SD Eibar
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| Full name | Sociedad Deportiva Eibar, S.A.D. | |||
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| Nickname(s) |
Armagiñak / Los Armeros (The Gunsmiths) Azulgranas (blue-and-carmines)[1] | |||
| Founded | 30 November 1940 | |||
| Ground | Ipurua Municipal Stadium, Eibar | |||
| Capacity | 7,083[2] | |||
| President | Amaia Gorostiza | |||
| Manager | José Luis Mendilibar | |||
| League | La Liga | |||
| 2017–18 | La Liga, 9th | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in Basque: Eibar Kirol Elkartea) is a Spanish football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country.
Founded on 30 November 1940, the team currently plays in La Liga, having been promoted to the top tier of Spanish football for the first time in 2014. They also participated in 26 Segunda División seasons (a spell in the 1950s, and most of the 1990s and 2000s), spending the rest of their history competing at lower levels.
The team plays in claret and blue shirts with blue shorts (originating from the kit of FC Barcelona)[3] and holds home games at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium. SD Eibar is a fan-owned club, with more than 10,000 shareholders from 69 countries all over the world. Until SD Huesca qualified for the top flight in 2018, the club was considered the smallest to have played in Spain's top division,[4][5] and its stadium had the lowest capacity of any La Liga teams.[6][7] Although Eibar is the sole professional club of its town, it contests several Basque derbies with other clubs from the region.
Eibar is the only football club which has the quality certificate UNE-EN-ISO 9001.[8]
History
Establishment
Formed by the merger of Deportivo Gallo and Unión Deportiva Eibarresa, the club was originally known as Eibar Fútbol Club, before changing to Sociedad Deportiva Eibar. Originally an irregular team, it was not until the 1943–44 season that it was reorganised into a more full-time unit.
Tercera Division
Promoted to Tercera División in 1950, Eibar achieved promotion to Segunda División three seasons later, being relegated again after a five-year stint and competing in division three for 25 of the following 28 years (in 1977 Tercera became the fourth level, after the creation of Segunda División B). In 1988, the side returned to the "silver category".
Promotion to Segunda Division
After spending 18 years in a row in Segunda División, Eibar was relegated to the third division at the end of the 2005–06 campaign. However, it won its group the next season, thereby qualifying for the promotion play-offs where it won its semi-final tie against Hospitalet 2–0 and defeated Rayo Vallecano 2–1 on aggregate in the decisive round, sealing its return after just one year.[9] Eibar finished 21st in the 2008–09 season meaning they were relegated to the Segunda Division B.
Relegation to Segunda B (2009–13)
Eibar qualified for three straight promotion play-offs but could not get promoted to the Segunda Division.
In the 2012–13 edition of the Copa del Rey, Eibar ousted Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao – who had appeared in two of the last four finals in the tournament – on the away goals rule to reach the round-of-16 following a 1–1 draw at the San Mamés Stadium. The decisive goal was scored by Mikel Arruabarrena who played youth football with the opposition, as did manager Gaizka Garitano;[10] the same season the team managed to return to the "silver category", following a four-year absence.[11]
Segunda Division and Promotion
In 2013–14 Eibar earned, for the first time in its history, one of two direct promotion berths to La Liga,[12] which was certified on 25 May 2014 with a 1–0 home win against Deportivo Alavés.[13] (they celebrated their feat with confetti originally produced by Barcelona, who wear the same colours and had anticipated winning the Spanish league title, but that did not come to pass).[14] Simultaneously, however, the club was threatened with relegation back to division three due to the financial inability of the S.A.D. to have a share capital of at least €2,146,525.95 before 6 August 2014. The club launched a campaign named Defiende al Eibar (Defend Eibar) with the aim of reaching the required share capital through a seasoned equity offering.[15] On 15 July 2014 the club announced it had reached the established goal.[16]
Eibar finished its first top-flight season in 18th, ending in relegation. However, after the season ended, 13th-placed Elche were sent to the second tier as punishment for financial mismanagement, and Eibar were reinstated.[17]
On 18 July 2015, Eibar played its 75th Anniversary game against Celtic in Ipurua (1–4). This included an inaugural ceremony on the pitch with a parade of 19th-century-clothed Basque soldiers with a Saltire and bagpipes playing "Scotland the Brave", with officials from both clubs shooting a 350 kg 19th-century cannon. Eibar stated that they invited Celtic as their opponent for the game due to the strong connection between the Basque Country and Scotland, and also due to the Scottish presence in Eibar through the years (the main supporter group is named "Eskozia la Brava", meaning "Scotland the Brave").[18][19]
Under its new coach José Luis Mendilibar, Eibar finished its second top-flight season in 14th. Borja Bastón finished 10th in scoring and was named La Liga Player of the Month of October 2015, making him the first Armero to receive the award. In April 2017, Dani García became the first player to reach the milestone of 100 top division appearances for the club.[20]
Affiliated clubs
In 2015, the club signed a collaboration agreement with CD Vitoria (Tercera División) to act as an Eibar farm team for emerging players.[21][1] Eibar had previously disbanded their own B team in 2012 to cut costs while the senior side languished in Segunda División B but decided to seek a new formal arrangement for a subsidiary club after retaining their place in La Liga.[22] Within two years of the partnership, Vitoria gained promotion to the third tier for the first time in their history.
