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Deportivo Alavés
Deportivo Alaves logo (2020).svg
Full name Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D.
Nickname(s) Babazorros
El Glorioso (The glorious one)
Los blanquiazules (The Blue and Whites)
Founded 23 January 1921; 103 years ago (23 January 1921)
Ground Mendizorrotza
Ground Capacity 19,840
Owner Saski Baskonia (70.44%)
José Antonio Querejeta (6.4%)
President Alfonso Fernández de Trocóniz
Head coach Luis García Plaza
League Segunda División
2021–22 La Liga, 20th of 20 (relegated)
Third colours

Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [depoɾˈtiβo alaˈβes]; Sporting Alavés), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it has played in the highest football category of The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, La Liga, since the 2016–17 season. Alavés play in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021–22 season.

It is recognized as the third most successful team in the Basque Country following Athletic Club of Bilbao and Real Sociedad de Futbol of San Sebastián. Its biggest success was in 2001 when, in the year of its debut in European competition, it reached the 2001 UEFA Cup Final, where it played against Liverpool. It was defeated 5–4 by golden goal. In 2017, the club reached the final of the Copa del Rey, losing out 3–1 to Barcelona.

The team's home kit is blue and white-striped shirt, blue shorts and white socks. It holds home matches at the 19,840-seater Mendizorrotza Stadium and uses other facilities located in Ibaia dedicated to training.

History

Founded in 1920 the initial name of the club was Sport Friends, but on 23 January 1921 the name was changed to the current one, and this is considered the official foundation date. Alavés was the first club to win promotion from the Segunda División to La Liga in 1929–30, a stint which would last three years. In its first season in Primera División Alavés finished 8th from 10 teams, just 1 point away from being relegated.

In 1953–54 the club would reach the top league again for a two-year spell. With Roman Galarraga as a coach, the club reached long-awaited promotion to Segunda División in the 1973–74 season. In June 1983, after having avoided the relegation in the previous season, Alavés went down to Segunda División B, where remained until the 1985–86 campaign. After years of seriously facing disappearance which lasted well into the 1990s (playing in the fourth tier during the late 1980s), Alavés finally achieved a promotion back into the Segunda División in 1994–95 after two consecutive years of winning their group in Segunda División B – created as the new third level in 1977 – but failing in the promotion play-offs.

After winning the Segunda División in 1997–98, Alavés returned to the top level after a 42-year hiatus. Following their return season in which they escaped relegation by a single point, they achieved two wins against Barcelona in the following campaign and would qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time upon finishing sixth (to date, their highest-ever placing, coming just 12 years after their lowest-ever: eighth in their group in the fourth level).

Liverpool vs Alaves 2001-05-16
Lineups of the 2001 UEFA Cup Final between Liverpool and Alavés.

As well as concluding the domestic campaign in tenth position, in 2000–01 the Basque club reached the final of the UEFA Cup after beating Internazionale, Rayo Vallecano and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the latter in a crushing 9–2 aggregate victory. The final ended in a 4–5 loss against Liverpool, Alavés losing to an "own-golden goal" after taking the match to extra time. The match also featured two red cards and two disallowed goals in extra time in addition to the nine goals which did count, and has been described by some observers as one of the greatest showpiece games in the competition's history.

Alavés ended 2001–02 in seventh position and qualified for the UEFA Cup for a second time, although the European campaign of 2002–03 was far less successful than two years earlier, with an opening win over Ankaragücü followed by a defeat to another Turkish Süper Lig side, Beşiktaş. On 26 January 2003, the club celebrated their 100th win in La Liga after defeating Real Valladolid 3–1.

Although Alavés were relegated after 2002–03, they regained top flight status two years later. In this time, Alavés was bought by Ukrainian–American businessman Dmitry Pietrman, and several clashes followed with the club's coaches, players and fans alike. The top-division return only lasted one season as the club went through three head coaches and finished in 18th position, one point from safety. Piterman departed in 2007, leaving the club deep in debt after his tenure. After two years of battling against relegation to the third level, Alavés eventually succumbed in 2008–09.

