Celta (Vigo) is a Spanish football club from the province of Pontevedra, playing in the main division - La Liga. The name of the club is associated with the Celts, who left their mark on the history of Galicia.
Club arena
Since 1928, the team has its own stadium. “Celta” (Vigo) holds home matches of the Spanish championship at the “Balaidos”, whose stands can accommodate about 32 thousand spectators. It was built with the money of local patrons, but the financial component was not the only obstacle to the construction of the arena. At first, the builders were prevented by the Lagares River, which flows near the stadium. Then, investors had to solve problems with the location of the structure, because the plan previously approved by the municipality had to be amended due to the construction of the tram line.
In 1982, Balaidos hosted 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 the “Celts” are connected with the last twenty years. The period from 1998 to 2003 in Spain was jokingly called EuroSelt. During this time, the team has never dropped below seventh place in the national championship, and also won a number of high-profile and bright victories in Europe. Among the defeated were a number of regulars of the European campaigns: Liverpool, Benfica, Juventus and others.
In the UEFA Cup, Celta (Vigo) reached the quarter-finals for three consecutive years, but each time they stopped fighting for the trophy. The stumbling block was the French Marseille and Lance, as well as Barcelona in 2001. The Vigo team managed to take part in the main European competition - the Champions League. At the group stage, the “Celts” managed to win one victory over “Milan” and “Ajax”, as well as make three draws, thanks to which the club managed to get into the playoff stage. There, Celta was waiting for one of the main contenders for the trophy - the London Arsenal.
In the two-round duel, the British turned out to be stronger, but we must pay tribute to the guys from Vigo: they put up worthy resistance to the “gunners” and managed to hit the gate of Jens Lehmann twice . By the way, “Balaidos” for various reasons did not pass the UEFA certification for the Champions League matches, so the “Celts” had to hold their home matches at “Estadio de Dragau” - the Porto home arena.
“Celta” (Vigo) is a real forge of personnel. At different times, the colors of the Galician team were protected by such stars of European and world football as the Russians Alexander Mostovoy and Valery Karpin, the Brazilian Silvigno (later moved to Barcelona), Michel Salgado (later transferred to Real Madrid), Claude Makelele (later transferred to Real Madrid) 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 Cup competitions. However, in recent years the team has managed to impose a struggle for the Europa League zone, where FC Celta performs at the playoff stage in 2017.
Do not spoil the “Celts” of their fans in terms of trophies. For almost a ninety-year history, a club with a modest budget only won the national cup three times (the last time in 2001), and also once celebrated the triumph in the Intertoto Cup, which was later abolished (2008), becoming one of the qualifying stages of the Europa League.