Marbella FC

Marbella
Full nameMarbella Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)Blanquillos (Little Whites)
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
GroundDama de Noche football ground
Marbella, Spain
CapacityCirca 1,500
PresidentZhao Zhen
Head coachFran Beltrán
LeaguePrimera Federación – Group 2
2023–24Segunda Federación – Group 4, 3rd of 18 (promoted via play-offs)

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 Primera Federación – Group 2, playing home matches at Dama de Noche football ground.

History

Unión Deportiva Marbella was founded in 1997 immediately after the defunction of Club Atlético Marbella, which was founded 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 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]

Marbella's first season in the Segunda Federación ended in success, with promotion to the Primera Federación in June 2024.[11] They defeated Getafe B and then UD Logrones in two two-legged play off games. Following promotion, it was announced that Brazilian midfielder Casemiro would be investing in the club.[12]

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. 3rd First round
2024–25 3 1ª Fed.

Current squad

As of 30 August 2024

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 Alberto Lejárraga
2 DF Spain ESP Jorge Álvarez
3 DF Spain ESP Genar Fornés
4 DF Spain ESP José Carrasco
5 MF Spain ESP Luis Acosta
6 MF Spain ESP Javi Duarte
7 FW Spain ESP José Callejón
8 MF Spain ESP Jony Álamo
9 FW China CHN Du Yuezheng
10 DF Spain ESP Aitor Puñal
11 MF Spain ESP Alberto Soto
13 GK Spain ESP Dani Martín (on loan from Levante)
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF Spain ESP Marcos Olguín
15 DF Niger NIG Yac Magagi
16 FW Equatorial Guinea EQG Dorian Jr.
17 FW Spain ESP Iñigo Alayeto
18 FW Ghana GHA Tahiru Awudu
19 FW Ghana GHA Ernest Ohemeng
20 DF Colombia COL Bernardo Espinosa
21 MF Spain ESP Pablo Muñoz (on loan from Deportivo La Coruña)
22 FW Spain ESP Yeray Lancha (on loan from Real Madrid)
23 MF Spain ESP Marcos Peña (on loan from Almería)
24 MF Australia AUS Ryan Edwards
25 GK Australia AUS Daniel Solsky

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Spain ESP Yeray Béjar (at Marbellí until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Spain ESP Fran Moreno (at Linense until 30 June 2025)

Honours

Former players

See also: Category:Marbella FC players

Former coaches

Stadium

Marbella's traditional home ground is at Estadio Municipal de Marbella. However, with this stadium being redeveloped,[13] Marbella currently plays its home games at Dama de Noche football ground, a training pitch that has been converted into a very basic stadium by the addition of temporary stands, and has a capacity of around 1,500 spectators. As a result of the basic and limited facilities at Dama De Noche, the local council and football club have been under pressure from the supporters to conclude the redevelopment of Estadio Municipal de Marbella.

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. ^ "Zamora CF, Barakaldo CF, Betis Deportivo, Marbella FC y Yeclano Deportivo ascienden a Primera Federación" (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 1 June 2024.
  12. ^ Cariño, Carlos (4 June 2024). "Casemiro se une al Marbella" (in Spanish). as.com.
  13. ^ "Financing is now in place for construction of Marbella's new football stadium". SUR in English. 27 January 2023.
  14. ^ "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.