A subsequent black period in Segunda B lasted four years until Alavés was bought by José Antonio Querejeta and were promoted again to the second division in 2013 as overall champions of the third tier, providing an opportunity to sort out its economic difficulties. Three years later, on 29 May 2016, Alavés was promoted to La Liga as second tier champions after beating Numancia 2–0 to overtake Leganés on the final day.

On 10 September 2016, Alavés got their first win of their return season in La Liga by defeating defending La Liga champions Barcelona 2–1 at the Camp Nou. On 7 February 2017, Alavés qualified for the 2017 Copa del Rey Final after eliminating Celta de Vigo in the semi-finals of the competition. This was the first time in their history that the club had qualified for the final of the national cup, their previous best being the semi-finals in 1998 and 2004. Their opponents in the final would be Barcelona, and coincidentally the two clubs met in the league directly after their cup semi-finals; the Catalans inflicted a 6–0 defeat on Alavés in their own Mendizorrotza Stadium, exacting revenge for the result earlier in the season. Barcelona also won the final, held at the Estadio Vicente Calderón with a 3–1 scoreline, meaning there would be no return to European competition for Alavés. In the La Liga that season Alavés finished 9th with 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses. In the 2021–22 season, Alaves were relegated following defeat on the penultimate matchday by Levante (who also went down) to end their six-year stay in La Liga, the longest top-flight run in the club's history.

Seasons

Season to season

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1929 2 3rd Round of 16
1929–30 2 1st Quarter-finals
1930–31 1 8th Round of 16
1931–32 1 9th Quarter-finals
1932–33 1 10th
1933–34 2 10th
1939–40 2 8th Round of 16
1940–41 3 1st Second round
1941–42 2 3rd
1942–43 2 8th Round of 16
1943–44 3 2nd Fifth round
1944–45 3 3rd Round of 16
1945–46 3 5th
1946–47 3 7th
1947–48 3 10th Third round
1948–49 3 12th First round
1949–50 3 10th
1950–51 3 2nd
1951–52 2 9th
1952–53 2 4th Round of 16
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1953–54 2 1st Round of 16
1954–55 1 10th Round of 16
1955–56 1 14th
1956–57 2 5th
1957–58 2 7th
1958–59 2 13th First round
1959–60 2 13th First round
1960–61 3 1st
1961–62 2 4th Round of 16
1962–63 2 8th Round of 16
1963–64 2 16th Round of 16
1964–65 3 1st
1965–66 3 3rd
1966–67 3 7th
1967–68 3 1st
1968–69 2 14th
1969–70 3 9th First round
1970–71 4 1ª Reg. 1st
1971–72 3 7th First round
1972–73 3 3rd Second round
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1973–74 3 1st Second round
1974–75 2 16th Third round
1975–76 2 15th Second round
1976–77 2 8th Second round
1977–78 2 11th Quarter-finals
1978–79 2 9th Quarter-finals
1979–80 2 9th Round of 16
1980–81 2 8th Round of 16
1981–82 2 17th Third round
1982–83 2 17th
1983–84 3 2ª B 3rd Second round
1984–85 3 2ª B 3rd Third round
1985–86 3 2ª B 5th Second round
1986–87 4 7th First round
1987–88 4 8th
1988–89 4 2nd
1989–90 4 1st
1990–91 3 2ª B 2nd Second round
1991–92 3 2ª B 4th Third round
1992–93 3 2ª B 1st Third round
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1993–94 3 2ª B 1st Third round
1994–95 3 2ª B 1st First round
1995–96 2 7th Second round
1996–97 2 13th Second round
1997–98 2 1st Semi-finals
1998–99 1 16th Third round
1999–2000 1 6th Round of 16
2000–01 1 10th Round of 32
2001–02 1 7th Round of 16
2002–03 1 19th Round of 16
2003–04 2 4th Semi-finals
2004–05 2 3rd Round of 32
2005–06 1 18th Third round
2006–07 2 17th Round of 16
2007–08 2 17th Third round
2008–09 2 19th Second round
2009–10 3 2ª B 5th First round
2010–11 3 2ª B 3rd First round
2011–12 3 2ª B 6th Third round
2012–13 3 2ª B 1st Round of 16
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2013–14 2 18th Third round
2014–15 2 13th Round of 32
2015–16 2 1st Third round
2016–17 1 9th Runners-up
2017–18 1 14th Quarter-finals
2018–19 1 11th Round of 32
2019–20 1 16th First round
2020–21 1 16th Round of 32
2021–22 1 20th Second round
2022–23 2

