CF Extremadura
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| CF Extremadura | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Club de Fútbol Extremadura | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Estadio Francisco de la Hera, Almendralejo, Extremadura, Spain (Capacity 11,580) |
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| Chairman |  Pedro Nieto Cortés |
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| Manager | Cholo Aguilera |
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| League | Regional Preferente | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | Regional Preferente, 17th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Club de Fútbol Extremadura is a football team based in Almendralejo in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1924, it plays in 1ª Extremeña. Their stadium is Estadio Francisco de la Hera with a capacity of 11,580 seats.
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[edit] History
Club de Futbol Extremadura was formed in 1924 and spent the first 30 years of their existence in the regional leagues. They first rose to national prominence in 1954 when they won the regional 3rd division title and were promoted to Segunda division. They stayed in the second tier for seven seasons with a best placing of 5th in 1958-59. Following relegation in 1961, the club had a series of close misses for promotion back to the Segunda, before mediocrity set in which subsequently led to relegation to the regional preferente league in 1970. For the next dozen or so years, CF Extremadura struggled to maintain a foothold in the 3rd Division, experiencing relegation back to the regional preferente in 1973 and 1975.
Stability returned in the mid 1980’s when a series of high finishes in the Tercera Division culminated in promotion to the newly formed Segunda "B" in 1990. Performances continued to improve and in 1994, after an absence of 34 years, the club returned to the Segunda division. Football in the autonomous region of Extremadura was generally on the up, with CD Badajoz and Mérida UD also in the Segunda in the mid 1990’s. In fact Merida UD became the first team from the region of Extremadura to win promotion to the Primera in 1995. Fans of CF Extremadura did not have to wait long for a taste of football in the Primera however, when the club won promotion to the top tier in 1996. The club had finished 5th in the Segunda, one place behind the reserve side of Real Madrid who were ineligible to play in the Primera. So CF Extremadura entered the play-offs and under the guidance of coach Iosu Ortuondo, beat Albacete Balompié, 2-0 on aggregate.
CF Extremadura found their first season in the Primera a difficult affair, losing the first seven matches and wining only one of the first 19 fixtures, but the club rallied and at the end of the season were only one point from safety. They returned to the Segunda stronger for the experience and Rafael Benitez was signed as new manager. The club easily won promotion back to the Primera in 1998. Season 1998-99 was their second in the Primera and the start was an improvement on their previous attempt. However, with the one of the smallest squads and budgets in the division, a battle against relegation was inevitable. The team finished 17th and entered the relegation play-offs, but a disastrous 0-2 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano sealed their fate and they returned to the Segunda, minus Benitez.
Three seasons of diminishing returns in the Segunda followed. The financial position was precarious and relegation to Segunda "B" occurred in 2002. Their first season back in Segunda "B" almost saw promotion, but a poor finish saw the club miss out on the promotion play-offs. Season 2005-06 saw a similar pattern with the club well placed for a play-off finish with a dozen or so games to go. However one win in the final two months of the season led to a mid-table finish.
CF Extremadura's form in the first half of season 2006-07 was poor and at the half-way stage, they stood in 15th place with just 23 points from 19 matches. Home form was particularly disappointing with just 2 of their 10 matches at Estadio Francisco de la Hera resulting in a victory. The problems continued when in January, it emerged that the players had not been paid for almost four months and were threatening to strike ahead of the derby with Mérida UD. The fixture did go ahead, but they lost 1-2. The second half of the season was just as disappointing and a final tally of 45 points left them in 16th place and facing a relegation play-off against UD Pájara Playas de Jandía from the island of Fuerteventura. The first leg was played in Pájara and resulted in a 3-0 defeat. In the second leg, the teams played out a 1-1 draw condemning CF Extremadura to relegation to the Tercera division for the first time in 17 years.
However, during the close season it emerged that the club could not settle the unpaid wage bill. This was confirmed by the Spanish FA on 1 August 2008 and the club were therefore were relegated a further division to the Regional Preferente.
The rise and fall of CF Extremadura is mirrored by the other leading clubs from the region. Merida UD ultimately went bankrupt in 2000 and their reserves, Merida Promesas, took on the mantle of the first team and can now be found in Segunda "B". CD Badajoz have had a slower decline. Never quite good enough to reach the Primera, 11 seasons in the Segunda came to an end in 2003 with relegation to Segunda "B". In 2006 they were saved from extinction by a junior club from Badajoz, AD Cerro de Reyes Badajoz Atlético, who replaced them in Segunda "B", with Badajoz falling to the Tercera.
[edit] Stadium
CF Extremadura’s first permanent ground was called Campo de Santa Aurora which was on Camino Alange. This was used from 1928 to 1935 when they moved the short distance to Campo Santa Elvira. In 1950, the idea of building a municipal stadium was formed. They moved to a plot of land adjacent to the proposed stadium and for just over one season played at the site called Los Cañizos. On 12 October 1951, CF Extremadura played Sevilla FC in the inaugural match at the new Estadio Francisco de la Hera. The stadium remained relatively unchanged until 1996, when it was demolished and a new stadium was built in the same place. The new Estadio Francisco de la Hera, built in 1996, has a seated capacity of 11,580.
[edit] Seasons
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- 2 seasons in La Liga
- 13 seasons in Segunda División
- 10 seasons in Segunda División B
- 26 seasons in Tercera División
[edit] Classification and Results for 2007/2008 Season
[edit] Famous Players
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see also Cat:CF Extremadura footballers
[edit] Famous Coaches
- Rafael Benítez
- Iosu Ortuondo
