Extremadura UD

For the former club that played two seasons in La Liga, see CF Extremadura.
Extremadura
Full nameExtremadura Unión Deportiva, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)Azulgranas
Founded21 August 2007; 17 years ago (2007-08-21)
Dissolved2022
GroundFrancisco de la Hera
Almendralejo, Extremadura,
Spain
Capacity11,580[1]
PresidentManuel Franganillo
Head coachManuel Mosquera
2021–22Primera División RFEF – Group 1, 20th of 20 (disqualified)
Websitehttps://www.cdextremadura.es/

Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at Estadio Francisco de la Hera.

History

Extremadura Unión Deportiva was founded in 2007,[2] as the existing CF Extremadura club was experiencing serious financial problems, which would lead to its folding three years later.

In only three seasons, the club reached the third division of Spanish football, having won in the 2010 playoffs against Atlético Mancha Real in June 2010.[3] However, it finished 19th and last (due to AD Cerro de Reyes Badajoz Atlético retiring from competition) in its first campaign, being immediately relegated back.

Extremadura won their fourth-tier group in 2013, qualifying for the Copa del Rey for the first time. There, they lost 2–1 at home to Albacete Balompié in the first round.[4]

In 2016, Extremadura were promoted again to Segunda División B with a 2–0 aggregate play-off win over UB Conquense.[5] In 2018 the club was promoted for the first time to Segunda División after defeating FC Cartagena 1–0 on aggregate in the last round of the play-offs.[6]

One of the stars of Extremadura's promotion was Enric Gallego, who arrived halfway through the season from UE Cornellà, and scored 15 goals in 19 games in his first professional campaign at the age of 32 before leaving for La Liga club SD Huesca in January 2019 for €2 million.[7] After falling into the relegation zone around that point in the season, the club fired Rodri and hired Manuel Mosquera who guided them to safety; the end of the campaign was also marked by the death of veteran winger José Antonio Reyes in a car accident.[8]

In July 2020, Extremadura was relegated back to the third tier after losing by a single goal away to Cádiz CF, amidst problems between the club president and shareholders.[9] The club faced financial difficulties during most of the 2021–22 season, with several players opting to leave during the winter transfer window.[10]

Extremadura changed ownership in January 2022,[11] but as the financial problems were unsolved, the players began a strike in February.[12] On 28 February, after two consecutive no-shows in the competition, the club was expelled from the division;[13] RFEF confirmed the decision on 2 March, with the club being immediately relegated and being unavailable for promotion in the ensuing campaign.[14]

In May 2022, as the club was already in a liquidation process, a new club named CD Extremadura 1924 was founded in the city, with the goal of obtaining Extremadura UD's place in the Segunda División RFEF.[15]

Season to season

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2007–08 6 1ª Reg. 1st
2008–09 5 Reg. Pref. 1st
2009–10 4 3ª 3rd
2010–11 3 2ª B 19th
2011–12 4 3ª 3rd
2012–13 4 3ª 1st
2013–14 4 3ª 6th First round
2014–15 4 3ª 2nd
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2015–16 4 3ª 1st
2016–17 3 2ª B 13th Second round
2017–18 3 2ª B 4th
2018–19 2 2ª 13th Second round
2019–20 2 2ª 21st First round
2020–21 3 2ª B 2nd / 4th First round
2021–22 3 1ª RFEF (R) First round

Players

Retired numbers

Main article: Retired numbers in association football

19 – Spain José Antonio Reyes (2019) – posthumous honour[16]

Stadium

Estadio Francisco de la Hera, Extremadura's home ground, was built in 1996, and has a seated capacity of 11,580.

Reserve team

Main article: Extremadura UD B

Extremadura UD B was created after integrating San José Promesas in the club in 2016. In its first season, it played with the name of Extremadura San José, before changing to its current name in the next season.

Women's team

Main article: Extremadura UD (women)

Extremadura UD Femenino was born in July 2017, after integrating the structure of former Extremadura Femenino CF in the club.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Almendralejo – Estadio Francisco de la Hera". 12 August 2018.
  2. ^ Extremadura UD se presenta como apuesta de fútbol para Almendralejo (Extremadura UD presents itself as Almendralejo's football alternative) Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine; Diario Hoy, 24 August 2007 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ "Mancha Real, el baúl del mejor recuerdo" [Mancha Real, the chest holding the best memory]. El Periódico de Extremadura (in Spanish). 17 February 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Copa del Rey, primer round: Albacete sí y Toledo y Guadalajara, no" [Copa del Rey, first round: Albacete yes and Toledo and Guadalajara, no] (in Spanish). En Castilla-La Mancha. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ^ "El Extremadura asciende a Segunda División B" [Extremadura promote to Segunda División B]. El Periódico Extremadura (in Spanish). 29 May 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Playoff de ascenso: El Extremadura, nuevo equipo de Segunda división" [Promotion play-off: Extremadura, new Segunda División team]. ABC (in Spanish). 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  7. ^ Artus, José Luis (16 January 2019). "Enric Gallego, nuevo jugador del Huesca" [Enric Gallego, new Huesca player]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Jose Antonio Reyes: Extremadura pay tribute to former player". BBC Sport. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. ^ Peña, Raúl (9 July 2020). "El Extremadura, desbordado dentro y fuera del terreno de juego" [Extremadura, overwhelmed on and off the pitch]. Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  10. ^ "El Extremadura UD se queda en cuadro" [Extremadura UD is barely naked] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  11. ^ "El Extremadura cambia de manos" [Extremadura change hands] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. ^ "La plantilla del Extremadura lanza un ultimátum al club" [Extremadura's squad set an ultimatum to the club] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Extremadura UD: punto y final" [Extremadura UD: the end] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. ^ "OFICIAL | Resueltas las consecuencias para la competición tras la exclusión del Extremadura UD" [OFFICIAL | Consequencies settled for the competition after the exclusion of Extremadura UD] (in Spanish). RFEF. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Comienza a construirse el CD Extremadura 1924" [CD Extremadura 1924 is being built] (in Spanish). El Periódico Extremadura. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Extremadura to retire No. 19 shirt as a tribute to José Antonio Reyes". Diario AS. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Nace el Extremadura Femenino" (in Spanish). El Periódico de Extremadura. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
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