Lleida

Full name	Unió Esportiva Lleida
Nickname(s)	Els Blaus (The Blues) Els de la Terra Ferma (Firmlanders)
Founded	1939 (as Lérida Balompié-AEM) 1947 (as Unión Deportiva Lérida)
Dissolved	10 May 2011
Ground	Camp d´Esports, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Capacity	13,500
Home colours Away colours

Unió Esportiva Lleida was a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It was founded as Lérida Balompié-AEM on 30 October 1939, and became Unión Deportiva Lérida in 1947, after a merger with CD Leridano. It held home matches at Camp d´Esports, with a 13,500-seat capacity. It was dissolved in 2011 due to debts of €28 million, then acquired by a local entrepreneur and renamed Lleida Esportiu.

Lleida adopted the Catalan version of its name in 1978. The club spent most of its history in the lower divisions, but in the early 1950s and early 1990s, the club won promotion to La Liga.

During the 1990s the club was managed by Mané, Juande Ramos and Víctor Muñoz, all of whom subsequently became successful managers with other clubs. From 1987 the club organised its own summer trophy, the Ciutat de Lleida Trophy.

Football was first introduced to Lleida in 1910 by Manuel Azoz, a Barcelona business man. Among the earliest clubs in the city were Montserrat, founded in 1913 by Marist Brothers, and FC Lleida founded in 1914. Both played their early games in the district of Pla d’en Gardeny. In 1915, the Associació Cultural Lleidatana was founded by Catalan nationalists.

By 1917 two other clubs, Club Colonial and Athlètic Metalúrgic, began playing at the Camp de Mart. In 1918 FC Joventut was formed by left-wing Catalan republicans and during the 1920s they emerged as the city's strongest side.

In 1919, Lleida became the first club to use the Camp d´Esports, but this team was dissolved in 1927. Other clubs of the 1920s included AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida, all of which disappeared during the 1930s.

After the Spanish Civil War, former members of AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida formed Lérida Balompié-AEM. After playing in regional leagues for four seasons they made their debut in the fourth division in 1943. The following year, the club split into two clubs, Lérida Balompié and AEM.

Meanwhile, in 1941 Spanish nationalists formed CD Leridano, and a local rivalry developed between that club and Lérida Balompié. On March 9, 1947, these two sides merged to become Unión Deportiva Lérida. The new team retained both the blue and white colours and club shield of Lérida Balompié, the first president of the new club being Eduard Estadella.

UD Lérida enjoyed a golden age in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when they progressed from the third to the first division in just three seasons. In 1949, they won the third-tier and, the following season, 1949–50, they made their debut in Segunda División.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1949–50 season the club achieved their biggest league victory in their history with a 9–2 win against CD Lugo, along with finishing second in the league achieving promotion to the topflight for the first time ever. However, during its debut season, it was heavily defeated on several occasions: 9–0 to CD Málaga, 10–1 to Deportivo de La Coruña and 10–0 to Athletic Bilbao, being ultimately relegated back. Lleida's first eleven in the first division was: Rivero, Rigau, Telechea, Carrillo, Esquerda, Roca, Gausí, Pellicer, Ramón, Bidegain and Fustero.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lleida enjoyed a second solid moment, under coach Mané. He joined the club in 1988 and took it from Segunda División B to La Liga.

1993–94 was the second topflight experience for the club; in spite of a 1–0 win over the FC Barcelona Dream Team at the Camp Nou, and another against Real Madrid, 2–1 at home, Lleida only won seven times altogether and was relegated once again.

The 1994–95 season saw the club finish third in the second division, with a subsequent promotion play-off defeat against Sporting de Gijón. In 2001, the team returned to level three and, in 2004–05 and the following campaign, played again in the second division. From 1996 and during an entire decade (with some interruptions), legendary player Miguel Ángel Rubio served as its manager.

On 10 May 2011, Lleida was placed in a liquidation auction due to a €28 million debt.^[1] On 12 July, the team's seat was acquired by local entrepreneur Sisco Pujol,^[2] with the new club being named Lleida Esportiu.

