Marbella
Full nameMarbella Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)Blanquillos (Little Whites)
Founded1997 (1997)
GroundEstadio Municipal de Marbella
Marbella, Spain
Capacity7,000
PresidentZhao Zhen
Head coachJosé Manuel Aira
LeagueSegunda Federación – Group 4
2022–23Tercera Federación – Group 9, 1st of 16 (champions)

Marbella Fútbol Club, formerly known as Unión Deportiva Marbella, is a Spanish football team based in Marbella, the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1997 it currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group 4, holding home matches at Estadio Municipal de Marbella.

History

Unión Deportiva Marbella was founded in 1997 immediately after the defunction of Club Atlético Marbella, which was born 38 years before and was owned by Jesús Gil, also the chairman of Atlético de Madrid. In 2000–01, the team won its Tercera División group but came second to Real Betis B in the promotion play-offs. It subsequently qualified to the Copa del Rey for the first time, losing 0–1 at home to CD Díter Zafra in the preliminary round. In 2003, it was finally promoted to Segunda División B.

Marbella was taken over by leading businessmen Ian Radford and Wayne Elliott of the HI Group, an international sports, leisure, property and travel company in September 2007.[1] In 2009, the club contested the play-offs for promotion to Segunda División for the first time, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Lorca Deportiva. In the ensuing domestic cup season, it reached the last 32 before an 8–0 aggregate loss to Atlético;[2] the league campaign ended with relegation after seven years in the third tier.

On 28 June 2013 Unión was renamed Marbella Fútbol Club, by consent of the Russian ownership presided by Alexander Grinberg, in order to appeal to a wider foreign fanbase.[3] At the end of the season, it ended four years in the fourth division with a 3–2 aggregate win over CD Eldense after extra time in the play-offs.[4] By finishing second in the regular season, Marbella played in the 2018 Segunda División B play-offs, and lost on penalties in the first round to Celta de Vigo B.[5]

Grinberg sold the club to Chinese investor Zhao Zhen in November 2018.[6] In 2019–20, the team again came second and qualified for the play-offs, where all games were held in the local area due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, they lost 2–0 in the first round to SCR Peña Deportiva.[7] A league restructuring meant that Marbella were relegated from the last season of the Segunda División B in 2020–21, dropping to the fifth-tier Tercera Federación.[8]

After two years in the fifth tier, Marbella achieved promotion in April 2023 as champions of their group. Goalkeeper Alberto Lejárraga celebrated the occasion by coming out as gay.[9][10]

Club background

Season to season

  • As UD Marbella
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1997–98 5 Reg. Pref. 1st
1998–99 4 3ª 6th
1999–2000 4 3ª 8th
2000–01 4 3ª 1st
2001–02 4 3ª 6th Preliminary
2002–03 4 3ª 2nd
2003–04 3 2ª B 15th
2004–05 3 2ª B 5th
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2005–06 3 2ª B 12th Preliminary
2006–07 3 2ª B 7th
2007–08 3 2ª B 15th
2008–09 3 2ª B 4th
2009–10 3 2ª B 19th Round of 32
2010–11 4 3ª 10th
2011–12 4 3ª 3rd
2012–13 4 3ª 11th
  • As Marbella FC
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2013–14 4 3ª 1st
2014–15 3 2ª B 10th First round
2015–16 3 2ª B 14th
2016–17 3 2ª B 7th
2017–18 3 2ª B 2nd Second round
2018–19 3 2ª B 7th First round
2019–20 3 2ª B 2nd Second round
2020–21 3 2ª B 9th / 4th Second round
2021–22 5 3ª RFEF 3rd
2022–23 5 3ª Fed. 1st
2023–24 4 2ª Fed.

Current squad

As of 28 September 2021

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Alejandro Santomé
2 DF Spain ESP Sergio Pereira
3 DF Spain ESP Finlay Lockyer
4 DF Spain ESP Julio Rico
5 DF Spain ESP Alex García
6 MF Spain ESP Javi Grillo
7 FW Spain ESP Pato
8 MF Senegal SEN Papa Malick
9 FW Spain ESP Alberto Castro
10 MF Spain ESP José Carlos
11 FW Spain ESP Jaime Isuardi
12 FW Ghana GHA Henry
13 GK Spain ESP Alberto Lejárraga
14 DF Spain ESP Fran Ortuño
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Spain ESP Marcos Ruiz (captain)
16 MF Spain ESP Carlos de Lerma
17 MF Spain ESP Samu Anakin
18 DF Spain ESP David Fondarella
19 FW Argentina ARG Agustín Ferro
20 FW Spain ESP Kiko Carmona
21 DF Spain ESP Pablo de Castro
22 MF Spain ESP David Valero
23 GK Spain ESP José Serrano
24 FW Spain ESP Juanpe Heredia
25 MF Spain ESP Manu de la Lama
- DF Spain ESP Javi Ocaña
- FW Spain ESP Rufino Segovia

Honours

Former players

Former coaches

Stadium

Marbella plays its home games at Estadio Municipal de Marbella, which has a capacity of 7,300 spectators. It is a fairly basic oval-shaped stadium with one small covered stand.[11]

Affiliated clubs

The following club is currently affiliated with Marbella FC:

References

  1. ↑ "HI Group Acquire Second Division Spanish Club "UD MARBELLA"". HI Group. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "El Marbella paga los platos rotos del derbi" [Marbella is the fall guy for the derby]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "La UD Marbella hace oficial su cambio de nombre por Marbella FC" [UD Marbella officially changes its name to Marbella FC] (in Spanish). Marbella 24 Horas. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Épico ascenso del Marbella a Segunda B" [Marbella's epic promotion to Segunda B]. Diario Sur (in Spanish). 24 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "El Celta B elimina al Marbella en los penaltis y sueña con el ascenso" [Celta B eliminate Marbella on penalties and dream of promotion]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  6. ↑ Suárez, César (19 November 2018). "Zhao Zhen compra el Marbella FC" [Zhao Zhen buys Marbella FC]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Cariño, Carlos (19 July 2020). "La Peña Deportiva le da un revolcón al Marbella y sigue haciendo historia" [Peña Deportiva rout Marbella and continue making history]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "El Marbella consuma el doble descenso en la peor temporada de su historia" [Marbella suffer double relegation in the worst season of their history] (in Spanish). Marbella 24 Horas. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Hernández, Javier (26 April 2023). "El beso del ascenso: el portero del Marbella hace pública su homosexualidad" [Promotion kiss: Marbella goalkeeper makes his homosexuality public]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  10. ↑ Cooper, Alex (26 April 2023). "Pro-Soccer Player Alberto Lejárraga Celebrates Team's Win and Comes Out". The Advocate. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Google Map for Estadio Municipal de Marbella
  12. ↑ "Hyderabad FC, Spanish club Marbella FC announce strategic tie-up". The Times of India. PTI. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
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