Recent seasons

Season Div Pos. Pld W D L GF GA Pld Cup Europe Notes
2012–13 2B2 1st 38 25 7 6 57 22 82 Round of 32 Promoted
2013–14 2A 18th 42 13 12 17 57 57 51 Third round
2014–15 2A 13th 42 14 11 17 49 53 53 Round of 32
2015–16 2A 1st 42 21 12 9 49 35 75 Third round Promoted
2016–17 1 9th 38 14 13 11 41 43 55 Runners-up
2017–18 1 14th 38 15 2 21 40 50 47 Quarter-finals
2018–19 1 11th 38 13 11 14 39 50 50 Round of 32
2019–20 1 16th 38 10 9 19 34 59 39 First round
2020–21 1 16th 38 9 11 18 36 57 38 Round of 32
2021–22 1 20th 38 8 7 23 31 65 31 Second round Relegated

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player
1 Spain GK Antonio Sivera
2 Colombia DF Anderson Arroyo (on loan from Liverpool)
3 Spain DF Rubén Duarte (captain)
4 Serbia DF Aleksandar Sedlar
5 Spain DF Víctor Laguardia
6 Spain MF Toni Moya
7 Senegal FW Mamadou Sylla
8 Spain MF Salva Sevilla
9 Spain FW Miguel de la Fuente
10 Spain MF Jason
11 Spain MF Luis Rioja (vice-captain)
14 Argentina DF Nahuel Tenaglia (on loan from Talleres de Córdoba)
No. Position Player
17 Spain MF Xeber Alkain
18 Spain MF Jon Guridi
19 Serbia DF Nikola Maraš (on loan from Almería)
20 Spain FW Rober González (on loan from Betis)
21 Algeria FW Abde Rebbach
22 Morocco DF Abdel Abqar
23 Uruguay MF Carlos Benavídez
24 Japan FW Taichi Hara
27 Spain DF Javi López
29 Mauritania MF Abdallahi Mahmoud
31 Equatorial Guinea GK Jesús Owono
33 Argentina GK Adrián Rodríguez

Reserve team

No. Position Player
26 Spain DF Joseda Álvarez
28 Equatorial Guinea MF Álex Balboa
32 Spain DF Imanol Baz
No. Position Player
34 Spain FW Unai Ropero
36 Spain FW Marc Tenas
38 Spain DF Adrián Pérez

Out on loan

No. Position Player
France DF Florian Lejeune (at Rayo Vallecano until 30 June 2023)
Georgia (country) FW Giorgi Gagua (at Real Unión until 30 June 2023)

Honours

Domestic competitions

Winners (4): 1929–30, 1953–54, 1997–98, 2015–16
Winners (4): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2012–13
  • Tercera División
Winners (5): 1940–41, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1973–74
Winners: 1989–90
  • Regional Championship
Biscay Championship: 1929–30
Gipuzkoa Championship: 1938–39
  • Copa Federación de España
Winners: 1945–46
Runners-up: 2016–17

European competitions

Runners-up: 2000–01

Stadium information

Mendizorrotza
Mendizorrotza stadium
  • Name – Mendizorrotza
  • CityVitoria-Gasteiz
  • Capacity – 19,840
  • Inauguration – 1924
  • Pitch size – 105 m x 67 m
  • Other facilitiesEl Glorioso and José Luis Compañón

Famous players

World Cup players

The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Alavés.

