Full Name: Levante Unión Deportiva City: Valencia Founded: 1909 Stadium: Estadi Ciutat de Valencia (27,792) Colors: Blue, Red Previous: Futbol Club Levante (1909-39), Unión Deportiva Levante Gimnástico (1939-42) Nickname: Los Granotes Rival: Valencia
Description:
Levante is the coastal region of Eastern Spain, stretching from Catalonia in the north to Murcia in the south. Valencia is in the heart of El Levante. FC Levante survived the Spanish Civil War with most of their membership intact but their stadium completely destroyed. Meanwhile Gimnástico had a stadium but lost many of their players. Levante FC merged with Gimnástico in 1939 to become Unión Deportiva Levante Gimnástico. The newly merged club adopted the blue and red colors of Gimnástico. Three years later the name changed to Levante Unión Deportiva - Levante Sports Union. The nickname Granotes - Frogs - dates back to the 1920s, when the club played at a field alongside the Turia river, filled with thousands of frogs. The club's emblem includes the club's colors underneath a bat, a traditional symbol of Valencia and present in the coat of arms of the city. The bat's relevance to Valencia is somewhat murky but seems to be related to the 13th century conquest of the city by Jaime I. According to legend a bat landed atop his standard, which those on the scene intepreted as good luck.
Estadi Ciutat de Valencia:
The current stadium, located in the northeast of Valencia, has previously been known as Estadi Antonio Román y Nou Estadi and was built in 1969. Its current name translates as Valencia City Stadium.
Previous stadiums: La Platjeta, La Cruz, Campo de la Soledad, El Stadium, Estadio de Vallejo.
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