The empty Spain of First football

By

Mayca jimenez

First class football is resisting in some corners of Spain.

In the almost 100-year history of the national top flight, a total of 61 clubs have reached the elite.

Among them,

(50 provinces, plus Melilla and Ceuta), leaving twelve provinces and the two autonomous cities deserted in this category.

These 14 places represent what could be the

Enclaves in which the ball has failed to make the leap to the elite, in which its football fans have not been able to enjoy the great events of one of the best leagues in the world.

From Ceuta and Melilla to Lugo.

, neither in the two autonomous cities in southern Spain nor in the Galician province in the north of the peninsula have they managed to reach the highest category of Spanish football.

In Galicia, the province of

has not had an elite team either

, which is joined by

The list extends to the other half of the peninsula, including other points such as

Enlarge

Lugo players during matchday 42 of last season, in which they achieved salvation in Second.

Among the most prominent teams in each area, it is worth mentioning the case of Lugo,

The rest of the main teams in each of the aforementioned provinces are in Second B (

) or in Third Division, such as

With the exception of the Toledo team and Lugo, the other clubs have not passed Second B. Yes,

who several decades ago fought in the silver category to reach the elite.

For their part, and although it is difficult for some to remember the representatives of the rest of the territories, a total of

In alphabetical order, the honor roll of the Spanish provinces with teams in elite football would be as follows: Álava, Albacete, Alicante, Almería, Asturias, Badajoz, Barcelona, ​​Burgos, Cádiz, Cantabria, Castellón, Córdoba, A Coruña, Cuenca , Girona, Granada, Guipúzcoa, Huelva, Huesca, Balearic Islands, Jaén, León, Lleida, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Navarra, Las Palmas, Pontevedra, Salamanca, Seville, Soria, Tarragona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Teruel, Valencia, Valladolid, Vizcaya and Zaragoza.

Historical classification of First Division

From First to the well or to the disappearance

Enlarge

Deportivo celebrate the league title in 2000.

In the first positions of the historical classification of First Division several clubs stand out.

Specifically two,

which have just signed their relegation to Second B. Gallegos and Cantabrians are the great longing for the summer for Spanish football, who see how two teams with great trajectory in the elite

In the case of the blue and white club, which was founded in 1906, we are facing one of the few teams that has managed to raise a league in Spain.

And it is that only nine clubs have been proclaimed national champions: Barça, Real Madrid, Atlético, Athletic, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Betis and Deportivo.

In addition to the league title in 2000, the Coruña team accumulated five league runners-up, two Copa del Rey titles in 1995 and 2002 and three Super Cups (1995, 2000 and 2002).

A career to which we must add his seasons in the Champions League, in which he managed to

Founded in 1913,

A figure that makes it one of the teams that has played the most campaigns in the Spanish top flight, in which it became

Racing left Primera in 2013 and will fight this season in Segunda B to regain glory.

The

, then known as the UEFA Cup ()

remain in the memory, for all Santander citizens and for the rest of the Spanish fans

( 2007-2008).

Manolo Preciado playing for Racing against Atlético de Madrid.

The 'King of Second', as many referred to Real Murcia,

is one of the teams that has played the most seasons in the Second Division, being also one of the teams that has achieved the most promotions to First Division (11) together with Real Betis (12), Málaga (11), Celta (11) or Deportivo (11), among others.

In the highest Spanish category he played for 18 seasons, descending for the last time in 2008.

From the bronze to silver category to meet another historic player in our football: Castellón.

Founded in 1922, it achieved promotion to the First Division in 1941, playing in the top flight for six consecutive seasons, even fighting for the league title in 1942-1943, finally finishing fourth.

It was in 1972, being that year runner-up in the Cup. The Albinegro team has counted among its ranks with players like Del Bosque and has in its history with a total of 11 seasons in the First Division, a fact that has not prevented it from touching the disappearance .

The Dean, the Logroñés and other historical

Teams with the most promotions to First

also stands out

, who lived his time of glory in the late 80s and early 90s. The Riojan team reached the First Division in 1987 and managed to stay in it for nine seasons,

The Riojan entity had among its ranks players of the stature of Julen Lopetegui.

With the descent to Second, the decline of the club began, which fell to Third.

