Celta de Vigo

Celta Vigo

Full name	Real Club Celta de Vigo, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Os Celestes (The Sky Blues) O Celtiña (Lovely/Little Celta)
Founded	23 August 1923 (1923-08-23)
Ground	Balaídos (capacity: 32,500)
Owner	Citroën
President	Carlos Mouriño
Head Coach	Abel Resino
League	Primera División
2011–12	Segunda División, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Real Club Celta de Vigo (Galician pronunciation: [reˈal ˈkluβ ˈθelta ðe ˈβiɣo]), or simply Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Primera División. It was founded on 23 August 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club. Nicknamed Los Celestes (The Sky Blues), they play in sky blue shirts and white shorts. The club's home stadium is Balaídos, which seats 32,500 spectators.

Celta Vigo have played many seasons in La Liga, but have never won a league title or the Copa del Rey. One of their best seasons was 1970–71, when they finished unbeaten at home and were known as the "giant-killers." Celta came sixth that season and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time. More recently, the club finished in their best-ever position of fourth in 2002–03, qualifying for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Arsenal.

History

Foundation

R.C. Celta de Vigo was formed as a result of the ambition of Vigo's teams to achieve more at national level, where the Basque sides had been their bête noire in the Spanish Championship. The idea was to merge both teams to create a more powerful team at national level. The standard-bearer of this movement was Manuel de Castro "Handicap", a sports writer for the Faro de Vigo who, from 1915, started to write in his articles about the need for a unitarian movement. The slogan of his movement was "Todo por y para Vigo" (All for and to Vigo), which eventually found support among the managers of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Club Fortuna de Vigo. It was backed unanimously when De Castro himself presented the motion at the assembly of the Royal Spanish Football Federation in Madrid, on 22 June 1923.

On 12 July 1923, at the AGMs of Vigo and Fortuna held at the Odeon Theatre and in the Hotel Moderno, respectively, the merger was approved. Thus the "Team of Galicia" was born, as it was dubbed. In the last AGM of Fortuna and Vigo to approve the formation of a new club held on 10 August 1923, the members decided upon the team's name. Various names were suggested:

• Real Unión de Vigo
• Club Galicia
• Real Atlántic
• Breogán
• Real Club Olimpico

The last name was popular but they eventually decided on Real Club Celta, an ethnic race linked to Galicia (see Celts). The first president of Celta was Manuel Bárcena de Andrés, the Count of Torre Cedeira. At this AGM, the squad was also decided, which numbered 64 players in total, that included some notable players from both Fortuna and Vigo:

• Goalkeepers: Isidro, Lilo and Rubido
• Defenders: Otero, Pasarín, Juanito Clemente, Daniel y Kaíto
• Midfielders: Jacobo Torres, Balbino, Queralt, Hermida, Pombo, Cruces, Córdoba, Máximo y Bienvenido
• Forwards: Reigosa, Chiarroni, Posada, Polo, Correa, Gerardito, Ramón González, Caride, Pinilla, Salvador, Chicha, Miguelito y Casal, Park.
• Manager: Francis Cuggy

EuroCelta

The late 1990s (1997—2003) saw the best results in Celta's history, in which they managed to consolidate themselves as a top-six league side, culminating in 2001–02, when they did not fall below sixth the whole season. They were dubbed EuroCelta by the Spanish press. In February 2001 the IFFHS declared Celta the best team of the world during that period, as a consequence of the fantastic results. The most important players during that period were Alexander Mostovoi, Valery Karpin and Haim Revivo. The squad counted also with other international players such as the goalkeeper Pablo Cavallero, the midfielders Claude Makélélé and Mazinho, the winger Gustavo López or the strikers Catanha, Luboslav Penev and Benny McCarthy, among others.

Decline

Celta had a dramatic reversal of fortune in 2003—04. The previous season, they finished fourth in the league, putting them in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Celta entered the group phase after eliminating Slavia Praha, and eventually reached the last 16 before being knocked out by Arsenal. However, their domestic form was disastrous, and they finished second to the last in La Liga, so they were relegated to the second level. Although their squad was heavily dismantled, they earned a return to the top flight at the first attempt, after finishing second in in 2004-05's Segunda.

In the 2005–06 season, they finished sixth earning a return once more to the UEFA Cup. They made it to the last 16 in that competition as well, before losing to Werder Bremen.

