CD Mensajero

Football club infobox
clubname = Club Deportivo Mensajero


fullname = Club Deportivo Mensajero
nickname =
founded = 1922
ground = Nuevo Estadio Silvestre Carrillo,
Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands,
Spain
capacity = 6,000
chairman = flagicon|Spain Luis Garcia Martin
manager = flagicon|Spain
league = 3ª - Group 12
season = 2007-08
position = 3ª - Group 12,
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leftarm1=000000|body1=e30817|rightarm1=000000|shorts1=000000|socks1=e30817
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=000000|body2=000000|rightarm2=000000|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000

Club Deportivo Mensajero is a football team based in Santa Cruz de la Palma in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, it plays in the Tercera División - Group 12. Its stadium is "Nuevo Estadio Silvestre Carrillo" with a capacity of 6000.

History

CD Mensajero’s history can be traced to 1916 when a group of friends in Santa Cruz de la Palma formed a youth team. It was not until 1922 that a senior club was established, but with a formation date of the 6th January 1922, they were the first senior club to form on the island of La Palma. The first president was Don Silvestre Carrillo, and the current stadium and its predecessor is dedicated to him.

The club spent the next 70 years playing at a regional level with various degrees of success. They won the Tercera Division title for the Canary Islands in 1985, before arriving on the national stage after winning promotion to Segunda Division B in 1992.

There followed 10 seasons of league football at the third level and 2 appearances in the play-offs. A second place finish in season 1994-95 with a record of P38, W22, D8, L8, F69, A42, Pts.52 saw CD Mensajero qualify for the play-offs to the Segunda Division for the first time. Their play-off group consisted of Cordoba CF, CD Castellon & Sestao Sport Club, the fore-runner of Sestao River. The highlight for CD Mensajero in a tight group was a 6-1 home win against Castellon and despite some indifferent results in matches 3,4 & 5, they entered the final match with an outside chance of promotion. A 3-1 defeat at Cordoba however put an end to those hopes, and it would be another five seasons before they would experience the play-offs again.

Season 1999-2000 saw the club finish in fourth position in the Segunda Division B with a record of P38, W19, D9, L10, F53, A35, Pts.66. The highlights include a 7-0 home win against Caudal Deportivo and a 5-1 away win at Sporting de Gijón B. In the play-offs, CD Mensajero were grouped with Burgos CF, Granada CF and Real Murcia. However, there was to be no repeat of their near miss of five seasons previous. They finished bottom of the play-off group with just 1 point from their six matches.

The expense of running such a relatively small club at a national level began to take its toll and with dramatic cuts in funding, season 2001-02, their final one in the Segunda Division B was an unqualified disaster. Finishing in bottom position and 18 points from safety, CD Mensajero returned to the Tercera Division for the first time in 10 seasons. There followed two seasons of diminishing returns in the Tercera Division played against a backdrop of economic crisis. Finally, at the end of season 2003-04, the club was demoted to the Regional Preferente due to financial irregularities, vacated Estadio Silvestre Carrillo and set up home at the Municipal Estadio Bajamar, before sharing with SD Tenisca. They returned to the remodelled Estadio Silvestre Carrillo at the end of the 2006-07 season, before gaining promotion back to the Tercera in June 2008.

Stadium

CD Mensajero play at Nuevo Estadio Silvestre Carrillo which has a capacity of 6000. Lying at the head of a valley close to the centre of Santa Cruz de la Palma, the stadium was extensively rebuilt from 2003 to 2007. During this period, CD Mensajero vacated the venue and shared with their close rivals SD Tenisca.

Due to the steep valley-side to the south side of the pitch and the sheer drop to the north, the majority of the seating has always been found at either end of the stadium. Prior to the redevelopment in 2003, there was a covered stand at the east end of the ground. A narrow strip of terracing ran along the north side of the pitch, which joined the terrace behind the west end goal.

Following redevelopment, the basic orientation of the stadium remains unchanged. There is however, a more substantial area of seating behind the east goal and this now arcs around to the north side. The east end no longer features a roof, something, which the original redevelopment plan included, but due the financial difficulties that the club experienced, the project was scaled down. The north terrace tapers away to a single line of seating as you head to the west. The West terrace remains relatively unaltered from the original stadium. The players changing facilities are found in a single storey building on the south side of the pitch.

Local Derbies

CD Mensajero's most passionate rivalry is with SD Tenisca. Both clubs were formed in 1922 and over the years have played many times. Since the reorganisation of the Tercera Division in in 1977, the clubs have met in the league on 28 occasions. At present, both clubs have won 6 times and there have been 16 draws. SD Tensica hold the edge with regard to goals scored with 21. CD Mensajero have scored 19 times. SD Tenisca will host the first derby of Season 2008-09 on 4th January 2009. The clubs meet again in the penultimate league fixture on 10th May 2009.

Seasons

*2001/2002: Segunda Division B "20th"
*2002/2003: Tercera División "11th"
*2003/2004: Tercera División "16th"
*2004/2005: Tercera División "11th"
*2005/2006: Tercera División "19th"
*2006/2007: Regional Preferente
*2007/2008: Regional Preferente - Promoted via play-offs
*2008/2009: Tercera División----
*14 seasons in "Tercera División"
*10 seasons in "Segunda Division B"

External links

* [http://www.cdmensajerolapalma.com/ CD Mensajero Official Website]