Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [depoɾˈtiβo alaˈβes]; Sporting Alavés), usually known as Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friend's Club, Alavés play in La Liga, being promoted back from the Segunda División in the 2022–23 season after beating rivals Levante at the 120th minute in the promotion playoff final.

Quick Facts Full name, Nickname(s) ...
Deportivo Alavés
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Full nameDeportivo Alavés, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)Babazorros
El Glorioso (The glorious one)
Los blanquiazules (The Blue and Whites)
Founded1 July 1920; 104 years ago (1920-07-01) as Sport Friend's Club
GroundMendizorroza
Capacity19,840[1]
OwnerBaskonia-Alavés Group
PresidentAlfonso Fernández de Trocóniz
Head coachLuis García Plaza
LeagueLa Liga
2023–24La Liga, 10th of 20
Websitedeportivoalaves.com
Current season
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It is recognized as the third most successful team in the Basque Country following Athletic Club of Bilbao and Real Sociedad of San Sebastián. Its biggest success was in 2001 when, in the year of its debut in European competition, it reached the 2001 UEFA Cup Final, where it played against Liverpool. It was defeated 5–4 by golden goal. In 2017, the club reached the final of the Copa del Rey, losing out 3–1 to Barcelona.[2]

The team's home kit is blue and white-striped shirt, blue shorts and white socks. It holds home matches at the 19,840-seater Mendizorrotza Stadium[3] and uses other facilities located in Ibaia dedicated to training.

History

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Chart of Deportivo Alavés league performance 1929-2023

Founded in 1920 the initial name of the club was Sport Friends, but on 23 January 1921 the name was changed to the current one, and this is considered the official foundation date.[4] Alavés was the first club to win promotion from the Segunda División to La Liga in 1929–30, a stint which would last three years. In its first season in Primera División Alavés finished 8th from 10 teams, just 1 point away from being relegated.[5]

In 1953–54 the club would reach the top league again for a two-year spell. With Roman Galarraga as a coach, the club reached long-awaited promotion to Segunda División in the 1973–74 season.[4] In June 1983, after having avoided the relegation in the previous season, Alavés went down to Segunda División B, where remained until the 1985–86 campaign.[6] After years of seriously facing disappearance which lasted well into the 1990s (playing in the fourth tier during the late 1980s), Alavés finally achieved a promotion back into the Segunda División in 1994–95 after two consecutive years of winning their group in Segunda División B – created as the new third level in 1977 – but failing in the promotion play-offs.

After winning the Segunda División in 1997–98,[7] Alavés returned to the top level after a 42-year hiatus. Following their return season in which they escaped relegation by a single point, they achieved two wins against Barcelona in the following campaign and would qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time upon finishing sixth (to date, their highest-ever placing, coming just 12 years after their lowest-ever: eighth in their group in the fourth level).

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Lineups of the 2001 UEFA Cup Final between Liverpool and Alavés.

As well as concluding the domestic campaign in tenth position, in 2000–01 the Basque club reached the final of the UEFA Cup after beating Internazionale,[8] Rayo Vallecano and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the latter in a crushing 9–2 aggregate victory.[9] The final ended in a 4–5 loss against Liverpool, Alavés losing to an "own-golden goal" after taking the match to extra time. The match also featured two red cards and two disallowed goals in extra time in addition to the nine goals which did count, and has been described by some observers as one of the greatest showpiece games in the competition's history.[10]

Alavés ended 2001–02 in seventh position and qualified for the UEFA Cup for a second time, although the European campaign of 2002–03 was far less successful than two years earlier, with an opening win over Ankaragücü followed by a defeat to another Turkish Süper Lig side, Beşiktaş. On 26 January 2003, the club celebrated their 100th win in La Liga after defeating Real Valladolid 3–1.

Although Alavés were relegated after 2002–03, they regained top flight status two years later.[9] In this time, Alavés was bought by Ukrainian–American businessman Dmitry Pietrman, and several clashes followed with the club's coaches, players[11] and fans alike.[12] The top-division return only lasted one season as the club went through three head coaches and finished in 18th position, one point from safety. Piterman departed in 2007, leaving the club deep in debt after his tenure. After two years of battling against relegation to the third level, Alavés eventually succumbed in 2008–09.

A subsequent black period in Segunda B lasted four years until Alavés was bought by José Antonio Querejeta[13] and were promoted again to the second division in 2013 as overall champions of the third tier, providing an opportunity to sort out its economic difficulties. Three years later, on 29 May 2016, Alavés was promoted to La Liga as second tier champions after beating Numancia 2–0 to overtake Leganés on the final day.

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Deportivo de La Coruña vs. Alavés.