In the 2006—07 season, Celta finished in 18th position and were relegated to Segunda División. At the end of June 2007, Celta avoided going into administration. However, if an agreement was not put in place between the club and its creditors within three months, then courts would declare the liquidation of the club's assets.

Due to the huge debt, the club was forced to sell many players and make tremendous cuts in the club's finances. Since then, they have been relying mainly in the reserves team, combined with some inexpensive signings. During the first three seasons in Segunda División the club struggled hard to avoid relegation, amid fears of the club's disappearance. This was a period of high instability, with constant changes of managers and players. In the season 2010–2011, the signings of the striker David Rodríguez, the winger Enrique de Lucas and the manager Paco Herrera turned the situation and the club finished sixth, performing a fantastic season and qualifying for the promotion. Nevertheless, they were eliminated in the first knockout by Granada CF on the penalty shootout, after an aggregate of 1–1 .

Return to La Liga

On 3 June 2012 Celta Vigo returned to La Liga after 5 years in Spain's Segunda Division

Club identity

Colours

Celta Vigo's original home colours (1923).

Celta Vigo's original team strip consisted of a red shirt, black shorts and blue socks. This was later changed at an unknown date to the traditional sky blue and white strip – representative of the Galician flag.

Crest

Like many other Galician clubs, such as Compostela and Racing Ferrol, the club badge is based on the red cross of Santiago (St. James). On top of the cross sits a sky blue shield with two letter Cs (Club Celta). In 1923, Celta became one of several Spanish football clubs that were granted patronage by the Spanish crown and thus entitled to use Real (Royal) in their names and the royal crown on their badge. This right was granted to Celta by Alfonso XIII and the club subsequently became known as Real Club Celta de Vigo. During the Spanish Second Republic (1931—1936) the title Real was removed from the club's name and the royal crown was taken off the club crest, however it was to return under the Spanish State.

Kit

Celta Vigo have the longest-running sponsorship deal in Spanish football; Going back to the 1985–86 season, Citroën, the biggest employer in Vigo, and in Galicia, has been their official shirt sponsor. Their business deal with kit supplier, Umbro, was also one of the longest-running ones – Umbro's regional headquarters are based in nearby Redondela.

Years	Kit manufacturer	Sponsor
		Brand	Company name
1980–1982	Meyba	None
1982–1986	Adidas
1986–2010	Umbro	Citroën	Peugeot Citroën Automóviles España, S.A.
2010–2013	Li-Ning
2013–	Adidas

Seasons

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1923–24 - - Quarter-finals 1924–25 - - Semi-finals 1925–26 - - Semi-finals 1926–27 - - Quarter-finals 1927–28 - - Quarter-finals 1928–29 2ª 9th Round of 32 1930–31 3ª 1st Round of 32 1931–32 2ª 9th Semi-finals 1932–33 2ª 7th Round of 32 1933–34 2ª 4th Round of 16 1934–35 2ª 1st Round of 16 1935–36 2ª 1st Round of 16 1939–40 1ª 10th Round of 16 1940–41 1ª 10th Semi-finals 1941–42 1ª 5th First Round 1942–43 1ª 5th Round of 16 1943–44 1ª 14th Round of 16 1944–45 2ª 3rd First Round 1945–46 1ª 10th Round of 16 1946–47 1ª 9th Quarter-finals 1947–48 1ª 4th Final 1948–49 1ª 11th Round of 16 1949–50 1ª 7th Round of 16 1950–51 1ª 8th First Round 1951–52 1ª 9th First Round 1952–53 1ª 13th DNP 1953–54 1ª 10th Round of 16 1954–55 1ª 11th Round of 16 1955–56 1ª 10th Round of 16 1956–57 1ª 13th Quarter-finals 1957–58 1ª 7th Round of 16 1958–59 1ª 16th Round of 16 1959–60 2ª 2nd First Round 1960–61 2ª 2nd Round of 32 1961–62 2ª 6th Round of 32 1962–63 2ª 6th First Round 1963–64 2ª 9th Round of 16 1964–65 2ª 5th Round of 32 1965–66 2ª 2nd Round of 32 1966–67 2ª 3rd First Round 1967–68 2ª 3rd Semi-finals 1968–69 2ª 2nd DNP 1969–70 1ª 10th Round of 16 1970–71 1ª 6th Round of 16

