"Celta" (Vigo) - the club of the Spanish La Liga

"Celta" (Vigo) - Spanish football club from the province of Pontevedra, serving in the main division - La Liga. The name of the club is associated with the Celts, which left a trace in the history of Galicia.

Club Arena

Since 1928 the team has its own stadium. "Celta" (Vigo) spends home matches of the championship of Spain on "Balaidos", the stands of which hold about 32 thousand spectators. It was built with the money of local patrons, but the financial component was not the only obstacle to the erection of the arena. At first the builders were prevented by the Lagares River flowing near the stadium. Then investors had to solve problems with the location of the building, because in the previously approved by the municipality plan had to make adjustments due to the construction of the tram line.

In 1982, Balaidos took three matches of the World Cup, held in Spain.

The latest history of the club

One way or another, all the more or less important local successes of "Celta" are associated with the last twenty years. The period from 1998 to 2003 in Spain was jokingly called "EuroSeltoy". During this time the team has never dropped below the seventh place in the national championship, and also won a number of high-profile and bright victories in Europe. Among the defeated was a number of regulars eurocompany: "Liverpool", "Benfica", "Juventus" and others.

In the UEFA Cup "Celta" (Vigo) three years in a row reached the stage of the quarterfinals, but each time stopped fighting for the trophy. The stumbling block was the French "Marseille" and "Lance", as well as "Barcelona" - in 2001. The team from Vigo managed to take part in the main European competition - the Champions League. In the group stage, the Celts managed to win one victory over Milan and Ajax, and also draw three draws, which allowed the club to get into the playoff stage. There, "Celta" was waiting for one of the main contenders for the trophy - the London "Arsenal".

The two-round duel was stronger than the British, but you must pay tribute to the guys from Vigo: they had a decent resistance to the "Gunners" and twice managed to hit the gate Jens Lehmann. By the way, "Balaidos" for various reasons did not pass the UEFA qualification for the Champions League matches, so home games "Celts" had to be held at the "Estadio de Dragau" - home arena "Porto".

"Celta" (Vigo) is a real forge of cadres. At different times, the colors of the Galician team were defended by such stars of European and world football as Russians Alexander Mostovoi and Valery Karpin, Brazilian Silvino (later transferred to Barcelona), Michel Salgado (later transferred to Real Madrid), Claude Makelele In Madrid "Real") and others.

"Celta" (Vigo): trophies and achievements

The Galician club has never been a favorite in the championship of Spain, not to mention the European competition. However, in recent years, the team has managed to impose a fight for the zone of the League of Europe, where FC Celta and stands at the playoff stage in 2017.

Do not spoil the "Celts" of their fans in terms of trophies. For almost ninety years of history, the club with a modest budget only won the national cup three times (most recently in 2001), and once celebrated the triumph in the Intertoto Cup, which was later abolished (2008), becoming one of the qualifying stages of the League of Europe.