Levante UD
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| Full name | Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Granotes (The Frogs) |
| Founded | 9 September 1909 |
| Ground |
Ciutat de València, Valencia, Valencia, Spain |
| Capacity | 26,354 |
| President | Quico Catalán |
| Head coach | Juan Ramón López Muñiz |
| League | Segunda División |
| 2015–16 | La Liga, 20th (relegated) |
| Website | Club home page |
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (Spanish: [leˈβante uˈnjon deporˈtiβa], Valencian: Llevant Unió Esportiva [ʎeˈvant uniˈo espoɾˈtiva]) is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community.
Founded on 9 September 1909, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at Ciutat de València.
Levante UD was originally founded in 1909 as Levante Fútbol Club, taking its name from the Levante beach in La Malvarrosa, and was one of the pioneering football clubs in Valencia. Local rivals Valencia CF was not formed until 1919, however another club, Cabanyal FC, had been playing in the city since 1903.
Levante's earliest games were played at La Platjeta, near the docks on a plot of land owned by a perfume entrepreneur. Its next ground was also near the port area, and the club gradually began to become associated with the working class. In 1919, the side played Valencia for the first time, losing 0–1; the game marked the inauguration of the recently formed new ground at Algirós. In 1928, Levante FC won its first trophy, the Valencian Championship.
1909 also saw the birth of Gimnástico Fútbol Club, which originally played at Patronato de la Juventud Obrera, being then named Universitario Fútbol Club. By 1920, the team had become Real Gimnástico Club de Fútbol, after being granted royal patronage by Alfonso XIII. In 1920, Gimnástico also reached the final of the Campeonato de Valencia, but the game was never played; in 1930, with the emergence of the Second Spanish Republic, the club dropped the Real from its name.
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