Season Division Place Copa del Rey Europe 1971–72 1ª 10th Quarter-finals UEFA Cup – Round of 32 1972–73 1ª 15th Round of 16 - 1973–74 1ª 12th Round of 32 - 1974–75 1ª 17th Round of 16 - 1975–76 2ª 2nd Round of 16 - 1976–77 1ª 17th Quarter-finals - 1977–78 2ª 3rd Third Round - 1978–79 1ª 16th Round of 16 - 1979–80 2ª 17th Round of 16 - 1980–81 2ªB 1st Third Round - 1981–82 2ª 1st Third Round - 1982–83 1ª 17th Round of 16 - 1983–84 2ª 6th First Round - 1984–85 2ª 3rd Third Round - 1985–86 1ª 18th Quarter-finals - 1986–87 2ª 1st Third Round - 1987–88 1ª 7th Round of 16 - 1988–89 1ª 8th Quarter-finals - 1989–90 1ª 19th Round of 16 - 1990–91 2ª 14th Fifth Round - 1991–92 2ª 1st Third Round - 1992–93 1ª 11th Third Round - 1993–94 1ª 15th Final - 1994–95 1ª 13th Fourth Round - 1995–96 1ª 11th Round of 16 - 1996–97 1ª 16th Semi-finals - 1997–98 1ª 6th Round of 16 - 1998–99 1ª 5th Round of 16 UEFA Cup – Quarter-finals 1999–2000 1ª 7th Round of 16 UEFA Cup – Quarter-finals 2000–01 1ª 6th Final Intertoto Cup – Winner UEFA Cup – Quarter-finals 2001–02 1ª 5th Round of 32 UEFA Cup – Round of 32 2002–03 1ª 4th Round of 32 UEFA Cup – Round of 16 2003–04 1ª 19th Quarter-finals Champions League – Round of 8 2004–05 2ª 2nd Round of 64 - 2005–06 1ª 6th Round of 16 - 2006–07 1ª 18th Round of 32 UEFA Cup – Round of 16 2007–08 2ª 16th Second round - 2008–09 2ª 17th Round of 32 - 2009–10 2ª 12th Quarter-finals - 2010–11 2ª 6th Second round - 2011–12 2ª 2nd Round of 32 - 2012–13 1ª - Round of 16 -

---

• 1 participation in Champions League
• 6 participations in UEFA Cup
• 1 participation in Intertoto Cup
• 47 seasons in La Liga
• 32 seasons in Segunda División
• 1 season in Segunda División B
• 1 season in Tercera División

Current squad

The numbers are established according to the official website:www.celtavigo.net and www.lfp.es

As of 31 March 2013

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Sergio Álvarez 2 DF Hugo Mallo 3 DF Roberto Lago 4 MF Borja Oubiña (captain) 5 DF Andrés Túñez 6 MF Jonathan Vila 8 MF Álex López 9 FW Mario Bermejo 10 FW Iago Aspas 11 MF Danijel Pranjić (on loan from Sporting CP) 12 DF Gustavo Cabral 13 GK Javi Varas

No. Position Player 15 DF Vadim Demidov (on loan from E. Frankfurt) 16 DF Carlos Bellvís 18 FW Park Chu-Young (on loan from Arsenal) 19 FW Fabián Orellana 20 FW Toni 21 DF Samuel Llorca 22 MF Quique de Lucas 23 MF Michael Krohn-Dehli 24 MF Augusto Fernández 25 MF Natxo Insa 28 DF Jonny

Out on Loan

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

No. Position Player GK Yoel (on loan to Lugo until 30 June 2013) MF Dani Abalo (on loan to Beira Mar until 30 June 2013) MF Cristian Bustos (on loan to Sporting de Gijón until 30 June 2013)

Club records

• Most league goals – 107, Hermidita (1945–55)
• Most Primera División league goals –
• Most goals in a season – 69, (1998–99)
• Most league appearances – 235, Mostovoi (1996–04)
• Current player with most league appearances –
• Biggest win and biggest home win – 10–1 (v. Gimnàstic Tarragona, 23 October 1949)
• Biggest away win – 0–5 (v. Hercules, 2 March 1941)
• Biggest defeat and biggest away defeat – 10–0 (v. Athletic Bilbao, 11 January 1944)
• Most Home points in a season –
• Most Away points in a season – 18 (2006–07)
• Record transfer fee paid – €13.5 million, Catanha from Málaga CF (summer of 2000)
• Record transfer fee received – €14 million, Claude Makélélé to Real Madrid CF (summer of 1998)

