CD Olímpic de Xàtiva

Football club infobox
clubname = Olímpic de Xàtiva


fullname = Club Deportivo Olímpic de Xàtiva
nickname =
founded = 1932
ground = La Murta,
Xàtiva, Valencian Community,
Spain
capacity = 9,000
chairman = flagicon|Spain Alfonso Rus Terol
manager = flagicon|Spain Fernando Giner
league = Regional Preferente
season = 2007-08
position = 3ª - Group 6, 19th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Club Deportivo Olimpic Xativa is a football team based in Xativa in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1932, it currently plays in the "Valenciana Regional Preferente" Group 3 League.

tadium

Olimpic's stadium is Campo de Futbol La Murta with capacity of 9,000, 2,000 of which are seats. The pitch dimensions are 103m x 63m. The site has been a football field since the late 1920's or early 1930's and is the only home ground Olimpic have used. Until 1960, the ground was very basic, consisting of a simple uncovered tribune on the east side of the ground and a single step around the pitch. In season 1960/61, leading player Richart was transferred to Sporting de Gijón and it is said that this money was used to build the popular terrace at the north end of the ground. Simple improvements to the terracing occurred during the 1980's, but the next major improvement was the building of a new covered main stand in 2000. Plastic seats and an electronic scoreboard were added in 2002 and artificial turf was installed in October 2005.

History

Football in Xativa can be traced back to 1924 when a number of clubs from the city played in the Valenciana Regional League. The current CD Olimpic Xativa were formed in 1932, and from that date have been the main representative of the city. During the Spanish Civil War, the club played in many regional competitions and won promotion to the "Tercera División" in 1944. They lasted one season, but returned in 1946 and were close to promotion on a number of occasions. They resigned from the "Tercera" in 1951 due to financial pressures but regained their status in 1955.

For the next 6 seasons, Olimpic Xativa were a dominant force in this category and reached the play-offs for the Segunda Division on three successive occasions, but unsuccessfully. The club could not overcome this final hurdle, losing to Gimnàstic de Tarragona in 1959, CD Málaga in 1960 and finally CD Atlético Baleares in 1961.

These disappointments led to a slow descent down the "Tercera", culminating in relegation to the Regional league following the restructuring of the divisions in 1968. The restructuring meant that Olimpic was placed at the 5th level of Spanish football, and after flitting between Regional Primera and Preferente, they finally returned to the 3rd level, currently called Segunda División B in 1977. A promising first season saw them finish in 8th position with 16 wins, 6 draws and 16 losses. Season 1978/79 however, was an unmitigated disaster. Olimpic finished bottom of the division with just 4 wins and 12 points from 38 matches. The decline continued and after 3 seasons of football in the Tercera, Olimpic were back in the Regional Preferente.

Olimpic returned to Segunda 2b in 1987/88 under the guidance of Coach Benito Floro. That first season back saw there best ever placing of 4th, missing out on promotion on the final day to local rivals Alzira. Their stay lasted 4 seasons and since season 1991-92, Olimpic have switched between the Tercera and Regional Preferente. Since 2000/01 they have played in Group 3 of the Valenciana Regional Preferente. Olimpic have finished consistently in the top 5 in the division but have failed to progress beyond the play-offs and a return to the Tercera.

Olimpic made an impressive start to the 2006-07 season and at the half-way stage topped the Regional Preferente Grupo 3 (Valenciana) division with a record of P18, W14, D2 L2, F47, A7, Pts44. Whilst their form tailed off in the second half of the season, they still finished top of the division with a final record of P36, W24, D7, L5, F86, A22, Pts79.

Olimpic entered the end of season regional play-offs with the most impressive record of all the competing teams and were paired with Bencasim who had finished 3rd in Regional Preferente Grupo 1 (Castello). In the first leg, Olimpic travelled north to the costal town but their status as favorites counted for little as they suffered a 0-2 defeat. In the return leg, Olimpic levelled the tie with a 2-0 win in 90 minutes. Two further goals in extra time secured a 4-0 victory and progression to the final promotion phase.

In the final, Olimpic faced La Nucia who had finished first in Regional Preferente Grupo 4 (Alicante province). The first leg was played on 17th June at Olimpic’s La Murta stadium and ended in a 1-1 draw. One week later, Olimpic travelled to La Nucia as underdogs, knowing that only a win or a high scoring draw would secure promotion. In the 93rd minute, with the score at 0-0 and the local support anticipating overall victory, substitute Alex Pascual scored with a shot from 25 metres. The goal secured the most dramatic of victories and Olimpic's return to the Tercera division for the first time since season 1999-2000.

Despite a decent start to the 2007-08 season, their stay in the Tercera was to prove a short one. Home form was particularly problematic with only 25 points being picked up at La Murta. In the end, the sucess of the season came down to the final game away at fellow strugglers, Juvented Barrio Cristo. Win and Olimpic would remain in the Tercera, draw or defeat and they would return to Regional Preferente Grupo 3, 12 short months after leaving it. Olimpic lost 1-2 and finished the season in 19th position with a record of P40, W12, D7, L21, F36, A53, Pts 43.

Classification and Results for Season 2008/2009

* [http://www.futbolme.com/futbol/0809_reg/71/Regional_Preferente_-_Grupo_3.asp- Regional Preferente Valenciana Group 3]

External links

* [http://www.cdolimpicdexativa.com/ CD Olímpic de Xàtiva Official website]