On 10 September 2016, Alavés got their first win of their return season in La Liga by defeating defending La Liga champions Barcelona 2–1 at the Camp Nou.[14] On 7 February 2017, Alavés qualified for the 2017 Copa del Rey Final after eliminating Celta de Vigo in the semi-finals of the competition. This was the first time in their history that the club had qualified for the final of the national cup, their previous best being the semi-finals in 1998 and 2004. Their opponents in the final would be Barcelona, and coincidentally the two clubs met in the league directly after their cup semi-finals; the Catalans inflicted a 6–0 defeat on Alavés in their own Mendizorrotza Stadium, exacting revenge for the result earlier in the season.[15] Barcelona also won the final, held at the Estadio Vicente Calderón with a 3–1 scoreline,[16] meaning there would be no return to European competition for Alavés. In the La Liga that season Alavés finished 9th with 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses.[17] In the 2021–22 season, Alaves were relegated following defeat on the penultimate matchday by Levante (who also went down) to end their six-year stay in La Liga, the longest top-flight run in the club's history.

Seasons

Season to season

More information Season, Tier ...
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1929 2 3rd Round of 16
1929–30 2 1st Quarter-finals
1930–31 1 8th Round of 16
1931–32 1 9th Quarter-finals
1932–33 1 10th
1933–34 2 10th
1939–40 2 8th Round of 16
1940–41 3 1st Second round
1941–42 2 3rd
1942–43 2 8th Round of 16
1943–44 3 2nd Fifth round
1944–45 3 3rd Round of 16
1945–46 3 5th
1946–47 3 7th
1947–48 3 10th Third round
1948–49 3 12th First round
1949–50 3 10th
1950–51 3 2nd
1951–52 2 9th
1952–53 2 4th Round of 16
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1953–54 2 1st Round of 16
1954–55 1 10th Round of 16
1955–56 1 14th
1956–57 2 5th
1957–58 2 7th
1958–59 2 13th First round
1959–60 2 13th First round
1960–61 3 1st
1961–62 2 4th Round of 16
1962–63 2 8th Round of 16
1963–64 2 16th Round of 16
1964–65 3 1st
1965–66 3 3rd
1966–67 3 7th
1967–68 3 1st
1968–69 2 14th
1969–70 3 9th First round
1970–71 4 1ª Reg. 1st
1971–72 3 7th First round
1972–73 3 3rd Second round
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More information Season, Tier ...
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1973–74 3 1st Second round
1974–75 2 16th Third round
1975–76 2 15th Second round
1976–77 2 8th Second round
1977–78 2 11th Quarter-finals
1978–79 2 9th Quarter-finals
1979–80 2 9th Round of 16
1980–81 2 8th Round of 16
1981–82 2 17th Third round
1982–83 2 17th
1983–84 3 2ª B 3rd Second round
1984–85 3 2ª B 3rd Third round
1985–86 3 2ª B 5th Second round
1986–87 4 7th First round
1987–88 4 8th
1988–89 4 2nd
1989–90 4 1st
1990–91 3 2ª B 2nd Second round
1991–92 3 2ª B 4th Third round
1992–93 3 2ª B 1st Third round
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1993–94 3 2ª B 1st Third round
1994–95 3 2ª B 1st First round
1995–96 2 7th Second round
1996–97 2 13th Second round
1997–98 2 1st Semi-finals
1998–99 1 16th Third round
1999–2000 1 6th Round of 16
2000–01 1 10th Round of 32
2001–02 1 7th Round of 16
2002–03 1 19th Round of 16
2003–04 2 4th Semi-finals
2004–05 2 3rd Round of 32
2005–06 1 18th Third round
2006–07 2 17th Round of 16
2007–08 2 17th Third round
2008–09 2 19th Second round
2009–10 3 2ª B 5th First round
2010–11 3 2ª B 3rd First round
2011–12 3 2ª B 6th Third round
2012–13 3 2ª B 1st Round of 16
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Recent seasons

More information Season, Div ...
Season Div Pos. Pld W D L GF GA Pld Cup Europe Notes
2013–14 2A 18th 42131217 575751 Third round
2014–15 2A 13th 42141117 495353 Round of 32
2015–16 2A 1st 4221129 493575 Third round Promoted
2016–17 1 9th 38141311 414355 Runners-up
2017–18 1 14th 3815221 405047 Quarter-finals
2018–19 1 11th 38131114 395050 Round of 32
2019–20 1 16th 3810919 345939 First round
2020–21 1 16th 3891118 365738 Round of 32
2021–22 1 20th 388723 316531 Second round Relegated
2022–23 2A 4th 42 19 14 9 47 33 71 Round of 16 Promoted in Play-off
2023–24 1 Round of 16
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Seasons in Europe