Top goalscorers

• Hermidita 105
• Mauro 69
• Gudelj 68
• Pahiño 61
• Mostovoi 56
• Roig 50
• Atienza 49
• Del Pino 48
• Olmedo 46
• Torres 39

Internationals playing at Celta

Kamel Ghilas Pablo Cavallero Augusto Fernández Gustavo López Edu Sylvinho Petar Zanev Fabián Orellana Mauricio Pinilla Stjepan Andrijašević

Ioannis Okkas Michael Krohn-Dehli Mido Lévy Madinda Quincy Owusu-Abeyie Zisis Vryzas Gilberto Yearwood Haim Revivo Māris Verpakovskis Dan Eggen

Jorge Cadete Gabriel Tamaș Valery Karpin Aleksandr Mostovoi Savo Milošević Benni McCarthy Park Chu-Young Gabriel Alonso Ángel López Balbino Clemente

Santiago Cañizares Catanha Quique Costas Ito Juan Sánchez Juanfran Sebastián Losada Luis Otero Michel Salgado Miguel Muñoz

Jorge Otero Borja Oubiña Pahiño Luis Pasarín Ramón Polo Rodilla José Vega Juan Velasco Fabián Canobbio Pablo García

Andrés Túñez Goran Đorović

Club Officials

President	Carlos Mouriño
Vice presidents	Ricardo Barros Hermida, Jesús García García & Raúl López López
Director of Football	Miguel Torrecilla
Director of Youth Teams	Antonio Otero
Club Delegate	José Ricardo Fernández
Administrative Director	María José Herbón
Head of PR	José Carlos Bastos
Head coach	Abel Resino
Assistant coach	Pepe Serer
Fitness coach	Miguel Peiró
Goalkeeping coach	Patxi Villanueva

Former managers

Dates Name 1923–26 Francis Cuggy 1926–27 Andrés Balsa 1927–28 W.H. Cowan 1928–31 Ramón Encinas 1931–32 José Planas 1932–35 José María Peña 1935–36 Ricardo Comesaña 1939–40 Ricardo Comesaña 1940–41 Joaquín Cárdenes 1941–44 Baltasar Albéniz 1944–46 Károly Plattkó 1946 Armando Márquez Ligori 1946–49 Ricardo Zamora 1949–51 Luis Pasarín 1951–52 Roberto Ozores 1952–53 Odilio Bravo 1953 Armando Márquez Ligori 1953 José Iraragorri 1953–55 Ricardo Zamora 1955–56 Luis Urquiri

Dates Name 1956–57 Alejandro Scopelli 1957–59 Luis Pasarín 1959 Luis Miró 1959 Lúpiz 1959 Baltasar Albéniz 1959–60 Santiago Sanz Fraile 1960 Ricardo Zamora 1960–61 Santiago Sanz Fraile 1961 Louis Hon 1961–62 Aretio 1962–63 Ignacio Eizaguirre 1963–65 Joseíto 1965–66 Rafa Yunta 1966–67 César 1967 Pepe Villar 1967–69 Ignacio Eizaguirre 1969–70 Roque Olsen 1970–72 Juan Arza 1972–73 Pedro Dellacha 1973 Aretio

Dates Name 1973–74 Juan Arza 1974–75 Mariano Moreno 1975 Pepe Villar 1975–77 Carmelo Cedrún 1977 Antonio Cuervo 1977 Pepe Villar 1977–78 José María Maguregui 1978–79 Laureano Ruiz 1979 Pedro González Carnero 1979–80 Carmelo Cedrún 1980 Juan Arza 1980–83 Milorad Pavic 1983 Carriega 1984–85 Félix Carnero 1985–86 José Luis García Traid 1986 Pepe Villar 1986–87 Colin Addison 1987–88 José María Maguregui 1988 Pepe Villar 1988–90 José Manuel Díaz Novoa

