Pontevedra CF
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| Full name | Pontevedra Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Pontevedriña, Ponte, los Granates, el Hai que Roelo | ||
| Founded | 1941 | ||
| Ground |
Pasarón, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain | ||
| Capacity | 12,000 | ||
| Chairman | Lupe Murillo | ||
| Manager | Luisito | ||
| League | 2ªB – Group 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 2ªB – Group 1, 9th | ||
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Pontevedra Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1941 it currently plays in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home matches at Estadio Municipal de Pasarón, with a capacity of 12,000 seats.
Having enjoyed its heyday in the 1960s, it even reached the First Division, leading it during November and December 1965. The club was renowned at the top level for its performances against the bigger clubs, especially at home. Due to their history, fanbase, and stadium, los Granates are considered Galicia's third biggest club, behind Deportivo de La Coruña and Celta de Vigo, despite having spent the majority of recent decades in Spanish football's inferior categories.
History
Pontevedra Club de Fútbol was founded in 1941, following the merge of the two top teams in the city at the moment: Eiriña and Alfonso C.F. The first president of the new club was Fernando Ponte Conde.
Pontevedra promoted to La Liga in 1963 but was relegated a year after, managing to play again in the top flight between 1965 and 1970. During this time the fans coined the motto Hai que roelo,[1] in reference to the difficulties rival teams had when playing a strong side, who achieved a seventh place in 1966, adding an eighth two seasons later; midfielder Ignacio Martín-Esperanza and forwards Neme and Roldán were among the stars of this era, and years following the 1972–73 season saw the team more often than not struggling in lower categories, well into the 2000s.
On 23 January 2007 Pontevedra was transformed into a Sociedade Anónima Deportiva (sporting Joint stock company), as required by Spanish law – this was a general measure introduced in order to revitalise the financial situation of professional football clubs. Yet, some risked disappearance as they could not face the cost involved in this transformation from "private" to "stock company".[2][3] In the club's case this was made possible after then president, Nino Mirón, had purchased 52 per cent of the stock options; the club then added the letters "S.A.D." to its official name.
The subsequent stated main goal of Pontevedra was to promote back to Segunda División, with the team having last appearing in the category in the 2004–05 campaign. The club qualified for the promotion playoffs for the following three seasons, but failed to go through on each occasion. They were subsequently relegated and spent four seasons in the Galician Tercera División Group, returning to Segunda B via the playoffs after a successful 2014/15 season under the guidance of Luisito.
Season to season
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- 6 seasons in La Liga
- 9 seasons in Segunda División
- 32 seasons in Segunda División B
- 26 seasons in Tercera División
- 3 seasons in Categorías Regionales
Current squad
- As of 8 October 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours/achievements
- Segunda División: 1962–63, 1964–65
- Segunda División B: 2003–04, 2006–07
- Tercera División: 1946–47, 1947–48, 1959–60, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 2014–15
- Copa Federación de España: 2007
- Best results in La Liga: 7th in 1965–66, 8th in 1967–68
Colours and crest
The traditional colours of Pontevedra are burgundy shirt, blue shorts and burgundy socks. However, during certain periods white shorts and blue socks were also used, and even a blue and burgundy ribboned shirt for a short period of time.
The current colours are the traditional, with the crest of the club on the left upper part of the shirt. The name of the sponsor (if any) is normally placed in the centre of the shirt.
The crest is a fusion between the coat of arms of the city of Pontevedra and a football, displaying the name of the city/club and the letters "CF". The club has an official mascot called Roélio, a walking bone dressed in the club colours who is a direct reference to the club's motto.[1]
Stadium
Pontevedra plays at the Estadio Municipal de Pasarón. With a 105x66 metres playing field, it was built in 1956 and was partially refitted for the 1982 FIFA World Cup celebrated in Spain; it did not hold any actual games in the tournament, but it benefitted from the general funds allocated to the refurbishment of football stadiums.
The stadium used to have a capacity for 16,500, including standing spectators. However, UEFA regulations dictated that all attendants must be seated and, therefore, the stadium went under re-construction. – regardless, Pasarón was also in need of a general refurbishment, overdue since 1982. The works were completed for the 2010–11 season, with the new capacity being of 12,000 spectators.
Pasarón is located in the north side of the city (north to Lérez River), at Rua de Luis Otero s/n, 36005. The stadium is owned by the local city council, the Concello de Pontevedra.
Famous players
See also
- Pontevedra CF B, the reserve team.
References
- 1 2 The closest English idiom for Hai que roelo would possibly be "you have to bite the bullet". That is to say, "you have to bite the bullet if you want to defeat Pontevedra". A literal translation would be "one has to gnaw it".
- ↑ Ley del Deporte 10/1990, 15 October 1990
- ↑ Real Decreto 1251/1999; Sociedades Anónimas Deportivas, 16 July 1999
External links
- Official website (Spanish)
- Futbolme team profile (Spanish)
- Unofficial site (Spanish)
- Furya Granate, ultras blog (Spanish)
- Furya Granate website (Spanish)