• 2 seasons in La Liga
• 24 seasons in Segunda División
• 19 seasons in Segunda División B
• 22 seasons in Tercera División (until 1976–77 as third level)

• Segunda División: 1992–93
• Segunda División B: 1989–90, 2003–04
• Tercera División: 1948–49
• Regional Preferente: 1970–71
• Primera B Regional: 1940–41
• Segunda Regional: 1939–40
• Copa Catalunya: Runner-up 1991–92, Runner-up 1998–99

• Nostra Catalunya Trophy: 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1990
• Ciutat de Lleida Trophy: 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008

• Best league performance: 16th, La Liga, 1950–51
• Best cup performance: Last 16 (six times), 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005
• Most league points: 68, 2003–04 (three points for a win) 60, 1957–58 (two points for a win)
• Most league goals: 102, 1957–58
• Most league wins in one season: 26, 1957–58
• Best league win home: 9–0 v. Calella, 30 November 1941
• Best league win away: 8–1 v. Europa, 22 February 1942
• Best cup win: 7–0 v. Sant Andreu, 19 December 1985

• Most league appearances: 460, Miguel Rubio (1982–96)
• Most league goals: 82, Mariano Azcona (1984–91)
• Most league goals in a season: 25, Mariano Azcona (1989–90)
• Most league goals in a match: 5, Mariano Azcona 6–1 v. Fraga, 15 October 1989 and Vallejo 7–1 v. Alavés, 23 May 1965
• Most international appearances: 12, Miguel Mea Vitali (Venezuela) (2000–01)

Season	Top scorer	Goals
2011–12	Asier Eizaguirre	10
2010–11	Rubén Rayos	19
2009–10	Marc Sellarés	12
2008–09	Mikel Álvaro	13
2007–08	Keko	7
	Fernando Esparza	7
	Luismi Gracia	7
2006–07	Luis Tevenet	14
2005–06	Mate Bilić	18
2004–05	Nakor Bueno	13
2003–04	Nakor Bueno	16
2002–03	Nano	15
2001/02	Raúl Caballero	11
2000–01	Renaldo	8
1999–00	Josemi	15
1998–99	Josemi	12
1997–98	Óscar Arias	8
	Vicente Fernández	8
1996–97	Estefan Juliá	8
1995–96	Paco Salillas	10
1994–95	Paco Salillas	18
1993–94	Nikola Milinković	6
1992–93	Xabi Gracia	13
1991–92	José Emilio Amavisca	14
1990–91	James Cantero	17
1989–90	Mariano Azcona	26
1988–89	Mariano Azcona	6
	Álvaro Sánchez Pose	6
1987–88	Mariano Azcona	13
1986–87	Mariano Azcona	16
	Ignacio Alcelay	16
1985–86	Mariano Azcona	9
1984–85	José María Serna	17
1983–84	José García Juárez	10
1982–83	Javier Lozano	13
1981–82	Ramón Clotet	15
1980–81	Luis Alonso	21
1950–51	Ignacio Bidegain	8

La Liga appearances

• Mauro Ravnic: 37
• Urbano Ortega: 36
• Virgilio Hernández: 35
• Miguel Rubio: 35
• Jaime Quesada: 34
• Txema Alonso: 34
• Gonzalo Arguiñano: 32
• Guillermo Ramón: 28
• Sebastián Herrera: 27
• Nikola Milinković: 26

La Liga goals

• Ignacio Bidegain: 8
• Luis Pellicer: 7
• Nikola Milinković: 6
• Juan Manuel Martínez: 5
• Guillermo Ramón: 5
• Francisco Nogués: 4
• Virgilio Hernández: 4

Only international players or UEFA Champions League winners. Flags represent national teams player appeared for.

• Mané (1988–95)
• Víctor Muñoz (1999–2000)
• Juan José Nogués (1954–55)
• Juande Ramos (1997–98)
• Manuel Ruiz Sosa (1971–72)
• Marcel Domingo (1962–63)
• Nicolae Simatoc (1959–60)

• List of UE Lleida records and statistics

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• Unofficial website (in Spanish)
• Unofficial website #2 (in Spanish)

41°37′17″N 0°36′51″E / 41.621386°N 0.614033°E / 41.621386; 0.614033