Dates Name 1990–91 José María Maguregui 1991–94 Txetxu Rojo 1994–95 Carlos Aimar 1995–97 Fernando Castro Santos Jul 1997 – Jun 98 Javier Irureta Jul 1998 – Jun 2 Víctor Fernández Jul 2002 – Jan 4 Miguel Ángel Lotina Jan 2004 – Mar 4 Radomir Antić Mar 2004 – Jun 4 Ramón Carnero Jul 2004 – Apr 7 Fernando Vázquez Apr 2007 – Oct 7 Hristo Stoichkov Oct 2007 – Mar 8 Juan Ramón López Caro Mar 2008 – May 8 Antonio López May 2008 – Jun 8 Alejandro Menéndez Jul 2008 – Mar 9 Pepe Murcia Mar 2009 – Jun 10 Eusebio Sacristán Jul 2010 – Feb 13 Paco Herrera Feb 2013– Abel Resino

Presidents

Dates Name 1923–28 Manuel de Barcena y Andrés 1928–29 Manuel Prieto González 1929–32 Alfredo Escobar 1932–33 Luis de Vicente Sasiáin 1933–34 Indalecio Vázquez 1934–35 Cesáreo González 1935–39 Rodrigo de la Rasilla 1939–40 Pedro Braña Merino 1940–41 Manuel Núñez González

Dates Name 1941–42 Fernando de Miguel Rodríguez 1942–48 Luis Iglesias Fernández 1948–50 Avelino Ponte García 1950–52 Faustino Álvarez Álvarez 1952–56 Manuel Prieto Pérez 1956–58 Antonio Herrero Montero 1958–59 Antonio Alfageme 1959–61 Celso Lorenzo Vila 1961–63 Carlos Barreras Barret

Dates Name 1963–64 Antonio Crusat Pardiñas 1964–65 Manuel Rodríguez Gómez 1965–69 Daniel Alonso González 1969–70 Ramón de Castro 1970–73 Rodrigo Alonso Fariña 1973–77 Antonio Vázquez Gómez 1977–80 Jaime Arbones Alonso 1980 Rodrigo Arbones Alonso 1980 Elías Posada

Dates Name 1980–82 Elías Alonso Riego 1982–90 José Luis Rivadulla García 1990–91 José Luis Alejo Álvarez 1991 Eloy de Francisco 1991–95 José Luis Núñez Gallego 1995–2006 Horacio Gómez Araujo 2006– Carlos Mouriño Atanes

Celta Vigo B

Celta de Vigo B is Celta's youth team. It was founded in 1990 and plays in Group I of the Segunda División B.

Honours

National titles

• Segunda División

Winners (3): 1935–36, 1981–82, 1991–92

Runners-up (4): 1968–69, 1975–76, 2004–05, 2011–12

• Copa del Rey

Runners-up (3): 1947–48, 1993–94, 2000–01

European titles

• UEFA Intertoto Cup

Winners (1): 2000

Regional titles

• Galician Championship

Winners (6): 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–34

• Asturian-Galician Championship

Winners (1): 1934–35

• Galician Cup

Winners (2): 2007, 2008

Youth titles

• Copa de Campeones

Runners-up (2): 2008-09, 2012-13

Friendly

• Trofeo Ciudad de Vigo

Winners (22): 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012

• Trofeo Memorial Quinocho

Winners (14): 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011

• Trofeo Teresa Herrera

Winners (1): 1999

• Trofeo Xacobeo

Winners (1): 1999

Individual

• Pichichi (1)

1947–48 – Pahiño (23 goals)

• Zamora (3)

1992–93 – Santiago Cañizares (30 Goals/36 Games – Coef. 0.83)

2002–03 – Pablo Cavallero (27 Goals/34 Games – Coef. 0.79)

2005–06 – José Manuel Pinto (28 Goals/36 Games – Coef. 0.78)

Notes

1.^ Carlos Mouriño is the plurality shareholder, with 35%, and as such is the club president.

Further reading

• González Villar, Celso. Albores do fútbol Vigues (in Galician). 
• Cros, Jaime (1973). El Celta y la Liga (in Spanish). Murcia: APANDA de Artes Gráficas, S.A. ISBN 84-605-5851-7. 
• Cros, Jaime (1974). Celta 74 (in Spanish). 
• Álvarez, Eugenio (2004). A historia do Celta (1992–2004) (in Spanish). Vigo. p. 272. 
• Ball, Phil (2001). "Raining Champions". Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. Kings Lynn, England: WSC Books. pp. 165–181. ISBN 0-9540134-6-8. 

External links

• Official website
• Real Club Celta on Facebook
• Real Club Celta on Twitter
• Real Club Celta's channel on YouTube
• Celta at La Liga
• Futbolme team profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile
• Estadios de Espana (English)
• Soccerway team profile (English)