Coaching staff

Position Name
Manager Spain Luis García Plaza
Assistant Manager Spain Pedro Rostoll
Algeria Jaume Mut
Goalkeeping Coach Spain Javier Barbero
Physical Coach Spain Félix Vicente
Serbia Nenad Njaradi
Analyst Spain Raúl Gallego
Spain Jon Zubillaga
Team Doctor Spain Josu Díaz de Alda
Spain Mario Pérez
Spain Iñigo Simón
Physiotherapists Spain Javier Pérez Elorrieta
Spain Raúl Gutiérrez
Spain Eneko Candal
Nutritionist Spain Nicolás de Silva
Propmaster Spain Álvaro Sevilla
Utillero Spain David Yébenes
Delegate Spain Lluís Codina

Coaches

  • Spain Amadeo García (1926–27)
  • England Walter Harris (1928)
  • Spain Ramón Encinas (1931–32)
  • Spain Amadeo García (1932–39)
  • Spain Baltasar Albéniz (1939)
  • Spain Francisco Gamborena (1940–41)
  • Spain Baltasar Albéniz (1947–48)
  • Spain Manuel Echezarreta (1954–56)
  • Spain Rafael Iriondo (1958–59)
  • Spain Manuel Echezarreta (1959–60)
  • Spain Ignacio Izagirre (1968–69) (coach)
  • Hungary Ferenc Puskás (1968–69) (technical director)
  • Spain García de Andoin (1972)
  • Spain Koldo Aguirre (1972–73)
  • Spain Ignacio Eizaguirre (1975)
  • Spain Joseíto (1976–78)
  • Spain Jesús Aranguren (1978–80)
  • Spain García de Andoin (1980–82)
  • Spain Mané (1984–85)
  • Spain Nando Yosu (1985–86)
  • Spain Luis Costa (1992–93)
  • Spain José Antonio Irulegui (1993–94)
  • Spain Jesús Aranguren (1994–97)
  • Spain Mané (1997–03)
  • Spain Jesús Aranguren (2003)
  • Spain Pepe Mel (2003–04)
  • Spain Chuchi Cos (2004–06)
  • Spain Juan Carlos Oliva (2006)
  • Argentina Mario Luna (2006)
  • Spain Julio Bañuelos (2006)
  • Spain Chuchi Cos (2006–07)
  • Spain Fabri (2007)
  • Argentina Mario Luna (2007)
  • Spain Josu Uribe (2007–08)
  • Spain Julio Bañuelos (2008)
  • Spain José María Salmerón (2008)
  • Spain Manix Mandiola (2008–09)
  • Spain Javi López (2009)
  • Spain Luis de la Fuente (2011)
  • Spain José Carlos Granero (2011–12)
  • Spain Natxo González (2012–13)
  • Spain Juan Carlos Mandiá (2013–14)
  • Spain Alberto López (2014–15)
  • Spain José Bordalás (2015–16)
  • Argentina Mauricio Pellegrino (2016–17)
  • Argentina Luis Zubeldía (2017)
  • Italy Gianni De Biasi (2017)
  • Spain Abelardo (2017–19)
  • Spain Asier Garitano (2019–20)
  • Spain Pablo Machín (2020–2021)
  • Spain Abelardo (2021)
  • Spain Javier Calleja (2021)
  • Spain José Luis Mendilibar (2021–2022)
  • Spain Julio Velázquez (2022)
  • Spain Luis García Plaza (2022-Present)

Affiliated clubs

Alavés B/C

The club's primary reserve team is Deportivo Alavés B, founded in 1960 and currently playing at the amateur Tercera División level of the senior Spanish system. When that team gained promotion to Segunda División B in 2000, a further reserve side Deportivo Alavés C was formed, later partnering with local team Club San Ignacio, but the C-team was discontinued in 2005 due to the poor financial situation at the club. San Ignacio and most other teams in the vicinity of Vitoria-Gasteiz continue to operate as partner clubs of Alavés.

California Victory

In 2007, Alavés operated a team in the USL First Division in the United States called the California Victory. The team played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California, and wore the Alavés colors. However, Alavés, under new ownership, pulled its support for the club later that year, after which the Victory folded.

NK Rudeš

In May 2017, Alavés signed a ten-year partnership deal with NK Rudeš, freshly promoted Croatian First Football League club, with Rudeš acting as a feeder club to Alavés. In June 2018, Deportivo Alavés and NK Rudeš ended its partnership agreement.

Sochaux

In April 2018, Alavés signed an agreement with French club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard; however the partnership lasted only a few months, ending abruptly in December of the same year.

NK Istra 1961

In June 2018 Alavés took a controlling interest in another Croatian top-tier club, NK Istra 1961, a few weeks after ending their agreement with Rudeš.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Deportivo Alavés para niños

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