Sporting de Gijón

Football club infobox
clubname = Real Sporting de Gijón


fullname = Real Sporting de Gijón, SAD
nickname = "Rojiblancos" ("Red-and-whites")
founded = 1905
ground = El Molinón,
Gijón, Asturias,
Spain
capacity = 25,885
chairman = flagicon|Spain Manuel Vega-Arango Alvaré
manager = flagicon|Spain Manuel Preciado Rebolledo
league = La Liga
season = 2007-08
position = Segunda División,
3rd - Promoted
shirtsupplier= Astore shirtsponsors=
pattern_la1=_white_stripes|pattern_b1=_whitestripes|pattern_ra1=_white_stripes
leftarm1=FF0000|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=003399|socks1=003399
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FF0000|body2=FF0000|rightarm2=FF0000|shorts2=FF0000|socks2=FF0000

Real Sporting de Gijón is a Spanish football team from Gijón, Asturias. Established June 1 1905, They currently play in the La Liga, Primera División. Known as the "Rojiblancos" because of their red and white striped jerseys, their home field is "El Molinón" stadium, the oldest professional soccer field in Spain. It's been in use since 1908, and is located on the site of an old watermill, hence the stadium's name, the Spanish word for "big mill".

History

The club was established in 1905 with the name Sporting Gijonés, Anselmo López being the first president. King Alfonso XIII accepted the Royal patronage of the club for the Spanish crown in 1912, introducing the term "Real" (Spanish for "Royal") to its name, becoming Real Sporting Club Gijonés. In 1916 a new change took place to adopt today's denomination, Real Sporting de Gijón. From 1941 until the 1970s, due to a temporary law forbidding the use of foreign words in football club names, the team's official denomination was Real Gijón.

In 1944, the club was promoted into First Division for the first time, and played thereafter in both the first and second divisions, achieving greatest success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, competing for league and national cup titles and laying the groundwork for a 21-year continuous stretch in "La Liga". During this period, Sporting competed in the UEFA Cup six times, losing in the Round of 32 four times, and the Round of 16 twice, most recently in 1991-92.

Following a disastrous 1998 campaign, the club was relegated to the Second Division, where they played for a ten seasons stretch. On June 15, 2008 the club secured promotion back to the primera for the 2008-09 season.

The team's historic rival is Real Oviedo. When both teams play in the same division, they compete in the Asturian derby. This derby is currently on hold as Oviedo are playing in the fourth level.

Statistics

*36 seasons in "Primera División (La Liga)"
**"Primera División" runner up in 1979.
**"Copa del Rey" runner up in 1981 and 1982
*41 seasons in "Segunda División (Liga BBVA)"

Club colors & crest

The club's colors, red & white, were chosen from the colors of Gijón's flag.

From 1931 to 1936, during the Spanish Second Republic, the crown in Sporting's crest was temporarily replaced by a mural crown.

Current squad

"The numbers are established according to the official website: [http://www.realsporting.com www.realsporting.com] and [http://www.lfp.es www.lfp.es]

"As of 31 August, 2008."

Recent seasons

: [cite web
url=http://www.futbolme.com/txt/0708/futbolme_2.asp
title= 2^nddivision tables from 1993-1994]

Statistics 2007/08

*Top scorers:
**Kike Mateo - 12 goals
**Barral - 11 goals
**Bilic - 10 goals
*Top goalkeepers:
**Roberto - 39 goals in 40 Matches
**Sergio Sánchez - 1 goal in 1 Match

Famous players

"see also cl|Sporting de Gijón footballers"

Famous coaches

* Joan Josep Nogués, 1952-54
* José Manuel Díaz Novoa
* Vicente Miera
* Vujadin Boškov, 1983-84
* Mariano García Remón
* Bert Jacobs
* Aad de Mos

"see also cl|Sporting de Gijón managers

See also

*Sporting de Gijón B - Sporting de Gijón's farm team.

References

External links

* [http://www.realsporting.com Official website]
* [http://www.futbolme.com/futbol/equipos/0002spor_2.asp Futbolme.com team profile] es icon
* [http://www.footballdata.com/team/Real-Sporting-de-Gijon/Real-Sporting-de-Gijon-Results.php Team results and fixtures]