In 2004, the economic problems increased until they disappeared in 2009 after the Riojan Football Federation did not accept the club's registration due to not having paid its outstanding debt.

, who will compete in Second this season.

Another of the historical teams that have disappeared is the Unión Deportiva Salamanca.

The team was unable to pay its debts and filed for a creditors' contest, with which an agreement was not reached, so it was liquidated in 2013. The Salamanca club debuted for the first time in the First Division in the 1973/1974 season. and came to play in the gold category for up to 12 seasons, the 1995-1996 campaign being the last disputed in this division.

(founded in 1889), which is the oldest club in Spain, is popularly known as the Dean.

The humble club from Huelva experienced the best stage in its history at the beginning of the 21st century when it achieved two promotions to the First Division and proclaimed itself runner-up in the Copa del Rey in 2003. In total,

Zaragoza celebrate the Recopa won in the 94/95 season.

Nor can we forget about 'mechanical cheese'.

An Albacete that is the only team from Castilla-La Mancha that has played in the First Division, with seven seasons in its history spread over two periods.

In his debut in the Spanish top flight in 1990-1991, the La Mancha team

In 1994-1995 he managed to reach the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, being eliminated by Valencia.

In 1996 he went down to Second to return to the gold category seven years later, in 2003, but he did not achieve permanence and fell back to Second and, from there, to Second B. The La Mancha club managed to recover and return to the category of silver.

The 1990s were also unforgettable for fans of 'Compos.'

The Galician club managed to rise from Third to First in just four years with coach Fernando Castro Santos at the helm.

In 1993 the team made its debut in the top flight, surviving in it for four seasons with players like Fabiano and Ohen.

The team dropped to Second and their situation worsened considerably.

In 2006, the club's debt rose and all its assets were liquidated by public auction.

Currently, the Galician team is in Second B, after having spent several years in Third.

For their part,

, competing in the Second Division.

This is the case of Real Zaragoza (58 seasons in First Division), Sporting (42), Oviedo (38), Las Palmas (34), Mallorca (28) or Rayo Vallecano (18).

Madrid and Barcelona dominate national football

The vast majority of the 38 provinces represented in the First Division, specifically 25, have only had or have one team in the elite

.

They are: Álava (Alavés), Albacete (Albacete Balompié), Almería (Unión Deportiva Almería), Burgos (Burgos CF), Cantabria (Real Racing Club de Santander), Córdoba (Córdoba), Girona (Girona), Granada (Granada), Huelva (Recreativo de Huelva), Huesca (SD Huesca), Balearic Islands (Mallorca), Jaén (Real Jaén), León (Cultural Leonesa), Lleida, Málaga, Murcia (Real Murcia), Navarra (Osasuna), Las Palmas (Las Palmas), La Rioja (Logroñés), Salamanca (UD Salamanca), Soria (Numancia), Tarragona (Nàstic), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife), Valladolid (Real Valladolid) and Zaragoza (Real Zaragoza).

With two or more teams with at least one season in the Primera, there are 13 provinces:

Madrid (Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Rayo Vallecano, Leganés and Getafe), Barcelona (FC Barcelona, ​​Espanyol, Sabadell, Europa and CD Condal de Sants-Hostafrancs ), Valencia (Levante and Valencia), Alicante (Hércules, Alcoyano and Elche), Cádiz (Cádiz and Xerez), Seville (Betis and Seville), Vizcaya (Athletic and Arenas), Guipúzcoa (Real Sociedad, Eibar and Real Unión), Castellón (Castellón and Villarreal), Pontevedra (Pontevedra and Celta), A Coruña (Deportivo and Compostela), Asturias (Sporting de Gijón and Real Oviedo) and Badajoz (Mérida and Extremadura).

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Real Madrid won its 34th league last season.

As can be seen, both Madrid and Barcelona dominate the list,

after having had five teams in the First Division during the history of LaLiga Santander.

In the current season, the matter is far from these figures.

There are only three Madrid teams (Real Madrid, Atleti and Getafe) in the Primera, while Barcelona only has one team in the elite (Barcelona).

.

If we look at the registration by communities, Andalusia, Valencia and the Basque Country dispute the dominance of Spanish elite football, with four teams each in this new season in Primera.