More information Season, Competition ...
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2000-01 UEFA Cup First round Turkey Gaziantepspor 0–0 3–4 3–4
Second round Norway Lillestrøm SK 1–3 2–2 3–5
Third round Norway Rosenborg 1–1 1–3 4–2
Round of 16 Italy Inter Milan 3–3 0–2 5–3
Quarter-finals Spain Rayo Vallecano 3–0 2–1 4–2
Semi-final Germany Kaiserslautern 5–1 1–4 9–2
Final England Liverpool 5–4
2002-03 UEFA Cup First round Turkey Ankaragücü 1–2 3–0 1–5
Second round Turkey Beşiktaş 1–1 1–0 1–2
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Players

Current squad

As of 2 September 2024[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...
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Reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...
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Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...
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Kits

The team wore kits from the Danish brand Hummel for several seasons.[19][20][21] In the 2017-2018 season, they started wearing new kits from Kelme. They had an agreement with Kelme until 2022.[22] That same year, the team signed a new agreement with the German company Puma for four seasons.[23]

For the launch of the new brand, they choose to bring back the traditional vertical stripes and keep the original black pants.

Symbols

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Segunda versión del banderín como escudo (1923)


Deportivo Alavés has changed its crest several times since it was founded in 1921.[24][25][26] The first crest looked very similar to the official coat of arms of the Álava province. However, instead of a sword-wielding arm, the team's crest featured a blue and white pennant. At the top of the crest was a medallion with the initials "DA".

In 1922, the crest was simplified to just a pennant. The pennant was white with a blue center stripe and had the team initials "DA" in a square at the top left corner. This design stayed until 1950, but the initials changed when the team was renamed Club Deportivo Alavés. In 1950, the team redesigned its crest to look more like the traditional Álava symbol. They brought back the castle and lion, and also added a sword. The "C.D.A." pennant was moved behind the castle, and the whole design was placed within a circle with a crown on top.[27][28]

Honours

Domestic competitions

European competitions

Notes

  1. Not promoted in play-offs
  2. Not promoted in play-offs
  3. Promoted in play-offs
  4. Promoted in play-offs, overall champion of division
  5. Promoted in play-offs
  6. Promoted in play-offs
  7. Not promoted in play-offs
  8. Promoted in play-offs
  9. Promoted directly
  10. Promoted directly

Stadium information

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Mendizorrotza stadium

Famous players

World Cup players

The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup, while playing for Alavés.

Management staff

More information Position, Name ...
Position Name
Head coachSpain Luis García Plaza
Assistant coachSpain Pedro Rostoll
Goalkeeping coachSpain Javier Barbero
Technical assistantSpain Christian Moya
Fitness coachSpain Félix Vicente
Serbia Nenad Njaradi
AnalystSpain Raúl Gallego
Spain Jon Zubillaga
PhysiotherapistSpain Javier Pérez Elorrieta
Spain Eneko Candal
Spain Danel Etxeberria
Spain Raul Gutierrez
Rehab fitness coachSpain Mario Pérez
Spain Iñigo Simón
NutritionistSpain Álex Garcia
Director of Medical ServicesSpain Alberto Fernández
PsychologistSpain Emilio Ibañez
DelegateSpain Lluís Codina
Equipment managerSpain David Yébenes
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Coaches

Affiliated clubs

Alavés B/C

The club's primary reserve team is Deportivo Alavés B, founded in 1960 and currently playing at the amateur Tercera División level of the senior Spanish system. When that team gained promotion to Segunda División B in 2000, a further reserve side Deportivo Alavés C was formed, later partnering with local team Club San Ignacio, but the C-team was discontinued in 2005 due to the poor financial situation at the club. San Ignacio and most other teams in the vicinity of Vitoria-Gasteiz continue to operate as partner clubs of Alavés.[31][32][33][34]

California Victory

In 2007, Alavés operated a team in the USL First Division in the United States called the California Victory. The team played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California, and wore the Alavés colors. However, Alavés, under new ownership, pulled its support for the club later that year, after which the Victory folded.

NK Rudeš

In May 2017, Alavés signed a ten-year partnership deal with NK Rudeš, freshly promoted Croatian First Football League club, with Rudeš acting as a feeder club to Alavés.[35] In June 2018, Deportivo Alavés and NK Rudeš ended its partnership agreement.[36]

Sochaux

In April 2018, Alavés signed an agreement with French club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard;[37] however the partnership lasted only a few months, ending abruptly in December of the same year.[38]

NK Istra 1961

In June 2018 Alavés took a controlling interest in another Croatian top-tier club, NK Istra 1961, a few weeks after ending their agreement with Rudeš.[39]

References

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