R.C. Recreativo de Huelva facts for kids

Real Club Recreativo de Huelva is a Spanish football club. The club was starting in 1889. It is the oldest football team in Spain.

The Club

Real Club Recreativo de Huelva is a Spanish football team formed on December 23 1889. This makes it the oldest football team in Spain, formed by Dr McKay and overseas British workers at the Rio Tinto mines. Originally named Huelva Recreation Club. Due to its long-standing existence (it is the oldest surviving team of Spanish professional soccer), the team is often referred to as El Decano ("the dean") of the Spanish football fraternity.

Commonly known as Recre, they play in white with blue vertical stripes and white shorts. Their home ground is the Nuevo Colombino stadium that seats 19,860.

After three seasons in Segunda División (Spanish second division), Recre achieved promotion to top flight after beating Numancia Soria on June 4, 2006, mathematically securing promotion with two matches left to be played. El Decano is again among the elite of Spanish football for the 2006/07 season.

Name

• 1889-? Huelva Recreation Club
•  ?-present R.C. Recreativo de Huelva

Honours

• Champions of Andalucía from 1903 to 1914.
• Reached Primera División for 1978-79 (under coach Eusebio Ríos), 2002-2003 (under coach Lucas Alcaraz) and 2005-2006 (under coach Marcelino Garcia Toral).
• Defeated finalists in Copa del Rey in 2003.

League position

Former position

Foreigners 2006/07

Only three non-EU nationals can be on the pitch at anytime. Those with European ancestry can claim a passport from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim a Spanish passport by playing in Spain for 3 years.

• and Europe Bertrand Laquait
• and Europe Florent Sinama-Pongolle
• and Europe Beto
• and Europe Laurenţiu Roşu
• and Europe Ikechukwu Uche

Famous players

• Antonio Valencia
• Santi Cazorla
• Mariano Pernía
• Gastón Casas
• Joaozinho
• Franz Platko
• Yago Alonso
• Nelson Zelaya
• Manuel Almunia
• Luis Aragonés
• Curro Torres
• Óscar Arpón
• Raúl Molina
• Xisco Muñoz
• Alex Pereira

Famous Coaches

• Eusebio Ríos
• Víctor Espárrago
• Joaquín Caparrós
• Lucas Alcaraz
• Marcelino García Toral