Full Name: Club Deportivo Tenerife City: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Founded: 1922 Stadium: Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López (24,000) Colors: Blue, White Nicknames: Los Blanquiazules, El Tete, Chicharerros, El Equipo Tinerfeño Rival: UD Las Palmas
Introduction:
Real Madrid supporters everywhere. Those with long enough memories cannot forget the exploits of Tenerife in the mid-90s when two seasons in a row they denied the Madrileños the title by beating them on the last day of the season. Tenerife are blessed with one the more intricate (and history-filled) logos in the soccer scene and also can bost of a uniquely oddball club rallying cry whose roots go all the way back to 1930s Cuba.
Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López:
Tenerife's first matches were played in open ground at the corner of Calle Alfaro and and Miraflores, approximately a quarter mile to the east of where the present stadium sits. The Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López began life in 1925 under the interesting moniker Stadium. In 1950 the stadium was officially renamed to Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López in honor of the club president of that era who was responsible for a signficant renovation.
Major Trophies:
Second Tier League Titles:
Segunda División Grupo II (1961)
Third Tier League Titles:
Tercera División Grupo II (1971)
Segunda División B (1987)
History:
The foundation of Club Deportivo Tenerife, like so many clubs, is shrouded in a bit of mystery. The date of August 8, 1922 is the officially recognized but many historians date things back to November 21, 1912. In that year an organization called Tenerife Sporting Club was launched and took the place of Nivaria, itself a meger of Añaza y el Club Inglés. Ten years later the club reorganized under its current name Club Deportivo Tenerife - same name, different language. Same club?
The first few decades of CD Tenerife were spent contesting friendlies and tournaments with opponents within the Canary Islands. Even still Los Blanquiazules were the first club from the Canary Islands to travel to the mainland of Spain and even won all three matches of their tour, dispatching Sevilla (twice) and Cádiz once. Seven years later Tenerife made their debut in the Copa del Rey, playing both matches away and going out to Real Betis. By this time league football had begun in Spain but the Tinerfeño dream of competing at the national level would have to wait until 1953 when a promotion playoff was finally achieved and El Tete entered the Segunda División.
The 1960s started extremely well for the Blanquiazules with their first league title at the national level (and their first promotion to the Primera) being achieved in 1961. Their Primera debut went rather less well - relegation at first attempt and a long twenty-seven year wait for another chance. During this stretch Tenerife bounced between the second and third tiers before a return to the Primera was finally achieved for the 1989-90 season.
CD Tenerife spent 11 straight years in the Primera during this period and achieved a number of notable successes - reaching the Copa del Rey semifinal in 1994, the UEFA Cup semifinal in 1997 and twice finishing fifth (1993 and 1996) before being relegated in 1999. Along the way Tenerife managed to win a couple of spectacular matches against Real Madrid. In the final match of the 1991-92 season Tenerife hosted Real Madrid, with the Madrileños needing a victory to take the title. Real Madrid went up 2-0 but Tenerife came back to win 3-2 with two late goals and denied Real Madrid the title. Incredibly the following season Tenerife were again drawn at home to Real Madrid on the final day of the season, again Real Madrid needed a win to clinch the championship and again Tenerife denied them, this time winning 2-0. You can't make this stuff up.
Those two matches and that eleven year stretch have been the highlight for Tenerife. They were relegated in 1999, came back two years later for season, and have been muddling along in the Segunda until finally winning promotion in 2009. It remains to be seen what Tenerife can bring to the Primera this season but most importantly for Real Madrid, the Blanquiazules play someone else on the final day.
Colors and Logo:
CD Tenerife have won white shorts and blue shorts since their inception, with the occasional horizontal or diagonal blue stripe on the shirt thrown. The colors blue and white are those of the official flag of the island of Tenerife. This flag is a blue background behind a diagonal white cross, blue symbolizing the sea that surrounds the island and white symbolizes the snow that tops Mount Teide at the center of the island in winter. The flag has its origins in the maritime provincial designation given to the Canary Islands in 1845. These maritime provinces date back to the early 16th century when the Spanish coastline was divided up and each region given a unique flag for its ships to fly. The Canary Islands received this designation in 1845 and the province eventually evolved into the maritime province of Tenerife. The island of Tenerife adopted this flag in 1989.
The logo of Los Blanquiazules is similar to the flag of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (one of two provinces in the Canary Islands) which itself displays the coat of arms of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in front of the flag of Tenerife. The logo is really something quite spectacular, packed with symbolism.
A pair of crosses at its center, one (in green) representing the Cross of the Foundation of the city of Santa Cruz, the second symbolizing the Cross of St James to recognize the city's successful defense against an attack by the British Admiral Nelson on July 25th, 1797. July 25th is St James's Day.
3 lions passant, represent the city's defense against attack by three separate English navies, led by the aformentioned Nelson and (earlier) Blake and Jennings. The three lions has a double meaning - the three admirals and the three lions in the English coat of arms.
4 anchors, representing the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the heartbeat of the city.
3 castles, representing the castles of San Cristóbal, San Juan y Paso Alto that have defended the city from attack
a volcano representing the island's Mount Teide
At the top the Royal Crown of Spain
Previous Logos:
Nicknames:
Blanquiazules - the most common nickname given to CD Tenerife, it simply means the Blue and White to recognize the club's colors.
El Tete is another name for Mount Teide at the center of the island of Tenerife
A chicharerro is a small fish eaten in the Canary Islands. It was originally a negative name (to symbolize the poverty of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife) but is now a proud nickname of the club and features in many a supporters' song
El Equipo Tinerfeño - not so widely used but it simply means the team from Tenerife
Riki-Raca:
The traditional rallying cry of CD Tenerife dates back to the 1930s, originating as a popular song in Cuba, spreading to Iberia and then to the Canary Islands. In the 1950s it was brought back to life by Francisco "Paco" Zuppo, an ex-player who created a role for himself as a sort of cheerleader for Tenerife. In the buildup to the match he would head to the center of the pitch and lead the crowd in the singing of this highly quirky song whose lyrics have evolved a bit since its origin.
Riki-Raca Zumba-Raca Sim-Bom-Ba
Ra-Ra-Ra Tenerife Tenerife y Nadie Mas
Here's a short clip of Tenerife supporters singing Riki-Raca.
Rival:
The arch-rival of Club Deportivo Tenerife are UD Las Palmas, from the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canarias. The two clubs are the biggest in the Canary Islands and represent region's two largest cities so it's considered the derby of the Canaries.
Interesting reading about the history of the clubs logo there is no mention of the fact that they just took this idea of the blue background and white cross fromScotland's national flag, the saltire, which has been around for almost a thousand years. Maybe whoever wrote this information should have been more thorough in their research before claiming that this was a flag devised by the island of tenerife when in actual fact it had existed for centuries before in a little country called Scotland.
Details:
CD Tenerife have won white shorts and blue shorts since their inception, with the occasional horizontal or diagonal blue stripe on the shirt thrown. The colors blue and white are those of the official flag of the island of Tenerife. This flag is a blue background behind a diagonal white cross, blue symbolizing the sea that surrounds the island and white symbolizes the snow that tops Mount Teide at the center of the island in winter. The flag has its origins in the maritime provincial designation given to the Canary Islands in 1845. These maritime provinces date back to the early 16th century when the Spanish coastline was divided up and each region given a unique flag for its ships to fly. The Canary Islands received this designation in 1845 and the province eventually evolved into the maritime province of Tenerife. The island of Tenerife adopted this flag in 1989.