In summer 2016 the club expanded its club structure further by integrating Urkomendi (of the 6th level Preferente de Guipúzcoa) into the organisation as a reserve team to act as a link between the youth level and Vitoria. They will be known as Eibar Urko. The hope of the management is that both teams may move up to a higher level to improve standard of competition for their players' development.[23] They also made a 3-year collaboration agreement with UD Logroñés, with Eibar players going on loan to the Segunda B club for experience with the aim of achieving promotion due the additional talent in the squad.[24] One of the first to make the move was goalkeeper Jon Ander.
Season to season
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- 5 seasons in La Liga
- 26 seasons in Segunda División
- 7 seasons in Segunda División B
- 28 seasons in Tercera División
- 13 seasons in Categorías Regionales
Honours / Achievements
- Segunda División: 2013–14[lower-alpha 1]
- Segunda División B:[lower-alpha 2] 1987–88,[lower-alpha 3] 2006–07,[lower-alpha 4] 2010–11,[lower-alpha 5]
- Tercera División:[lower-alpha 6] 1950–51,[lower-alpha 7] 1952–53,[lower-alpha 8] 1961–62,[lower-alpha 9] 1962–63,[lower-alpha 10] 1966–67[lower-alpha 11]
- Tercera División:[lower-alpha 12] 1981–82,[lower-alpha 13] 1985–86[lower-alpha 14]
Notes
- ↑ Promoted directly
- ↑ Third tier
- ↑ Promoted directly
- ↑ Promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Not promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Third tier
- ↑ Not promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Promoted directly
- ↑ Not promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Not promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Not promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Fourth tier
- ↑ Not promoted in play-offs
- ↑ Promoted in play-offs
Current squad
- As of 31 August 2018[25]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
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Stadium
Eibar's home stadium is Estadio Municipal de Ipurua, which seats 7,083 spectators.
Famous players
Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.
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Managers
See also
- CD Vitoria, reserve team.
References
- 1 2 "El CD Vitoria será el filial del Eibar" [CD Vitoria will be the subsidiary of Eibar] (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
- ↑ "Capacity of Ipurua stands at 7,083". SD Eibar. 3 February 2017.
- ↑ "La conexión histórica entre el Barça y el Eibar" [The historical connection between Barça and Eibar]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ↑ https://qz.com/283391/meet-the-smallest-team-ever-to-play-in-elite-european-soccer/
- ↑ "Eibar: La Liga's smallest club still punching above their weight". Sky Sports. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ↑ "Eibar make la Liga's smallest stadium their fortress". The Indian Express. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ↑ Euan McTear, Eibar the Brave: The Extraordinary Rise of La Liga's Smallest Team.
- ↑ El sistema de calidad de la S.D. Eibar va a ser auditado este fin de semana (S.D. Eibar's quality system will be audited this weekend); Diario Vasco, 22 May 2008 (in Spanish)
- ↑ El Eibar regresa a Segunda tras remontar ante el Rayo Vallecano (Eibar returns to Segunda after coming back from behind against Rayo Vallecano); Diario AS, 24 June 2007 (in Spanish)
- ↑ El pequeño se come al grande (Little fish eat big fish); Marca, 12 December 2012 (in Spanish)
- ↑ El Eibar vuelve a Segunda cuatro años después (Eibar returns to Segunda four years later); Marca, 30 June 2013 (in Spanish)
- ↑ El Eibar o la ternura del fútbol (Eibar or the tenderness of football); El País, 25 May 2014 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Un golazo de Jota Peleteiro lleva al Eibar a Primera división (Jota Peleteiro wonder goal takes Eibar to first division); Marca, 25 May 2014 (in Spanish)
- ↑ "El Eibar celebrará el ascenso con el confeti que el Barcelona no pudo utilizar ante el Atlético" [Eibar will celebrate the promotion with the confetti that Barcelona could not use against Atlético]. Marca (in Spanish). 29 May 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ↑ Aprobación de la Ampliación de Capital (Eibar's capital expansion is approved) sdeibar.com 8 April 2014 Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ La S.D. Eibar consigue con éxito la cantidad mínima para la Ampliación de Capital (SD Eibar successfully obtains the minimum amount required for the increase in share capital) Archived 2014-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. sdeibar.com 15 July 2014
- ↑ "Elche relegated from La Liga over unpaid taxes, Eibar promoted". Sky Sports. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "Ezkozia La Brava". Scotsman.com. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ↑ "Ezkozia La Brava". HeraldScotland.com. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ↑ "100 partidos de Dani García con el Eibar en Primera División" [100 games of Dani García with Eibar in First Division] (in Spanish). La Liga en Números. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
- ↑ "El CD Vitoria será filial de la SD Eibar" [CD Vitoria will be the affiliate of SD Eibar] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 9 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ↑ "El Eibar podría tener un filial en Tercera a partir de la próxima temporada" [Eibar could have a subsidiary in Tercera from next season] (in Spanish). Diario Vasco. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ↑ "El SD Eibar refuerza el fútbol base con la compra del Urkomendi" [Eibar strengthens their academy by acquiring Urkomendi)] (in Spanish). Palco23.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ↑ "El Eibar se alía con el Logroñés para llevar su marca a La Rioja" [Eibar links with Logroñés to leave its stamp on La Rioja)] (in Spanish). Palco23.com. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ↑ "Primer Equipo Squad". SD Eibar. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)
- Eibar at La Liga (in English) (in Spanish)
- Eibar at UEFA (in English) (in Spanish)
- Club profile at BDfutbol (match reports in each season)
- Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)