UE Lleida

Football club infobox
clubname = UE Lleida


fullname = Unió Esportiva Lleida
nickname = "Els Blaus" ("The Blues")
founded = 1939 (as "Lérida Balompié-AEM")| ground = Camp d´Esports
Lleida, Catalonia
Spain
capacity = 13,500
chairman = flagicon|Spain Nacho Rivadulla
manager = flagicon|Spain Emili Vicente
league = 2ªB - Group 3
season = 2007-08
position = 2ªB - Group 3, 13th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
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pattern_la2=_navyshoulders|pattern_b2=_navyshoulders|pattern_ra2=_navyshoulders
leftarm2=cc0000|body2=cc0000|rightarm2=cc0000|shorts2=000080|socks2=000080

Unió Esportiva Lleida is a Spanish Catalan football club based in Lleida, Spain. They currently play in Segunda División B. Originally formed as "Lérida Balompié-AEM" in 1939, they became "Unión Deportiva Lérida" in 1947, after a merger with "CD Leridano". They adopted the Catalan version of their name in 1978. The club has spent most of it’s history in the lower divisions. However in the early 1950s and early 1990s the club won promotion to La Liga. During the 1990s the club was managed by Mané, Juande Ramos and Víctor Muñoz. All three subsequently became successful managers with other clubs. Since 1987 the club has organised it’s own summer trophy, the Ciutat de Lleida Trophy.

History

Early Lleida football Clubs

Football was first introduced to Lleida in 1910 by Manuel Azoz, a Barcelona business man. Among the earliest clubs in the city were "Montserrat", founded in 1913 by Marist Brothers, and "FC Lleida" founded in 1914. Both played their early games in the district of Pla d’en Gardeny. In 1915 the "Associació Cultural Lleidatana" was founded by Catalan nationalists. By 1917 two other clubs "Club Colonial" and "Athlètic Metalúrgic" began playing at the Camp de Mart. In 1918 "FC Joventut" was formed by left-wing Catalan republicans and during the 1920s they emerged as the city’s strongest side. In 1919 they became the first club to use the Camp d´Esports. However this club was dissolved in 1927. Other clubs of the 1920s included "AE Lleida Calaveres", "Lleida Sport Club" and "AEM Lleida", all of which disappeared during the 1930s.

Lérida Balompié and CD Leridano

After the Spanish Civil War, former members of "AE Lleida Calaveres", "Lleida Sport Club" and "AEM Lleida" formed "Lérida Balompié-AEM". After playing in regional leagues for four seasons they made their debut in the Tercera División in 1943. In 1944 the club spilt into two separate clubs, "Lérida Balompié" and "AEM". Meanwhile in 1941 Spanish nationalists formed "CD Leridano" and a local rivalry developed between them and "Lérida Balompié". On March 9 1947 "Lérida Balompié" and "CD Leridano" merged to become "Unión Deportiva Lérida". The new team retained both the blue and white colours and club shield of "Lérida Balompié". The first president of the new club was Eduard Estadella.

First Golden Era

"UD Lérida" enjoyed a golden age in the late 1940s and early 1950s when they progressed from the Tercera División to La Liga in three seasons. In 1949 they won the Tercera División and the following season, 1949-50, they made their debut in the Segunda División. The season saw the club achieve their biggest league win to date, a 9-2 win against CD Lugo. They also finished as Segunda División runners-up and were then promoted to La Liga for the 1950-51 season. However the club were out of their depth and were heavily defeated on several occasions. There second game saw them lose 9-0 to CD Málaga and in subsequent games they lost 10-1 to Deportivo de La Coruña and 10-0 to Athletic Bilbao. It was no surprise when at the end of the season they were relegated. First eleven in La Liga was: Rivero, Rigau, Telechea, Carrillo, Esquerda, Roca, Gausí, Pellicer, Ramón, Bidegain and Fustero.

The Mané Era

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the club enjoyed a second golden era under coach Mané. He joined the club in 1988 and took them from Segunda División B to La Liga. In 1990 they were Segunda División B champions and in 1993 they won the Segunda División. The following season, 1993-94, saw UE Lleida return to La Liga for a second time. Despite a 1-0 win over the FC Barcelona "Dream Team" at the Camp Nou and a 2-1 win at the Camp d´Esports over Real Madrid, UE Lleida only managed to win five other games and were relegated once again. First eleven in the return to La Liga was: Ravnic, Tomás, Virgilio, David, Txema, Gonzalo, Jaime, Rubio, Bartolo, Urbano and Parés. The 1994-95 season saw them finish third in the Segunda División but they then lost a promotion play-off against Sporting Gijón.

Honours

*"'Segunda División
**"Winners" 1993 1
**"Runners-up" 1950 1
*Segunda División B
**"Winners" 1990, 2004 2
**"Runners-up" 1987 1
*Tercera División
**"Winners" 1949, 1964, 1965 3
**"Runners-up" 1958 1
*"'Regional Preferente
**1971 1
*"'Primera Regional B
**"Runners-up" 1942 1
*"'Segunda Regional
**1940, 1941 2
*"'Copa Catalunya
**"Runners-up" 1992, 1999 2
*Ciutat de Lleida Trophy
**1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 10

Club records

*Best league home win
** 9-2 v Lucense, Segunda División, 20 November 1949
*Best league away win
** 0-6 v Barbastro, Segunda División B, 1990
*Worst league home defeat
** 1-6 v Real Madrid, Primera División, 8 October 1950
** 1-6 v Valencia, Primera División, 4 February 1951
*Worst league away defeat
** 11-0 v Sporting, Segunda División, 6 January 1957
*Best Copa del Rey home win
** 7-0 v Sant Andreu, 2nd Rd, 2nd Leg, 19 December 1985
*Best Copa del Rey away win
** 1-5 v Sant Andreu, 2nd Rd, 1st Leg, 1985
*Worst Copa del Rey home defeat
** 0-3 v Deportivo, Last 16, 1st Leg, 8 February 1995
*Worst Copa del Rey away defeat
** 6-0 v FC Barcelona, 2nd Round, 2nd Leg, 27 November 1984

tatistics

Players

Current squad

"As of 11 October 2008".
*U-23 players ("minimum of six").

:"See also UE Lleida 2008-09"

Reserves

"(playing for FC Alcarràs)"

Out on loan

Fs player|no= -|nat=Spain|name=Pau Bosch|pos=DF "(at Monzón)"Fs player|no= -|nat=Spain|name=Adrià Fernández|pos=FW "(at Monzón)"

Personnel

Current technical staff

"see also cl|UE Lleida footballers"

ee also

*UE Lleida Player Statistics

External links

* [http://www.ellleida.com UE Lleida Official Website]
* [http://www.unioesportivalleida.com UE Lleida Unofficial Website]
* [http://www.asroc.es UE Lleida Unofficial Website]