CF Extremadura

Extremadura

Full name	Club de Fútbol Extremadura
Founded	1924
Dissolved	2010
Ground	Francisco de la Hera, Almendralejo, Extremadura, Spain (Capacity: 11,580)
2009–10	Regional Preferente, 19th
Home colours Away colours

Club de Fútbol Extremadura was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1924, it played two seasons in La Liga, and held home games at Estadio Francisco de la Hera, with a capacity of 11,580 seats.

History

Extremadura was founded in 1924, and spent the first 30 years of its existence in the regional leagues, promoting to the second division after winning the regional championship in the third.

The club lasted seven seasons in the category, finishing in fifth position in the 1958–59 season. Subsequently, the following 29 years were spent in the third level - in 1977 it became the fourth, after the creation of Segunda División B - with the addition of three relegations to the regional championships.

In 1990, after finishing first, Extremadura promoted to division three. Four years later, after winning its group, it returned to the second, after an absence of 34 years. During that period of time, football in the region of Extremadura experienced a rise, with CD Badajoz and CP Mérida also competing in that level in the mid-1990s.

Extremadura finished in fifth position in 1995–96. However, Real Madrid Castilla was ineligible for the playoffs, and Extremadura took its place, achieving promotion to La Liga for the first time ever, after disposing of Albacete Balompié 2–0 on aggregate; Iosu Ortoundo was the manager.

The first season in the top flight was difficult as expected: the team lost its first nine matches, and only won one of the first 19, but eventually recovered, finishing only one point from the safety zone. In the following year, with a young Rafael Benítez in charge, immediate promotion back was easily attained, as runner-up.

In the 1998–99 season, Extremadura finished in 17th position, and the second top flight campaign also ended in relegation, after losing in the playoffs against Rayo Vallecano. The club's financial situation was precarious, and it dropped another division in 2002; in the first season in level three, a fifth position meant a narrow miss in the subsequent promotion playoffs, and the following four years were also spent in the division, with the club never finishing higher than 10th.

After the regular season in 2006–07, Extremadura faced UD Pájara Playas de Jandía from the island of Fuerteventura in the relegation playoffs: after a 0–3 away loss, a 1–1 home draw returned the club to the fourth division, after 17 years. Shortly afterwards, it emerged that the club could not settle its economic problems, with players being due several months in wages. After confirmation by the Spanish Football Association on 1 August 2008, the club was relegated a further division.^[1]

Extremadura's sporting and financial troubles continued in the following years, with the club never ranking higher than 16th. In August 2010, it folded, being dissolved by its major shareholder, the Extremadura City Hall.^[2] That fate had already befallen Mérida, with Badajoz being saved in the last minute, replaced by another team in the city and being dropped to level four.

Season to season

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1952/53 3ª 3rd 1953/54 3ª 1st 1954/55 2ª 11th 1955/56 2ª 7th 1956/57 2ª 9th 1957/58 2ª 9th 1958/59 2ª 5th 1959/60 2ª 12th 1960/61 2ª 15th 1961/62 3ª 4th 1962/63 3ª 6th 1963/64 3ª 2nd 1964/65 3ª 8th 1965/66 3ª 1st 1966/67 3ª 3rd 1967/68 3ª 6th 1968/69 3ª 15th 1969/70 3ª 15th 1970/71 Regional -- 1971/72 Regional --

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1972/73 3ª 18th 1973/74 Regional -- 1974/75 3ª 19th 1975/76 Regional -- 1976/77 Regional -- 1977/78 3ª 6th 1978/79 3ª 16th 1979/80 3ª 13th 1980/81 3ª 11th 1981/82 3ª 13th 1982/83 3ª 13th 1983/84 3ª 4th 1984/85 3ª 2nd 1985/86 3ª 5th 1986/87 3ª 4th 1987/88 3ª 3rd 1988/89 3ª 2nd 1989/90 3ª 1st 1990/91 2ªB 14th 1991/92 2ªB 3rd

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1992/93 2ªB 6th 1993/94 2ªB 1st 1994/95 2ª 15th 1995/96 2ª 5th 1996/97 1ª 19th 1997/98 2ª 2nd 1998/99 1ª 17th 1999/00 2ª 8th 2000/01 2ª 11th 2001/02 2ª 21st 2002/03 2ªB 5th 2003/04 2ªB 13th 2004/05 2ªB 10th 2005/06 2ªB 11th 2006/07 2ªB 16th 2007/08 Reg. Preg. 17th 2008/09 Reg. Preg. 17th 2009/10 Reg. Preg. 19th

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• 2 seasons in La Liga
• 13 seasons in Segunda División
• 10 seasons in Segunda División B
• 26 seasons in Tercera División

Stadium

CF Extremadura’s first permanent ground was called Campo de Santa Aurora, which was located on Camino Alange. It was used from 1928 to 1935, when the club moved to nearby Campo Santa Elvira.

In 1950, the idea of building a municipal stadium was formed, and the club moved to a plot of land adjacent to the proposed stadium. For just over one season, it played at the site, called Los Cañizos. On 12 October 1951, Extremadura played Sevilla FC in the inaugural match at the new grounds, Estadio Francisco de la Hera. The stadium remained relatively unchanged until 1996, when it was demolished to make way for a revamped one, with and a seated capacity of 11,580.

Famous players

Iván Gabrich Gonzalo Pavone José Basualdo Carlos Duré Walter Silvani Walter del Río Luis Rueda Ronny Gaspercic Renaldo Rubenilson Raymond Kalla Navarro Montoya Iván Zarandona Laurent Viaud Igor Gluščević Hassan Kachloul Virgilio Ferreira Vítor Pereira Goran Bogdanović

Miroslav Čermelj Dejan Osmanović Kiko Rubén Torrecilla David Aganzo Ito David Castedo David Casablanca Ismael Changui Poli Edu Moya Jesús Vázquez Quique Estebaranz David Karanka Pier Antonio Esposito Víctor López

see also Category:CF Extremadura footballers

Famous coaches

• Rafael Benítez
• Iosu Ortoundo

References

1. ^ El Extremadura, en Preferente (Extremadura, in Preferente); Diario Hoy, 1 August 2007 (Spanish)
2. ^ La agonía del CF Extremadura llega a su fin (CF Extremadura's agony comes to an end); Diario Hoy, 5 August 2010 (Spanish)

External links

• Official website (Spanish)
• Unofficial website (Spanish)
• Estadios de Espana (English)