Valero Stadium hosted the final 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 ...

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

Stadium.

International matches

Spain national team matches

1982 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the

(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,

References

External links

Estadios de Espana

Stadium Guide Article
{{1982 FIFA World Cup stadiums 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