History of Getafe

Club Overview

Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Getafe, a city in the metropolitan area of South Madrid, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983. Their stadium is the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez. 2008 is the fifth season which the club has played in La Liga.

Club History

Earliest foundation

The first incarnation of Getafe Club de Fútbol existed since 1945, when five Getafe locals, Enrique Condes García, Aurelio Miranda Olavaria, Antonio Corredor Lozano, Manuel Serrano Vergara and Miguel Cubero Francés, decided to form a team from the area while meeting at the "La Marquesina" bar. Officially founded on the 24 February 1946, the club was called Club Getafe Deportivo.

The earliest days of this club were played out of the Campo del Regimiento de Artillería, which did not have goals. Shortly after, the club moved to San Isidro, where the current Municipal Sports Center of San Isidro exists today. Here, Club Getafe gained promotion to the third division following a victory against CP Villarrobledo in the 1956/57 season. Getafe even came close to promotion into Segunda during 1957/58, before being defeated by C.D. Almería.On September 2, 1970, the club finally inaugurated its own stadium as they gained promotion back into Tercera División. Presided over by chairman Francisco Vara, Las Margaritas was founded with a 3-1 victory over Michelín. The team survived in the third level that season, and six years later gained a historic promotion to second division.

2006/07: Copa del Rey Final

In 2006/07 Getafe also finished ninth[19], producing memorable results which included another home win against Real Madrid and a draw with previous year's league champion FC Barcelona. The highlight of the season was their run towards the Copa del Rey final, which included aggregate victories over Xerez, Valencia and Osasuna. Having previously never made it as far as the quarter finals, Getafe faced FC Barcelona in the semi-finals, losing the first leg 5-2 at the Camp Nou before producing an amazing 4-0 rout in the second leg at the Coliseum on May 10. Qualfying for their first ever major final, Getafe went down 1-0 to Sevilla FC in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium[24]. However, the side would achieve UEFA Cup qualification through the 2007 Spanish Cup finalist spot, courtesy of Sevilla's Champions League berth.

In the league, Getafe finished with the joint best defense overall, conceding only 33 goals in 38 matches together with Barcelona (11 goals in 19 home contests). Newly signed goalkeeper "Pato" Abbondanzieri was awarded the Zamora Trophy, having recorded 12 clean sheets.

[edit] 2007/08: ¡EuroGeta!

The following season, coach Bernd Schuster left after two seasons to become head coach at Real Madrid[25], and Getafe appointed former Real Madrid and Barcelona player Michael Laudrup as his replacement. The playing staff also changed, with 7 players leaving, including Alexis, Güiza and captain Vivar Dorado[27]. The club would acquire, amongst others, Rubén de la Red and Esteban Granero from Real Madrid[28]. Getafe started the season poorly, needing 7 games to record the first victory, but over the winter they steadied the ship and managed to accumulate more points on the board. This included two good wins, one at home to Barcelona (2-0) and a controversial 1-0 away success against Real Madrid[30] which kept the team in midtable. More importantly, Laudrup's attacking philosophy was getting wide recognition, as they displayed excellent football along the way.

This was a historic season for Getafe as they entered Europe for the first time. In the UEFA Cup, the team managed to progress to the quarterfinals after finishing top of Group G, only losing once (to Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.). Getafe recorded historic wins against European giants as Tottenham Hotspur, Anderlecht, AEK Athens and Benfica, setting up a tie against European giants, Bayern Munich, while also surviving as the last Spanish team in the competition. Getafe drew the first match 1-1 at the Allianz Arena, thanks to an injury time equaliser from Cosmin Contra. In the second leg, only 6 minutes had passed when Rubén de la Red was sent off, making a tough job even harder. Contra put Getafe ahead just before halftime, but in the 89th minute, Frenchman Franck Ribéry volleyed home the equaliser and sent the game into extra-time. Two quick goals, courtesy of Javier Casquero and substitute Braulio, gave Getafe a 3-1 lead, and Bayern struggled for much of the remainder of the match despite their numerical advantage. However, they were suddenly thrown a lifeline when Luca Toni stabbed home from keeper Abbondanzieri's dreadful blunder on 115 minutes. It did not end there, as with the last kick of the match, Toni headed the third goal, earning his side an away-goals victory and a place in the semi-finals, a cruel way for the Getafe UEFA Cup run to come to an end[37]. Though heartbreaking, Eurogeta had gained the respect of the continent for their tremendous efforts.

Getafe also had an equally fruitful run in the Copa del Rey. They made relatively light work of reaching the final for a second year running, beating Burgos, Levante, Real Mallorca[40] and then Racing Santander in the semi-finals[41], as Valencia, managed by Ronald Koeman, defeated Barcelona in the other contest[42]. In the decider at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, Valencia scored two early goals, before Granero shortened the gap with a penalty kick just before half-time. Coming so quickly after a devastating loss to Bayern Munich, Getafe could rally no further and conceded the decisive third goal to Fernando Morientes, finishing runner-up for the second consecutive year.

Club Rivalries

Historically, due to their close geographical position, Getafe has always held a strong rivalry with CD Leganés. They played out numerous encounters in the lower division, before the two teams fortunes began to contrast as Getafe gained ascendency and Leganés began to deteriorate.

In the first division, the side has held some tremendous matches in the last few years with Real Madrid, with the ledger being most recently squared at 3 wins each. Real Madrid's greater stature, budget and squad has never stopped Getafe from often playing their best football against their "bigger brother". Getafe also has a smaller rivalry with Atlético Madrid.

In addition to this, Getafe has developed somewhat of a rivalry with Barcelona, which culminated in their famous 4-0 victory over their more fancied opponents during the 2006-07 Copa del Rey Semi Final. Also, Valencia CF has succumbed numerous times to el Geta, often quite heavily, as was the case during the 2006-07 Copa del Rey, which ensured Getafe's first ever appearance in the Copa's Quarter-Finals with a 2-4 win at the Mestalla. This result was turned around in the 2008 Copa del Rey final, however, as Valencia would deny Getafe their first ever trophy with a 3-1 victory. This rivalry is propped up healthily by the regular transfer of Getafe players (and coach Quique Sánchez Flores) to Valencia.

Stars of the Current Squad

Club Legends

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Team Honours

   * Copa del Rey

   Runners-up (2): 2006-2007, 2007-2008

   * Segunda División B - Group 1

   Winners: 1998-1999

   * Zamora Trophy for Roberto Abbondanzieri in 2006-2007

   * 1 Participation in UEFA Cup
   * 5 seasons in First division
   * 6 seasons in Second division
   * 11 seasons in Second division B
   * 1 seasons in Third division

Club Management

Uniforms

Stadium

Coliseum Alfonso Pérez

Sponsors

Important Links

References